Lemon Roll Cake

This fresh lemon roll cake will make you think it’s summer all year long! The cake is light and airy and the filling is fluffy, too! This may look hard, but rolling a cake is a cinch and super impressive.

Dish Count ::  1 Jelly Roll Pan, Stand Mix with Whisk, a Couple Bowls

If you didn’t already hear me shouting it from the rooftops, Ben and I are back on the Palouse  celebrating our second wedding anniversary. (Also, TWO YEARS?! Woah.) It’s been so good to be home in the rolling wheat fields that we still call home. We couldn’t have picked a better time of year to get married here, with the wheat fields shining in that gorgeous golden hue and harvest in full swing.

I mean, c’mon. Let’s not pretend this sunset isn’t the most stunning thing since David Beckham was plastered in his underwear in a magazine spread. Adam Levine doing Adam Levine things? Chris Pine dressed as Captain Kirk? What do you want from me people?! It’s gorgeous here and I cant’ get over it. 

So two years ago, I married a farm boy. Two years ago on this day is 103 degrees and we were dressed to the nines, getting married and had our whole lives ahead of us. And two years since that date, I’m still completely bonkers head over heels in love with him. Ewww eye roll, right? Totally.

One of the things we have started to make a tradition was going to was making the stops at all the places that were a part of our day. In the fields where we did our first look ,we went to pick up a few boxes of peaches and grab a milkshake. Then we went to our wedding venue where they were setting up for another wedding and we picked up some wine from the owners who still remembered us from two years ago.

Our last stop of the day was to try and pick up wedding cupcakes from our favorite cupcake shop in town… but they were closed. BUMMER! But, I at least got something lemony in last week.

For the wedding we opted for chocolate cupcakes and lemon cupcakes. Nothing to wildly crazy or anything, but they were some of the hands-down-best-cupcakes of my life. Since lemon anything is always high on my list of favorite flavors, I opted to celebrate our anniversary with this lemon cake roll instead.

I always felt like cake rolls, especially pumpkin ones, were always relegated to the holidays and that just doesn’t seem fair. This lemon cake roll is everything wonderful about summer rolled into a cake. Get it, rolled? I crack myself up.

But we celebrated two years ago with lemon cupcakes, and it only seemed appropriate to do it again today.

Happy Anniversary, hunny. Thanks for putting up with me, the dog, my inability to wear anything but yoga pants on weekends and a constantly chaotic kitchen. I love you.

Try these inspired cake recipes!

Banana Cake with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Buttercream

Chocolate Tiramisu Swiss Roll

Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey’s Whipped Frosting

Lemon Roll Cake

• Author: Megan
• Prep Time: 25 Minutes
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x
• Category: Cake
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: Swiss

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Ingredients

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Lemon Cake

• 1/4 cup Powdered sugar
• 4 Eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Baking soda
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/3 cup Lemon Juice

Filling

• 1 package Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup Butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Lemon Zest
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a jelly roll pan (15×10 inches) with non stick spray and then line with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper again with non stick spray. Set aside.

In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks begin to form. Then slowly stream in the 1/2 cup sugar until mixed in, and continue whipping until the egg whites have stiff peaks. While the egg whites are whisking, in a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, remaining sugar, and vanilla until smooth and the sugar has dissolved. In a third bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients. Stir the egg yolk mixture into the dry ingredients and slowly mix in the lemon juice as well. Stir until smooth.

Next, pour the egg/flour mixture into the bowl with the egg whites. Using a rubber spatula gently fold the two together and fold until there are no remaining steaks of white egg whites left. Pour the whole thing into the prepared jelly roll pan. Smooth out the top as best you can with a large spoon or angled spatula . Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.

While baking prepare the roll wrapper. Lay out a large tea towel and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, immediately invert the pan and lay the cake out onto the tea towel upside down. Remove the parchment paper on the back of the cake and roll the cake up around the tea towel. Let the cake cool rolled up like this.

While the cake is cooling prepare the filling. Clean out the stand mixer bowl you used before and beat together the cream cheese and the butter until smooth. Add in the lemon juice and lemon zest and mix. Slouwly add in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

To fill the cake:

When the cake is completely cool, unroll the cake from the tea towel. Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the cake evenly and re roll the cake. Wrap it firmly in plastic wrap and let it chill for at least two hours until it’s set. Slice and serve. Garnish with additional powdered sugar and lemon zest.

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Notes

Adapted from Hershey’s Kitchens’ Chocolate Roll Cake  and Libby’s Pumpkin Roll Cake Filling 

Keywords: Cake, Recipe, Baking, Dessert, Lemon, Cream Cheese, Swiss