This recipe is a delicious riff of a classic Kraft recipe with store bought Angel Food Cake filled with pudding, non-dairy whipped topping and canned pineapple filling. This “Swiss Roll” version is even better, using a baked Angel Food Cake on a jelly roll pan, then layered with a billowy cream cheese/fresh whipped cream frosting and crushed pineapple. A toasted coconut garnish is an optional garnish for a more tropical twist. This dessert is light and so good that our dinner guests asked for seconds.
I love Angel Food Cake, and I have a difficult time controlling myself to not go back for a third second slice. I’ve made Angel Food Cake, from scratch. It’s a lot of work, separating egg whites and trying to figure out what to do with a dozen egg yolks. In general, I don’t buy cake mixes. Not that I judge anyone who does! It’s just that I enjoy baking cakes from scratch. However, Angel Food Cake Mix is an exception for me– especially once I tried a mix and realized the end result tasted just like “from scratch”. So, please don’t dismiss this recipe that uses a cake mix. I’m sure glad that that I didn’t!
I stumbled across this recipe, and I decided this would be the perfect way to use up some leftover crushed pineapple that I used to make my Coconut Hummingbird Bundt Cake.
Yes, indeed, I had a –gasp– Angel Food Cake Mix in my pantry (for those times I crave it). I have made a Swiss Roll or two, so I’ve invested in a 10 x 15 Jelly Roll Pan. I prepared the pan with nonstick spray and parchment paper (more on that later).
This cake mix is so easy– just add water and mix until it’s fluffy. You can certainly make your own, and more power to you!
My oven is preheated to 350F. I didn’t want to risk the cake overflowing and making a mess, so I placed another baking sheet below. Wow! The cake really puffed up, but it didn’t overflow.
While the cake was baking, I prepared a clean kitchen towel with lots of powdered sugar (or so I thought). More on that, coming up… strap yourself in!
I also made the creamy filling with cream cheese, heavy cream, powdered sugar and pure vanilla extract.
I divided the cream cheese filling and added one up of drained crushed pineapple. Wow! So good! It reminds me of the Strawberry Cream Cake that I’ve made. The cake is baked, so it’s time to put it all together.
NOTE: One of these days, I hope to learn how to make my own videos. In the meantime, I’m Old School with photos.
In the top 2 photos, I show that I immediately inverted the baked cake (fresh out of the oven) onto the prepared towel. This is when the battle began. The cake stuck! Oh dear. I cut around the cake edge to release it. It was still a battle, but I finally got the cake out, and removed the parchment paper (lower left picture).
See that lower right photo?! What a mess! The cake broke apart (insert colored metaphor thoughts inside my head) and I thought this was an epic fail. No! I’m going to keep going!
Fortunately, frosting can hide a multitude of mistakes, and sometimes it can act as glue. I pieced together my baked Angel Food Cake, and slathered on the pineapple cream cheese filling. I rolled it all together. Whew! It’s not pretty, but I’m going to finish with frosting.
Not bad! This has to chill for at last 2 hours, so that gave me time to clean up the kitchen and check on the Perfect Pot Roast that was in the oven.
It’s time for dessert, so I sliced up the cake. Shhhh. Let’s not say a word about the almost fail with making this dessert!
TASTING NOTES: Let’s start with my husband, who says he’s not a fan of Angel Food Cake. He asked for seconds. So did my guests. As for me… I was in heaven (bad pun, I know). This is a light dessert and, dare I say, a bit lower in calories. I polled my guests, asking if they liked coconut. They do. Mental note: Add toasted coconut as a garnish, next time. Next time, indeed. This cake has so many possibilities– especially with summer coming up. This would be delicious with fresh strawberries, like my Strawberry Swiss Roll. Peaches or a mixture of fresh berries would be great, too. Yum!
Angel Lush Swiss Cake Roll with Pineapple
Equipment
- 1 Non-Stick Jelly Roll Pan 10 x 15 Inch my first choice OR
- 1 11×17 Baking Sheet Pan
- Parchment paper
- Non-stick spray Recommended: Bakers Joy Baking Spray
- Soft and Clean Linen Stype Kitchen Towel (tea towel)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 box Angel Food Cake mixed as directed
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar to coat the kitchen towel
For the filling:
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream cold
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup crushed pineapple well drained
- 1 cup shredded coconut toasted (optional)
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F and set the baking rack to the middle position.Prepare your baking pan with baking spray (recommended: Bakers Joy Baking Spray) and parchment paper. I prefer to spray the pan, generously, first– then add the parchment paper (see notes).
- Prepare angel food cake batter according to package directions. Spread the batter into prepared baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes, until light golden brown on top. If you use the recommended size pan, don't panic as the batter will puff up really high! As a precaution, I placed another baking sheet on the lower rack. The cake did not spill over, so please use the recommended size baking sheet.
- Generously coat a clean kitchen (tea towel) with powdered sugar (see notes). When the cake turns a light golden brown, it's done. Carefully turn the cake onto the towel and, starting at the short end, begin rolling the cake. NOTE: The cake will deflate once it's turned over onto the towel. This is okay. Set the cake aside to completely cool (this is very important). You could refrigerate the cake, as much as a day ahead.
For the filling:
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the heavy cream and beat until soft peaks form. NOTE: I used my balloon whisk attachment with my stand mixer, so this worked a lot faster than a hand mixer. Otherwise, this can take at least 5 minutes with a hand mixer.
- Add the ¾ cup powdered sugar and vanilla and continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Divide the whipped cream in half into two separate bowls. To one half, add the crushed pineapple and stir just to combine.
- Unroll the cooled cake and spread the pineapple mixture over top, leaving 1/2″ around the edge, and remove the towel. (See notes.) Roll up carefully starting at the short end.
- Spread the remaining whipped cream over the rolled cake and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until ready to serve. Any leftover cake can be covered with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Notes
- Prepping the baking sheet is really crucial. Otherwise, the cake will not easily release, and could potentially break. If that happens (speaking from experience), keep in mind that the frosting can hide any imperfections!
- I’ve decided that next time, I’d try rolling my cake with parchment paper. Why? Unless you add a LOT of powdered sugar, you run the risk of the cake sticking to the towel (it’s happened to me more than once). Still, my Swiss Roll Cakes mistakes were glued and stuck together with the filling, and hidden with the frosting. It’s our little “secret”.
Leave a Reply