Pecan Ginger Roulade
The cake roll, or roulade, has European roots dating back to the 19th century. It’s most closely associated with Central European baking traditions—particularly in Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland—where sponge cakes filled with jam or cream were popular in home kitchens and coffeehouses. One of the most famous roulades is the Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log, a French holiday dessert that mimics a snow-dusted log and is often elaborately decorated.
Over time, roulades made their way into American baking, where they’ve been adapted with local ingredients and tastes—from the renowned Dione Lucas chocolate version to flourless nut-based cakes like this Pecan Ginger Roulade.
I’m a big fan of these roulades for several reasons: their unique shape is a refreshing change from the classic round cake and works well on a dessert buffet, they require minimal decorating, and many recipes (like this one) are flourless and perfect for gluten-intolerant guests. Lastly, they give me an excuse to use my fancy rectangular cake platters.
This light, yet flavorful Pecan Ginger Roulade features a delicious marriage of flavors, combining the subtle nuttiness of pecan flour in the cake with the warm spice of ginger-infused whipped cream. The ginger pop can easily be adjusted by adding more or less ground ginger or diced candied ginger.
Unlike many cake roulade recipes, this one skips the step of wrapping the warm cake in a kitchen towel. Instead, you simply bake it, let it cool, unmold it onto a Silpat or sheet of parchment, spread it with the ginger filling, and roll it up. It’s an absolute joy of a recipe—approachable and truly delicious.
Pecan Ginger Cake Roulade
| Yield: 1 9” cake roll | # of Servings: 8 | Method: Separated Egg Sponge | Difficulty: Moderate |
Ingredients
Cake:
6 large egg yolks
4 ½ tsp (.7 oz / 20 g) sugar
½ cup + 4 tsp (2.3 oz / 65 g) pecan flour
6 large egg whites
¼ tsp salt
3 tbl (1.5 oz / 43 g) sugar
Whipped Cream Filling:
1 ¼ cups (10 fl oz) heavy cream, well-chilled
¼ cup (.90 oz / 26 g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
½ tsp ground ginger
1 ½ tbl finely minced candied ginger (increase to 2 tbl for more ginger kick)
Garnish:
⅓ cup pecan meal, optional
Confectioners’ sugar, optional
Special tools and equipment:
- 10 1/4” by 15 ¼ jelly roll pan
- Hand held or counter-top mixer with whisk attachment
- Parchment paper, cut to fit jelly roll pan
Pre-recipe preparations:
- Cut a sheet of parchment paper 9 ¼” by 14 ¼”. Lightly butter the jelly roll pan, including the edges. Line bottom of pan with the parchment, and butter it as well.
- Preheat oven to 375°F
Directions
- Place egg yolks and sugar in machine bowl and using wire whip beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow.
- Remove bowl from machine and fold in pecan meal.
- In separate bowl with clean wire whip beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add salt.
- Continue beating whites until soft peaks form then slowly add the sugar.
- Beat just until medium stiff peaks. Do not overbeat.
- Stir ¼ of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites just until blended and no white streaks remain.
- Pour batter into prepared jelly roll pan, and spread the batter evenly using an offset spatula.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Remove from oven and place pan on cooling rack to cool completely.
- As soon as the cake is out of the oven prepare the whipped cream. Place a bowl and whisk, or a machine bowl and whip attachment in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Once cool, whip the cream, sugar and ground ginger until it starts to thicken.
- Slowly add the diced candied ginger and whip until just firm peaks. Taste to decide on bumping up the ginger flavor. Place in the refrigerator.
- Place a 12” by 16” parchment sheet or 14 ½” by 9 ½” silpat on a clean counter with long side facing you and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
- Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen any spots where it may be adhered to the pan.
- Place the pan upside down directly over the sugar-dusted sheet and lightly knock the back, if necessary, to have the cake release from the pan.
- Pull the parchment paper off the cake.
- Remove whipped cream from the refrigerator and whip until just firm peaks. The cream will firm up as you spread it so don’t overwhip. Set aside about 1 cup of whipped cream. Using an offset spatula spread the ginger whipped cream over the cake, leaving a ¼” border on the two long edges a ½” border on the short edges.
- Turn the cake so the short side is facing you and, using the paper or silpat as a guide, gently begin rolling into a tight cake roll. Spread a thin layer of the remaining heavy cream over the roulade. Sprinkle generously with the pecan flour.
- Place a spatula underneath and remove to an oval platter or cutting board. Refrigerate until serving.
- As an alternative, skip the whipped cream over the top of the cake and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
- Leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days. I froze a quarter of the cake and was surprised to discover that it was okay out of the freezer. Not the same as fresh, but the whipped cream didn’t separate when defrosted.
Notes:
1 Pecan flour, also known as pecan meal, is very perishable. It should have a pleasant, subtly nutty aroma. An overly strong or bitter aroma in any nut flour means it has gone rancid. Purchase only from reputable stores with a high turnover, or nut distributors such as nuts.com and store in the refrigerator.
