The easiest Cake Roll Recipe I’ve come across yet, plus a bonus tip.

I love jelly rolls, but this home made banana and whipped cream roll has always been my favorite. I had my very first cake roll filled with bananas and whipped cream when I was about six years old, at my girl-friend Birgit’s birthday party. After that I would beg my Mom to make me one for my birthday every year and reluctantly she would. She hated making this treat because the recipe she had was very time consuming. Separating eggs, carefully folding the dough and all that nonsense, and in the end the dough didn’t always turn out right.

After all these years I finally found a cake roll recipe that is quick, no nonsense, a lot less messy and turns out delicious every time. Scroll down for step by step pictures. Using a whipped cream dispenser is a great idea and will make this delicious dessert even easier.

Banana Cake Roll

Ingredients You Need:

• 1 cup sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (optional)
• 1 1/2 bananas (optional)
• whipped cream (optional)

Baking Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. (I didn’t have any on hand so I didn’t use it and it turned out just fine.)
2. Sift the flour and add baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the vanilla and milk. Stir in the dry ingredients gradually. The batter will be thin.
5. Pour into the prepared pan and lightly spread the dough with a spatula.
6. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, until it’s lightly brown and the center springs back when pressed lightly. Do not over bake, or it will crack when you’re trying to roll it.
7. Generously dust a piece of wax paper with sugar (it used to ask for a clean dish towel which was a big mess) . Turn the cake out onto the paper (peel off the parchment paper if you used it) and gently roll up the cake. Let cool for a least 10 minutes or until cool to the touch.
8. Unroll the cake, spread an even coating of unsweetened whipped cream (I add a few drops of vanilla extract) and place the banana near the top. Roll the cake back up into a tight spiral and transfer onto a serving platter.
9. Dust with confectioners’ sugar or add more whipped cream and decorate with banana slices soaked in lemon juice.

Combine wet and dry ingredients separately.

Adding dry ingredients to the creamy eggs, vanilla & sugar mixture.

Mix the cake roll batter until smooth.

The batter will be runny.

Pour the batter onto your jelly roll or baking pan.

Add sugar on a piece of wax paper or dish cloth.

The dough is done when it’s lightly browned and springy.

Roll the warm cake dough using the wax paper or towel.

While the roll is cooling, add a few drops of vanilla to your heavy whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form.

Add a few drops of lemon juice to the banana slices used for decoration, this will keep them from turning brown.

Unroll the cooled cake, cover with whipped cream and add a whole banana, then roll it up again.

Transfer cake roll onto a platter and decorate the outside.

Delicious Banana & Cream Cake Roll!

Light, fluffy and not too sweet, this is the perfect afternoon dessert with coffee and friends. If you’re looking for a light after dinner dessert this Banana and Cream Cake Roll will fit the bill.

Instead of the bananas and whipped cream you can also use any of your favorite fruit and cream cheese mixture, or 1 cup of your favorite jam or jelly, as the filling for this cake roll.

Bonus Tip:

Add a couple of tablespoons of chocolate powder and a little bit of milk to the batter and continue as directed above, to make a delicious Chocolate Banana Cake Roll. Yum!

What is your favorite Cake Roll Filling? Please leave us a comment below.