Orange and Cranberry Log Cake

by Andrea Tremblay-Legendre

I like pairing orange and cranberry together and it turned out amazing with this cake! The cake is perfectly moist and lightly sweet combined with a creamy buttercream and cranberry jam, it's just delicious!

Yields 1 log cake

Cake batter
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup flour
2 tbsp orange zest
Cranberry Jam
2 cups cranberries
1/3 cup sugar
Vanilla buttercream
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. To make the cake, combine the flour and orange zest in a small bowl. Set aside.
3.  Separate egg whites from the yolks.
4. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer to form stiff peaks. Gradually incorporate 1/3 cup of sugar. Set aside.
5. In a medium size bowl, beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer for 5-6 minutes or until you get a pale yellow and fluffy texture. Incorporate 1/3 cup of sugar and the orange juice.
6. Add a third of the egg white mixture into the egg yolks gently by folding in with a spatula. Repeat with two more additions. Do not overwork.
7. Sprinkle small amounts of flour on top of the egg mixture and gently fold in with a spatula. Repeat until all the flour has been incorporated.
8. Cut off a parchment paper and place at the bottom of a sheet pan. Lightly coat the sides with butter and flour.
9. Pour the cake batter onto the sheet pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until very lightly golden brown.
10. Lay a clean kitchen linen on your countertop and sprinkle a little bit powdered sugar on it.
11. Put the warm cake on the kitten linen, peel off the parchment paper and roll the cake into a tight spiral. Let cool down in the linen until it gets to room temperature.
12. To make the buttercream, with an electric mixer combine the butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar.
13. Incorporate the milk and vanilla and mix with the electric mixer.
14. Incorporate the rest of the sugar and mix with the electric mixer.
15. To make the cranberry jam, place the cranberries and sugar in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Once the texture has thicken, take off the heat, pour in a small bowl and let cool down.
16. To assemble the cake, unroll the cake and cover it with buttercream. Place the cranberry jam on top of the buttercream and re-roll the cake gently. Cover the cake with buttercream and decorate with slice of oranges and cranberries.