Christmas is fast approaching and I am glad to share with you this delicious Gingerbread Orange Cake Roll that is simply bursting with Christmas flavor. This cake roll consists of a moist and spiced gingerbread sponge cake that is filled with a creamy and orangey filling of Mascarpone and whipped cream, enriched with bits of candied orange peel for an amazing play of flavors and textures. Beautifully decorated in the Christmas spirit with fresh rosemary, cinnamon sticks, and kumquat slices will surely impress and delight your family and guests.
The recipe is quite easy and quick to prepare as it comes together in a matter of minutes. Gingerbread spices and orange are such a great combination making this cake an amazing choice for a festive and unique dessert for the winter holidays. Hope you will try this out and enjoy it as we did! If you try it out don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, would love to see how it turned out for you.
If you like orange desserts you may also like these Cranberry Orange Cookies, packed with lots of orange flavor which makes them such a special treat for holidays. You may also like these Orange Chocolate Mousse Domes that are very elegant and festive. This Orange Chocolate Mirror Cake is also a delicate cake that will surely impress all your guests.
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Gingerbread Orange Cake Roll
Ingredients
Makes about 10 servings
Gingerbread Cake
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup (70g) sugar
- 1/3 cup (70g) brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (110g) molasses
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (5ml) orange juice
- orange zest from an orange
- 3/4 cup (100g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (3g) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (3g) salt
- 1 tsp (3g) ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp (3g) ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp (1g) ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp (1g) ground cloves
Mascarpone Filling
- 8 oz (230g) Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (240g) whipping cream, chilled
- 1/3 cup (40g) powdered sugar
- Orange zest from an orange
- 1 oz (30g) candied orange peel
For decoration
- powdered sugar
- whipped cream
- fresh rosemary
- kumquat slices
Instructions
- Prepare the gingerbread sponge cake. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Butter a 12 X16 inch (30×40 cm) baking tray and line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl add eggs and both sugars and mix for 5-7 minutes until light yellow colored, thick and foamy. Add vanilla extract, orange juice and orange zest and mix to incorporate.
- Add molasses and mix to combine.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt over the bowl. Gently fold the flour mixture in.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes.
- Dust with powdered sugar. Flip the cake onto a parchment paper or kitchen towel. Remove the parchment paper and dust with powdered sugar.
- While still warm, roll the cake up and let it cool completely.
- Prepare Mascarpone orange filling.
- In a bowl mix Mascarpone cheese with powdered sugar and orange zest. In another bowl mix cream until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the cream into the Mascarpone mixture.
- Unroll the cake and spread the filling evenly over the cake.
- Sprinkle the chopped candied orange peel.
- Roll the cake back up. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Dust with more powdered sugar. To decorate if desired, pipe the top with whipped cream and decorate with fresh rosemary, kumquat slices and cinnamon sticks. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @homecookingadventure on Instagram and hashtag it #homecookingadventure.
Hi Ella! I’m so excited to make this but I don’t have a 12X16inch pan because I have a smaller oven & can only fit a 9x13inch pan, can I use that instead? Thanks in advance for replying and regards from your fan in the Philippines!
Hi Ella! My oven is small and can only fit a 9×13 inch pan, do you think I can use that size instead of a 12×16 inch pan? If not, what can you suggest I do with the rest of the batter?
you can try.. but will be thicker.. and make sure to adjust the baking time.. might need more time.. or bake some of the batter in a small pan just as a snack
Hola, si lo hago esta tarde, podria comerlo mañana para comer al mediodÃa o se pone blando?
How long does this stay good for after baked?
If refrigerated should be just fine up to a week. You can always freeze the leftovers and save for later:)
do you think this would be good with a chocolate ganache or would it clash too much?
awesome recipe
Maybe you can consider a white chocolate ganache.
I made this for our formal Christmas Eve dinner this year (2022) and it is wonderful! In the U.S., I’ve not come across the pairing of gingerbread and orange before and because I was wary of how it would be received by my 10 guests, I also made a more traditional yule log of chocolate and peppermint cream. There was no need for it. Everyone loved this recipe and several ate seconds. It’s delicious as is–don’t change a thing! Also because it was a large dinner party, I made it and froze it with the filling but not the topping for a couple of days ahead of time. Defrosted it in the fridge. It was perfect. Thank you Ella for such an interesting and delicious pairing!
I made this delicious yule log for my family (11 of us) this past Christmas. All were pleasantly surprised by the pairing of ginger and orange–it’s not a common one in the U.S. I froze the yule log with the filling a few days ahead of time, frosted and decorated it a day ahead. It was glorious. Will definitely make it again next year.
So happy to hear that Sharon 🙂 Tang me on Instagram if you have the chance, as I would love to see the photos. Let me know if you try any other recipes from my website.