Strawberry Shortcake Roll

I don't know how long it takes to make a tradition, but Strawberry Shortcake Roll for my dad's birthday is definitely a tradition. I think we've been doing it for at least 15 years. And like beet leaf holubtsi and bacon & tomato sandwiches, it only happens once a year. The moment of truth, when I emerge from the (invariably) hot kitchen with not one, but two, trays of strawberry Shangri-la is indeed an event worth waiting for.

This recipe was my mom's originally.  She would make it when we got back back from strawberry picking, along with a strawberry pie, while we cleaned berries and made jam.

When I was a kid, my parents were obsessed with picking berries. We had come from the Prairies and B.C. offered a bounty of fruit to be picked each summer.  We picked blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples, cherries and plums.  If it grew, we picked it.  We packed the car with damp rags in plastic bags (to clean the dust and sugary fruit residue when we were done), tin buckets, ice cream buckets, coffee tins with strings tied through holes dad punched in them (so we could hang it around our necks and maximize our picking effort by using both hands), mason jars of water, banana boxes lined with newspaper (so we could pour the fruit out of the bucket and it wouldn't get crushed on the hot ride home) and an air of excitement that was palpable.

Except for me. I hated it. I hated the hot car ride.  I hated picking the berries. I hated the sticky film that covered my hands. I hated that we couldn't leave until every single, solitary container was heaping full of fruit. I hated the dusty fields. I hated that my parents were always on the lookout for places to sneak into so they didn't have to pay the hefty fee of 15 cents a pound. I also hated blueberries. (Ironically, one of my treasured memories is my little sister who loved to have her cup of frozen blueberries each morning while she watched TV, her tiny fingers picking them out one at a time and savouring each bite.)

Each year there was the discussion of whether we had picked 90 pounds or 120 pounds last year and the anticipation of beating the current record. When it was time to go, mom and dad would pick "just a couple more" (aka one more bucket). It was interminable agony. Then when we got home we cleaned, washed, jammed and froze our fruit for the winter.

Except for fresh raspberries covered in farm cream (malynyky) and the thick prune jam that took 8 hours to cook down to the right thickness, I wasn't as obsessed as my family and so berry picking is not something I have passed on to my own children.  However, this strawberry cake is definitely worth it and I have been known to drive east - early in the morning to beat the heat - in search of strawberries and even, when absolutely necessary, to pick them to make my dad's birthday dessert.

Since dad's birthday is July 12, it is always at the end of strawberry season and takes some planning to ensure we get enough berries.  This year, Gjoa bought them on the last day of the season and the box was marked "as is". They looked pretty rough so we put them in the fridge and crossed our fingers they wouldn't spontaneously combust into jam. On the day, we gently cleaned them, even more gently washed them and then sliced them into a colander to drain for a couple of hours because they were very, very ripe. Another year, another success.

This recipe calls for 2 cups of sliced strawberries.  I suspect if you use that much, then the rolling is easier and the dessert looks much prettier.  As you can see by the pictures, I used a little more.  I'd say there's about 10 pounds of berries in the two rolls I made. Full disclosure: I use really big cookie sheets and make 1.5 times the recipe for each. Julien agrees that more is better, even if it's not prettier.  Use lots of berries and try not to worry about what it looks like. If yours, like mine, turns into more of a strawberry fold than a strawberry roll, just roll with it.  You won't be disappointed.

BTW, this is possibly the only recipe I actually sift flour for.  It does make a difference and you have to use the sifter for the icing sugar anyways, so don't skip the step.

Strawberry Roll

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup orange juice

1 grated orange rind

icing sugar (1/2 cup - depending on sweetness, and whether Julien is putting it on)

1-1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped

2 cups sliced strawberries (or more!)

Heat oven to 375°.

Grease jelly-roll pan and line bottom with parchment or waxed paper.

Grate orange rind and squeeze orange for juice.

Beat eggs in a mixing bowl until thick and light coloured.

Gradually beat in sugar.

Blend in orange juice.

Sift in flour/baking powder and add orange rind.

Blend only until smooth.

Pour evenly into prepared pan. 

(Make sure batter goes to edges otherwise the middle will rise

more and the edges will crisp too much.)

Bake 12-15 minutes (until top springs back when pressed and golden brown).

Loosen edges. Place clean, cotton towel over pan and invert by stretching towel tautly over the short sides.

Remove pan. Use oven mitts and lever pan from counter with a butter knife.

Peel off parchment paper

Starting from far end, while still hot, roll the cake and the towel together.
Let sit until cool.

To assemble

Whip cream until stiff, 30 minutes before serving.

Unroll cooled cake. Sift with icing sugar.

Spread with whipped cream and sprinkle with strawberries.

Roll up again loosely and refrigerate until serving time.

Sift icing sugar over the top.

Cut into 1 inch slices to serve.

Same time, next year?  You bet!