"Strawberries Newport" Roulade

If you've ever been to the Festival of the Arts in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma then you know all about Strawberries Newport.  For those of you outside the Sooner State, Strawberries Newport is comprised of a golden puff pastry shell, and a rich, French custard filling, piled high with fresh strawberries and mountains of whipped cream.  A while back I was shopping and our store had the biggest, ripest red strawberries you've ever seen.  That morning, I had just seen a recipe for a Berry Roulade by one of my favorite foodie blogs: That Skinny Chick Can Bake.  Her recipe had a filling of fresh blueberries and raspberries.  I figured why not give it a try with these lovely strawberries?  That evening for dessert I made Liz's delicious roulade using strawberries.  My husband loved it.  He remarked, "You know what this reminds me of?  That strawberry dessert from the Art Festival.  Strawberries Newport!"  His only complain was, "It's missing that pastry cream.  It needs that custard and it would taste just like Strawberries Newport."  So we decided that the only way to incorporate the flavor of a pastry cream into this recipe would be as a sauce.  Crème Anglaise was what we came up with.  If you've never made Crème Anglaise, it's basically a thick, rich creamy sauce.  It's often use as a base for homemade ice cream.  It tastes just like a French pastry custard but it's thinner in texture.  The perfect compliment to this cake.  And so I went back to the store and got more of those delicious strawberries.  Made another roulade, this time with some lovely Crème Anglaise and this time my husband said the flavors were the spot on adaption of Strawberries Newport.  I encourage you to give it a try.  If you've never made a roulade, it's actually quite simple to prepare.  You might know it by it's other name:  Jelly Roll Cake. It's a wonderful, golden sponge cake that will highlight those ripe, juicy strawberries.  And if you've never been to OKC, then you can have a little taste of our Arts Festival right in your kitchen. 

An adaptation of Oklahoma's favorite festival dessert
from the annual Oklahoma City Art's Festival,
originally served at the Newport Restaurant.

Serve the cake slices with the
yummy Crème Anglaise

Doesn't this dessert look like Spring?
Can you believe the size of those strawberries?

"Strawberries Newport" Roulade
a little taste of our
Arts Festival right in your kitchen.  

"Strawberries Newport" Roulade

An adaptation of Oklahoma's favorite festival dessert from the annual Oklahoma City Art's Festival, originally served at the Newport Restaurant.

Inspired by: That Skinny Chick Can BakeFor the cake:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 eggs, separated
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the filling:

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pound fresh strawberries

For the Crème Anglaise:


1/2 vanilla bean, split
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 egg yolks


To make the roulade, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a 12x17-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper.  Sift the flour, cornstarch and salt onto a piece of parchment paper and set aside.  Put the egg whites into a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip the whites until they are just starting to hold their shape.  Slowly pour in the sugar and beat on high speed for another couple of minutes until the meringue is very firm and the whites are thick and glossy.

Put the yolks into a separate bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and whisk until smooth.  Whisk about 1/4 of the meringue into the yolks.  Scrape the yolk mixture into the bowl with the meringue and put the sifted dry ingredients on top.  Gently fold all of the ingredients together, but do not over mix.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Tap the pan gently on the counter once to release any large air bubbles.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the sponge is puffed and golden.  Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack.  Lay a clean kitchen towel flat on the counter and dust it with powdered sugar.  Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake.  Invert the cake onto the sugared cloth and carefully peel away the parchment paper.  Begin at one end of the cake and roll up in the towel.  Keeping it rolled up in the towel, set aside and allow to cool.

Put the mascarpone cheese in a bowl and sift the powdered sugar over it.  Stir the two together then add the vanilla.  Do not over mix.  Place the heavy whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip until it holds firm peaks.  Stir a quarter of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the rest. 

To assemble the cake, gently unroll it.  Spread the mascarpone filling evenly over the cake, within about an inch of the edges.  Evenly place the sliced strawberries over the filling.  Carefully roll the cake up so that the seam is on the bottom.  Trim off both ends with a serrated knife.  Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.  Dust generously with powdered sugar before slicing.  Serve each slice with Crème Anglaise.

To make the  Crème Anglaise, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into a medium saucepan.  Add the pod, cream, milk and half the sugar.  Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Be patient, this will take time to reach a simmer.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until they have thickened and lightened to a pale yellow.  Whisk one third of the hot cream mixture into the yolks to temper them.  Add the yolk mixture to the saucepan.  Stir with a wooden spoon over low heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.  Pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve straining into a bowl.  Set the bowl into an ice-water bath to cool  When the custard is cool, cover and place in refrigerator to chill.