Lychee Rose Cake Roll

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Airy vanilla bean chiffon cake is brushed with lychee syrup and filled with lychee rose whipped cream and fresh raspberries. This lychee rose cake roll is perfect for Valentine’s Day or anytime a delicate, fruity, and light cake craving hits.

This cake has floral and sweet notes from the lychees and rose water. The tart, fresh raspberries bring out a pop of zing and freshness to balance out the other flavors.

The following recipe includes how to make a patterned cake. Check out the Christmas Swiss roll for a video tutorial. Note that you can leave off the pattern if you would rather have a naked cake roll look.

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Valentine’ Day

Grant and I have been together forever. And we are definitely the kind of people who have never and probably will never go out for Valentine’s Day. If I’m being honest, we hardly go out at all. We are the hermit homebody couple of St. Louis! But we do use holidays to open a really fine red wine and enjoy a special dessert I make for the occasion.

Grant loves cake. But he likes sponge cakes that are light, soft, tender and airy. He’s also very vanilla. So for special occasions that I’m showing my love through dessert, I tend to make vanilla bean chiffon cakes then add a flavor twist I’m currently loving. Or as my Great American baking buddy, Brother Andrew, says, I “Sarita it up”!

This vanilla bean sponge cake is so spongy and light with the beautiful flavor of pure vanilla bean. It serves as an incredible base for the lychee Rose whipped cream and fresh berries that fill it to love day perfection.

My other Valentines are of course Bea and a Tilly, who adore hearts and roses. So this Lychee Rose Cake Roll checks all the boxes for the ones I love the most.

Lychees

For anyone not familiar with lychees, they are an exotic fruit. They outer skin looks similar to large and hard raspberries and inside they have fleshy white fruit. The fruit reminds me of a juicy grape that has a floral, Rose like flavor with slight citrus undertones.

The first time I ever had lychees was in an unforgettable martini in 2010. The martini was that good that I will remember it forever.

In fact, I can taste it just writing this post. I know what I’ll be using my leftover lychee simple syrup for! And if you want that lychee martini recipe just send me a note.

Since lychee has a gentle touch of Rose flavor, adding rose water amplifies that. Together with vanilla bean, this is a romantic and fancy flavor combo you will love for Valentine’s Day or any occasion.

Cake instructions begin now, so read on or Jump to the recipe.

Heart Pattern

The first step to making this Lychee Rose Cake Roll is to get the pattern on parchment.

Grease a jelly roll pan. Then flatten parchment across the bottom, smoothing it along the sides of the pan.

Use a silicon spatula to smooth the softened butter in a small bowl. Then add the cake flour and powdered sugar and mix until a smooth paste forms.

Then separate an egg. Reserve the yolk for the cake by placing it in the bowl of the stand mixer you plan on using. Place egg white into the bowl of flour. Mix it until it is incorporated. Then use red gel food coloring and mix until smooth.

Put the paste into a piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip.

Then pipe out hearts and dots around the parchment paper as shown in the tree video.

Put the pan in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes while you work on the vanilla bean sponge cake.

Lychee Simple Syrup

I used fresh lychees for this Lychee Rose Cake Roll. However, feel free to use the canned ones! If you do this, just drain out the lychees and cook down the canned syrup for 10 minutes on medium low heat. Then reserve the lychees and finely chop up 6 of them for use in the whipped cream to follow.

If using fresh lychees, know that they do contain a big seed in the middle of the flesh! So beware of that and don’t bite into one after peeling!! Remove the inner seed first!

Peel lychees and remove the seeds inside. Finely chop them. In a saucepan set on medium heat add lychees with water and sugar. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the syrup. Then lower heat to medium low and allow syrup to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Once the syrup is room temperature drain to remove the lychee meat. Reserve the lychees for the filling.

Vanilla Bean Chiffon Cake

While your pattern is chilling get to work on the cake.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Use a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Separate 4 eggs. Place the yolks with the reserved yolk. Add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, vanilla bean paste, and salt to the bowl and begin whisking on medium high speed.

Allow the egg yolks to pale in color and double in volume.

Meanwhile, use a hand mixer to whip the egg whites in a large bowl. As it gets foamy, gradually add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Whip the egg whites until stiff and glossy. Set aside for a moment.

Into the yolk mixture, add a splash of milk, rose water, and canola oil. Once incorporated, stop the mixer.

Then gently fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Fold in the remaining egg whites.

Sift the cake flour over the batter. Gently fold in, being careful not to deflate the mixture.

Remove baking pan from fridge. Pour over the cake batter and use a cake spatula to smooth it gently.

Bake for 8-9 minutes.

While it’s baking get a clean dish towel and lay it out on the counter. Dust it completely with powdered sugar.

Lay parchment the size of the cake by it.

The pan will be hot once out of the oven so wear gloves. Turn the cake over onto the parchment. Peel back the part to reveal the pattern. Then flip the cake, pattern side down, onto the sugared towel. Then roll it up, using the towel. Roll the short end of the cake.

Cool completely, about 40 minutes.

Lychee Rose Whipped Cream

Use a clean mixer and whisk attachment. Add cold heavy cream and powdered sugar to the bowl. Begin mixing on medium low speed. As the mixture thickens add the rose water. Increase the speed. Whip the cream until stiff. Fold in the chopped lychees.

Assembling Cake roll

Unroll the cake. Then brush it generously with the lychee syrup. Spread over the lychee rose whipped cream. Sprinkle on fresh raspberries. For a clean look inside make sure to space them out evenly.

Then re-roll the cake. Dust lightly with powdered sugar, if desired.

Chill until ready to serve.

Thanks for making this Lychee Rose Cake Roll! For more free recipes follow me on Instagram.

And for more Valentine’s Day recipes, go to Chocolate Mousse, Passion Fruit Cheesecake Cups, Fig Walnut Tarts, or Gooseberry Elderflower Olive Oil Cake.