
Biscuit Roll
A thin sponge cake made tender with potato starch, rolled around a rich butter cream filling. The starch keeps the cake flexible enough to roll without cracking, and the crumb stays delicate even the next day.
Ingredients
- 160 gwheat flour
- 150 gsugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 tbsppotato starch
- 150 gbutter
- 75 gpowdered sugar
- 60 gcondensed milk
- 1 tspbrandy
- vanilla sugar
Method
- Beat the yolks with 3/4 of the sugar until smooth. In a separate clean bowl, beat the whites, then add the remaining 1/4 sugar and whisk to firm peaks.
- Fold 1/3 of the beaten whites into the yolks. Add flour mixed with potato starch, then fold in the rest of the whites until a homogeneous dough forms.
- Spread the batter on greased parchment paper in an 8 mm layer. Bake at 200-220°C for 10-15 minutes until golden and springy.
- Remove from oven, peel off paper and place on a cloth-covered table to cool.
- For the cream: Beat the butter, add vanilla sugar, brandy, powdered sugar and gradually pour in condensed milk while beating.
- Spread the layer with butter cream and roll into a log. Rest for at least 24 hours before slicing.

FAQ
It was overbaked (too dry) or you waited too long before rolling. Roll it immediately while still hot, together with the parchment paper, and leave it to cool in the rolled-up position — it will retain the shape.
Spread the batter with an offset spatula to an even 5–7 mm thickness. Use a standard baking sheet sized for your oven — if the batter spreads too thin it cracks, too thick it stays spongy.
Whipped cream, cream cheese frosting, or sour cream-based fillings hold their shape better than pastry cream, which can seep into the sponge. Jam or Nutella work well as a thin base layer.
Yes — wrapped tightly in plastic wrap it keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The sponge actually softens slightly overnight, which improves the texture.
The egg whites were not whipped stiff enough, or the flour was folded in too vigorously, deflating the foam. Add flour with a spatula using gentle folding motions from the bottom up.
Rate this
Recipes by email
One letter a week: a recipe picked for your taste, plus whatever is new on the site. Unsubscribe in one click.
Welcome gift: Sergei's cookbook (e-book).
By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.
Tell us what you like to cook (30 seconds) →Keep browsing
More dishes from the French archive — picked by overlap with what you're cooking now.



Join the conversation
Comments (1)
Oven thermometers don't lie — your oven dial probably does. I discovered my oven runs 15°C hot, which explained years of slightly overbaked results. For biscuit roll, the actual 220°C matters more than the dial position.