Gingerbread Roll with Eggnog Whipped Cream

The Holiday season is here, with Hanukkah coming up next week and Christmas soon following. Here we're breaking out a theme most revelers get behind: gingerbread. This looks like a gigantic Hostess Ho Ho [Ed. note: DID SOMEONE SAY HOSTESS HO HO], and may initially appear imposing, but it's actually very light and fluffy, with a beautiful hint of gingerbread spice.

Now it has come to my attention from certain people [Ed. note: umm <whistling>] that some of you might want to make this more of an "adult" dessert and put a dash of bourbon or rum into the eggnog filling. Honestly, I would advise against putting more liquid into the filling; the main reason I added mascarpone cheese was to make the filling more stable. Adding more liquid could make this a bit of a messier proposition. Of course, if you want to have a drink (like a bourbon or hot toddy) with the cake, by all means do. 

[Ed. note: Don't call this a "log" for cheap comedic effect don't call this a "log" for cheap comedic effect don't call this a "log"...]

Happy Holidays! More confections to come!

Adapted from: Crazy for Crust
Number of servings: 8-10

Ingredients
Cake

• 3 eggs
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup no sugar added applesauce
• ½ cup molasses
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• ½ teaspoon salt

Filling

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 4 oz mascarpone cheese
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons eggnog

Directions

1. Line a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan with parchment (for easy removal). Brush it with melted butter.
2. Beat eggs at high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar, applesauce, and molasses.
3. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and salt. Add to other mixture. Spread into pan.
4. Bake at 350 °F for 10-12 minutes. To make sure the cake is done, a toothpick should come out completely clean. For cake rolls, better to err on the side of overdone, which makes them roll easier.
5. Turn out immediately onto a kitchen towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Starting at the narrow end, roll towel and cake together. Cool completely. The cake is sticky, soft, and spongey, and it might come off a little on your fingers, but that’s okay. Cooling will take at least 2 hours. You can make it a day ahead, just wrap the cooled cake with plastic wrap overnight.
6. In a stand mixer or with hand-held beaters, beat mascarpone until light and smooth. Add cold heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add eggnog 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip.
7. Once cake is cool, carefully unroll it. It might leave a little mess on the towel, but that’s okay, as long as you can peel it off. Spread about half the whipped cream over the top of the cake, leaving an edge at the end. Starting at the narrow end, re-roll the cake. As you roll it the filling will shift a little and you may need to remove some if you’ve put too much on the cake. That’s okay, just have a knife handy to scrape off any excess.
8. Wrap cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Place cake on serving plate and top with some of the remaining whipped cream and dust with cinnamon.