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Birthday Dessert Problems

One my family's favorites for special occassions while I was growing up 
was always a strawberry jelly (cake) roll which my grandmother (and then 
my mother) loaded with a cream cheese/whipped cream/walnuts/strawberry 
mixture. For Easter I tried a de-fatted version with mixed reviews. The 
family members who REALLY wanted grandma's were disappointed... the 
family members who basically don't eat dessert anymore were delighted.

I used an angel food cake mix labelled no fat... I think most, if not 
all, angel food cake recipes are low or no fat.
Line a jelly roll pan with waxed paper and pour the cake mix into the pan.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 mins. The top of the cake should be golden and dry 
looking... may be a little cracked. 

Sprinkle a clean towel with confectioners' sugar. Invert the hot (I let 
it cool a little!) cake onto the towel. I'm always afraid the cake will 
break, so I spread the sugared towel over the cake & flip. Peel the waxed 
paper off of the bottom of the cake & roll the cake and the towel, 
starting at a short side, into a big log. Let cool completely. At Easter 
I was rushed, so I stuck the bundle into the freezer for about 15 mins... 
came out fine (don't let it freeze!).

Once the cake is cool, unroll it, spread with filling and roll it back 
up. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and garnish with something related 
to your filling :)

The filling is where you can be creative. Classic jelly rolls use just 
jelly. I think with a good jelly and a berry garnish it would be totally 
fat free. My family's traditional recipe is a tart creamy strawberry 
mixture with a nut crunch. I added fresh cut strawberries to low fat Cool 
Whip and then stirred in a few splashes of lemon juice and some crushed 
walnuts. A fruit sorbet, spread quickly and then frozen, would be great I 
think. Cherry pie filling inside with a drizzle of chocolate & a few 
cherries on top maybe? :) 

The thing I really enjoy about this is that they are SO pretty on the 
plate. I sprinkled the plate with conf. sugar and did a little fan of a 
sliced strawberry w/ a mint leaf, and then a slice of cake in the middle. 
You could also do warmed jam as a sort of sauce.
Sorry this is so long!!!!
- Marya 

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