I love vertical roll cakes they are so easy to make!. (Trust me) It’s nice to have a cake that can be baked and put together with out too much fuss if you want a cake in a hurry.

I haven’t baked one for a while, then I saw the one linda lomelino from call me cupcake made recently and was inspired to bake my own.

I got a jar of lemon marmalade that i wanted to use and i spread it over the sponge then sprinkled fresh lilac flowers over the top before rolling it up.

But the filling possibilities are endless.

I used two goose eggs rather than four chicken eggs as i have been desperate to use them in a recipe . They are huge have you ever seen one? The recipe calls for four eggs so i used two goose eggs instead but feel free to use 4 normal hen eggs.

Here’s a goose egg next to a normal chicken egg.

My mum got them for me from a animal sanctuary that sell their eggs.

Recipe for sponge

2 goose eggs or 4 normal hen eggs

160g brown sugar or 150g caster sugar

150g plain flour

1 Earl grey tea bag

Lemon curd or marmalade

300ml double cream

5 tbsp icing sugar

Juice of half a lemon

Fresh lilac flowers

Preheat the oven to 180c 350f

grease and line two swiss roll tins.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the eggs and sugar and mix together until pale and thick (approx 5 minutes)

Empty out the contents of an earl grey tea bag and mix with the flour then tip in the flour 1/4 at a time and fold in gently.

Once combined separate between the two tins and tip the trays to spread the mixture to the corners. Don’t spread it out it will knock out the air.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes then tip out onto a sheet of baking paper dusted with icing sugar (i used lilac sugar) or tip onto the work top and gently peel off the paper.

Spread a thick layer or curd or marmalade onto each sponge and sprinkle over some lilac flowers cut into equal strips horizontally rather than diagonally. (As it is marmalade being spread on this can be done while the cake is still hot but if you want to use cream or buttercream then the sponge has to be cool so roll up one strip and let cool in a rolled position then unroll and spread on filling and roll up again)

Start with the first strip and roll up into a tight roll then get the next piece of sponge and place it where the last piece ended and continue rolling until all the strips are used and you are have large cake. (I made a small one as my tins are not very big)

Now let cool completely.

Whip the cream and icing sugar until thick (i added a little colour)

Then spread onto cake with a pallet knife and smooth out.

it is so easy to ice a cake like this at the edges are straight.

Decorate with more lilac flowers.