About a  year ago, I made this very same cake….only for my dad to eat the whole goddamn thing before I could decorate or even photograph it. So you can imagine that the salt was real. Flashforward a year, and I decided to give it another go. Only this time, I made sure to finish making the cake before my dad go to it, and I also did the roll a little differently. I wanted to go for a cake that had that perfect, or near perfect, or at least good enough so that you know what I’m going for, round of cream in the center. Granted, in my cake, I probably should have done half the cake and that would have been the perfect ratio, but at least the cake doesn’t taste bad. It’s a chiffon cake, and those are honestly everyone’s favorite because of how light it is in texture!

For the cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil
juice and zest from 1 lemon
3 egg yolks
6 egg whites
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip egg whites with 1/2 cup of sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until stiff. Whip the lemon juice, zest, egg yolks, and the rest of the sugar. Slowly add in the oil to the egg yolks and continue whipping until doubled in volume. Sift flour. Fold everything together. Divide the batter into two lined shallow baking trays (1/3 into one and 2/3rd into the other) and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Roll the 2/3rd batter cake into a roll along its length side, while crumble up the remaining 1/3rd batter cake and toast in the oven for another 10 minutes with 1 teaspoon turmeric, 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest.

For the curd:
8 oz mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
juice and zest from 4 lemons
1 packet gelatin powder + 3 tablespoons water
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
a pinch of salt

Whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, salt, and sugar. Reduce lemon juice and zest with the bloomed gelatin. Once the gelatin is fully melted in, temper the egg yolks and then whisk over medium-high heat until the curd reaches the consistency of pudding. Whisk in the butter, off heat. Pass through a strainer and whisk in the mascarpone cheese. Allow the mixture to set in the refrigerator, pressed with cling film, fully before assembly (this will take up to 30 minutes, depending on how flat of a vessel you use).

For the mirror glaze:
8 oz white chocolate
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 packets of gelatin powder + 1/4 cup water
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine bloomed gelatin, water, lemon juice and zest, and salt. Bring to a simmer. Strain over the white chocolate and allow that to sit for a minute. Slowly mix until the lumps are dissolved, add in the vanilla, and pass through a sieve again. Keep at 90 degrees F for assembly.

To assemble:
Transfer 1/4 cup of the curd into a piping bag. Gently unroll your cake and generously spread the rest of the curd inside. Re-roll the cake, making sure that only the ends touch. Freeze for 1 hour. Place on an icing rack and glaze. Transfer to another surface. Garnish the sides with the cooled crumble. Once the glaze has set, pipe on the remaining curd on top of the cake.