Tokyo Banana Cake Roll with Fresh Cream

Subtly sweet and exceptionally fluffy banana cake roll inspired by Japan's iconic Tokyo Banana dessert reimagined with fresh banana whipped cream, Unique and delicious!

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This banana cake roll was inspired by the iconic Japanese dessert: Tokyo Banana. My first time trying it was 10 years ago when I received a box as a souvenir. I was quite amused the cute banana shape of the Twinkie-sized cakes. I liked the soft cake texture and delicious banana flavor. However, I didn't expect the filling inside to have a somewhat gel-like consistency. In the back of my mind, I thought a whipped cream would have been really nice but understood the limitations of a baked good that needed to be stored at room temperature for weeks at a time. So today I am excited to share my reimagined version of Tokyo Banana Cake with a fresh banana whipped cream.

Enjoy!
Xoxo, Mimi

What You'll Love This Recipe

• Delicious - balanced banana flavors and moderately sweet.
• Fluffy - Japanese style chiffon cake body is soft and fluffy
• No Cracks - cake body is flexible for rolling without cracks
• Unique flavor - a crowd pleasing flavor that is not commonly found in the stores

What Does This Banana Cake Taste Like?

This banana cake roll is composed of a moderately sweet banana chiffon cake base rolled together with fresh banana whipped cream. Chiffon cake is a type of foam cake, famous for its fluffy texture. It is best paired with lighter frostings like the fresh banana whipped cream used here. The absence of butter and the presence of a moderate amount of sugar in both the cake base and filling results in a light and airy dessert like the ones in the Japanese bakeries. It has a similar flavor profile to Tokyo Banana cakes but texture-wise, it has the bonuses of baking fresh: a fluffier cake base and fresh whipped cream.

Preparing the Ingredients & Substitutions

Wet Ingredients for Cake Batter

• Banana - should be ripe (for sweetness) and finely mashed.
• Granulated Sugar - this first set of sugar is added into the wet ingredients to help add moisture and to break up the grains in the dry mix
• Egg yolks - tenderizes the cake. Use large size.
• Neutral oil - neutral tasting oils like canola, vegetable, grapeseed or avocado are all good choices.
• Vanilla extract - rounds out the flavors. Since vanilla is not the main flavor, feel free to use an artificial kind to save costs as pure vanilla can be quite pricey.

Dry Ingredients for Cake Batter

• Cake flour - a low protein flour which will help make this cake softer than if using AP flour. It usually has a protein content between 6-8% while pastry flour, also a lower protein flour, has a protein content between 8-9%. Grocery stores usually sell a combination of cake and pastry flour at 7-9% protein. It can be substituted with all-purpose flour but the cake will be a little tougher than if using cake flour.
• Baking Powder - leavening agent to help the cake rise in case there is any weaknesses in the batter.
• Fine Sea salt - used to highlight the flavors in the cake.

Meringue for Cake Batter

• Egg whites - from large eggs. Room temperature ones will whip to volume better. Soak cold eggs in warm water to bring to room temperature quickly.
• Cream of tartar - is an acid that helps to stabilize the meringue. It can be substituted with double the amount of lemon juice or vinegar. You can skip it if you're careful with the whipping.
• Granulated sugar - adds sweet taste and structure to the meringue.

Fresh Banana Cream

• Gelatin powder - stabilizes the cream to provide more stability, especially with the added bananas. Use only the unflavored kind. I prefer Knox gelatin.
• Heavy cream - is a cream with a minimum milk fat content of 36% and above. Heavy cream produces a very stable cream but can be substituted with whipping cream with a milk fat content between 30-35%. Cream must be chilled for it to whip properly.
• Granulated sugar - adds sweetness.
• Vanilla extract - use either pure or artificial.
• Banana - should be ripe (for sweetness) and finely mashed.

Which Pan Size Should I Use?

8X12" cake pan without sloped sides. This size will yield a cake with optimal thickness for rolling without cracks. If you don't have this pan size you can consider making it in cup form as per this recipe: Japanese Peach Cake in a Cup. It will also show you how to bake this cake in any sized pan.

Tips for A Perfect Banana Cake Roll

• Use ripe bananas (with black spots) for the best banana flavor.
• A strong and healthy meringue (whipped egg whites with sugar) is needed to act as one of the leavening agents in this cake. Egg whites should be whipped in a clean and dry non-plastic bowl since plastic tends to trap oil. Egg whites don't whip well in the presence of oil and water. To further remove oils, use a paper towel and wipe down the mixing bowl with lemon or vinegar before you start.
• Carefully separate the egg whites and yolks when the eggs are cold. Make sure no yolks are present in the egg whites. An egg separator can come in handy.
• Bring the egg whites to a stiff peak. This is characterized by egg whites that have a beak that points upwards (instead of slumped over) when the whisk is pulled out.
• Once the liquid is introduced to the flour, do not over mix. This will produce more gluten, making the cake less tender.
• Use a gentle folding movement with a spatula to incorporate the meringue into the wet flour mixture. Do not stir, this will prevent the air in the meringue from deflating.
• Add more cream along the short edge of the cake which is to be rolled first. This will prevent the cake from cracking due to large gaps in between the folds. These angled spatulas will come in handy for even frosting any time of cake. Instead of putting your hands directly onto the cake, use the parchment paper to push the cake onto itself as you roll.
• Fold gently and do not worry too much about rolling the cake very tightly. As long as the cream is spread out evenly (with a bit more along the short edge as per above), the amount of cream in this recipe will allow the sheet cake to hold up without cracking due to large gaps.
• Chill the bowl, beaters and whipped cream for optimal whipping volume. They should all be be very cold. Whipping in a stainless steel bowl placed on top of a bed of ice will help keep things nice and cool on a hot day.

Step By Step

Line a 8 X 12" rectangular cake pan with parchment paper or silicone mat. Preheat oven to 325 F. In a small bowl, combine all the "wet" ingredients together with a whisk and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift in dry ingredients. Stir to disperse ingredients evenly. Create a well in the center. Inside it, add all the "wet" ingredients.

Stir until just combined, do not over mix as it will result in a tough cake. Set aside. Now make the meringue. In a clean and dry, non-plastic mixing bowl, whip egg whites on slow speed until frothy, add cream of tartar.

Increase speed to medium, once the whites become opaque and bubble size have decreased, add the sugar a little bit at a time. Increase speed to med-high, whip until stiff peaks.

Gently fold ⅓ of the meringue into the banana-flour mixture to get it moving. Once incorporated, fold in the rest of the meringue. Do not stir. Use batter immediately. 

Pour batter into lined cake pan from one spot, spread out the batter evenly with an angled spatula. Tap the pan on the counter to release large air pockets. Bake for 10-12 min. at 325 F until a skewer pulls out clean and cake springs back in the center. Let cool inside pan for 5 min.

Place cooling rack over cake pan. Flip cake over onto the rack, gently remove paper. The side facing up will eventually become the top of the cake roll. Let it sit on cooling rack while preparing the fresh banana cream. (Step by Step photos on how to stabilize whipped cream with gelatin can be found here. Just fold in the mashed bananas after.)

Gently flip the cake onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and spread an even layer of fresh cream on it. Place whole banana ⅓ of the way into the cake from the short end where you will begin to roll.

Carefully roll up the cake using the parchment paper to help push the cake onto itself. Wrap with plastic wrap to keep the shape round. You can do this a few times, each time pulling the plastic wrap a little tighter to make a rounder roll. Place in refrigerator to set before cutting. Unwrap assembled cake. Before serving, cut off sides for a cleaner presentation. Banana cake roll should be kept in the fridge in an air tight container and will stay fresh for 2-3 days.

Do I Need to Stabilize the Banana Cream?

I highly recommend stabilizing the fresh banana cream with some gelatin because it can become a bit soft after the addition of the fresh bananas. Once stabilized the cake roll will be less saggy and will retain it's round shape better. But if you're not too picky about how it looks, you can skip it. Try to use heavy cream instead of whipping cream to compensate, it produces a more stable whipped cream. If you need further guidance on stabilizing the cream, please read my post on How to Stabilize Whipped Cream with Gelatin.

How Can I Make Other Cake Roll Flavors?

There are many ways to adapt this type of chiffon cake roll to make other flavors. You can either change up the cake base flavor or pair it with a different filling to make your own combo. Here are some other recipes I wrote in this fluffy cake roll series: strawberry cake roll with fresh cream, chocolate cake roll, coffee cake roll with kahlua cream, carrot cake roll with mascarpone cream, matcha cake roll with adzuki bean cream, Earl Grey tea cake roll, gingerbread cheesecake roll, pumpkin cheesecake roll, and cotton candy cake roll.

You can even turn these cake rolls into works of art by making special designs on them like: bear cheesecake roll, fancy pattern cake roll, tiger cat cake roll and silent night pattern cake roll, gingerbread man printed cake roll.

How Do I Store and Make in Advance?

Banana cake roll should be kept in the fridge in an air tight container, it will stay fresh for 2-3 days. Because it contains whipped cream, it does not freeze/defrost well. Making the cake fresh will yield the best results. If advance preparation is required, I recommend refrigerating/freezing only the cake portion as a sheet and defrost overnight in the fridge. Once defrosted, make the whipped cream and then assemble.

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