Bear Pattern Swiss Roll with Cheesecake Filling

A cute bear pattern cake roll filled with a delicious cheesecake filling made in the Japanese bakery style. Stunning and delicious!

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This cute bear cake roll with delicious cheesecake filling builds upon the techniques from my Fancy Pattern Cake Roll. This recipe uses the same snowy white yolk-less cake base that's flexible for rolling without cracking. After rolling an extra step is taken to paint on finer details in the bear's face instead of doing it in the piping phase, thereby, eliminating the risk of fine details that don't turn out after baking. This helps to elevate its appearance and gives you more flexibility on pattern cake roll design. I hope you'll give it a try, the results are well worth it!

Xoxo, Mimi

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Pattern paste is stretchy making it easy to roll
• Flexible cake base prevents cracking
• White cake base uses no yolks - perfect for adding colors
• Extra painting step after baking allows for finer details on cake
• Stabilized cheesecake filling is delicious and keeps cake round

How to Prepare Ingredients & Substitutions

Pattern Paste

• Gel color - is a potent form of food coloring that won't add additional moisture to your baked goods. I usually use this brand.

Dry Ingredients for Cake

• 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.
• Sea salt - provides a nice contrast to the sweet taste in the cake and brings out the flavors. Use half the amount if using table salt.

Wet Ingredients for Cake

• Whole fat milk - can be substituted with 2%, 1%
• Vegetable oil - neutral tasting oils like canola, grapeseed and avocado are all good choices.
• Granulated sugar - this first set of sugar is added into the wet ingredients to help add moisture and break up the grains when the dry ingredients are added.
• Vanilla extract - adds flavor to the cake, this can be substituted with other flavors of extract.

Meringue for Cake

• Egg whites - from large eggs. Egg whites whip better at room temperature so keep it out on the counter for about half hour before whipping.
• 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.
• Granulated sugar - adds stability to the meringue and tenderizes the cake.
• Gel color - gel colors are a potent form of food coloring that doesn't add excess moisture when added to baked goods.

Stabilized Cheesecake Filling

• Gelatin powder - use only the unflavored kind. I prefer Knox gelatin.
• Cream cheese - use the full-fat brick type as cream cheese in a tub is too soft for use in this cake. It must be COLD.
• Sour cream - gives this cheesecake filling its traditional tartness
• Heavy cream - is a cream with a minimum milk fat content of 36% and above. Whipping cream has milk fat content of 30-35%. Even with just a small percentage change, heavy cream yields a more stable whipped cream and is preferable in this recipe. Whipping cream can be used but the frosting will have slightly less structure. Cream must be chilled*
• Granulated sugar - adds sweetness. Use only 20 grams if you prefer a more tart cheesecake taste.
• Vanilla extract - use either pure or artificial.
• Lemon juice - is a concentrated way to add tang to traditional cheesecake without compromising its structure.

How To Make a Beautiful Bear Pattern with Cake Batter

This recipe doesn't use a separate "thicker" paste for the bear pattern, we use a near similar cake batter throughout the entire cake. This makes the cake easier to roll and less prone to cracking. Here are some tips on making the pattern roll without a thick paste:

• To prevent cracking, use a proper cake roll recipe. Not all cake recipes are meant for rolling because the cake base is not flexible enough. I've tested this recipe many times with various designs and it works!
• After baking, there is no need to roll up this cake for "muscle memory". You can let it cool down on the wire rack while making the cream. Assembling it right away with the cream eliminates the amount of times the cake is handled.
• To help the design stay in place without the need for a thicker pattern paste, pipe the colored cake batter onto a silicone mat instead of on parchment. The Silpat toaster-sized silicone mat fits perfectly into my 8x12" cake pan.
• Optional: To further set small details, the design portion can be chilled before pouring the rest of the batter and baking. Take the silicone mat with the piped design and place it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until the batter no longer transfers to your fingers when you touch it.

Step By Step - Pattern Paste for Bear

Print out desired cake roll templates from post. Determine how much pattern paste you need. (For example, you can halve the pattern paste ingredients if you are using 2 colors or less.) In a small bowl, combine sugar, milk and oil together. Sift in flour, stir until combined.

In a mixing bowl, whip sugar and egg whites together until stiff peaks form. Gently fold meringue into the wet flour mixture until just incorporated. Don't overdo it as you can fold a bit more later.

Split the pattern paste into separate bowls and add desired color. Gently fold again to incorporate color. Transfer into piping bags and pipe desired design onto silicone mats with templates placed underneath as guide. Discard leftover pattern paste. 5-10 minutes before pouring cake base over design, place it in the freezer to set small details.

Step By Step - Fluffy Cake Base

Preheat oven to 325F. In a small bowl, combine all the "wet" ingredients together with a whisk and set aside (this includes first portion of sugar). In a large mixing bowl, sift in dry mix. Stir to combine. Create a well in the center. Inside it, add all the "wet" ingredients.

Combine until just incorporated, do not over mix as it will result in a tough cake. Set this flour mixture aside. 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 tightened up, add the second portion of sugar a little bit at a time. Increase speed to med-high, add gel color and keep whipping until stiff peaks have been reached. You've now made a meringue.

Gently fold the meringue into the wet flour mixture in three additions. Take the silicone mat out of the freezer and place into cake pan. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #10 round tip with some of the cake base. Pipe the batter onto the mat around the design. This eliminates any gaps between the design and main batter. Tap the tray on the counter to help settle the batter. Gently pour the rest of the cake batter into the cake pan over the design, 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 in pan for 5 min. Place cooling rack over cake pan. Flip cake over onto the rack, gently remove paper or mat. The side facing up will eventually become the top of the cake roll. Let it sit on cooling rack while making the stabilized whipped cream. Spread the filling onto the pattern cake with a bit of extra on the side that is to be rolled first.

Carefully roll up the cake from the short edge using the parchment paper to help push the cake onto itself. For a rounder shape, wrap with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to set before painting and cutting, about 3-4 hours. Before serving, cut off sides for a cleaner presentation. If desired, draw in bear's face with an edible pen or a brush dipped in gel color mixed with some water (to prevent bleed, do this on the same day of serving). Cake roll can be kept in the fridge in an air tight container for 2-3 days.

How to Paint on Cake Roll

Painting should be done after the cake has had a chance to "set" in the fridge. This cheesecake filling takes about 3-4 hours to firm up once chilled. If you try to paint on the cake or cut it right after rolling, it might be too soft to handle. You also won't get the clean cuts you see in these photos.

To paint, mix some gel food color with water and use a very fine paint brush to paint on the outline, eyes and nose of the bear. I achieved the best results from using a much finer brush with only a few tiny hairs on it. I dabbed the color on using small brush strokes applied with gentle pressure. Lastly, I recommend painting the cake on the same day you serve it to prevent bleed over time.

Bear Cake Roll Template

How to Make Cake Rolls in Different Flavors

The easiest way to change the flavor is to roll the cake with a different flavored filling. The cake base itself can be modified but will require some experimentation. Here are other recipes from my cake roll collection which can help provide guidance: Matcha green tea cake roll, coffee cake roll, Earl Grey tea cake roll, chocolate cake roll, cotton candy cake roll, strawberry vanilla cake roll, gingerbread spice cake roll, pumpkin spice cake roll and carrot spice cake roll. Lastly, if you like Asian-inspired cakes like this one, you might also like this easy frosting-less sponge-y Chinese paper wrapped cupcake.

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