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¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 15 × 10-inch jelly roll pan, then line it with parchment paper; butter the paper and the pan’s sides.

Lay a large sheet of wax paper on the work surface. Sift the cocoa powder and flour together through a fine-mesh sieve and onto the paper. Gather together what you’ve sifted and do so again. Set the paper with the sifted mixture aside.

Place the egg whites and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer at high speed until soft peaks form under the beaters when they are turned off and lifted quickly out of the mixture, about 3 minutes. Set aside as well.

If you’re using a handheld mixer, clean and dry the beaters; if you’re using a stand mixer, remove the whisk and attach the paddle. Beat the egg yolks and sugar at medium speed in a second large bowl until this mixture is so thick, it will run off the beaters or paddle in wide ribbons that do not immediately dissolve back into the mixture, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla until smooth.

Scrape down the beaters and remove them. Fold in the cocoa mixture with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Then fold in the beaten egg whites in three batches, taking care not to deflate them, using long, even strokes.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it to the corners. Rap it a couple of times against the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.

Bake until spongy to the touch and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. You’ll need to work with it the moment’s it’s out of the oven. See the instructions for how to roll it below.

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How to Roll and Fill a Sponge Roll

What You’ll Need

A large, clean kitchen towel

Confectioners’ sugar

One Vanilla or Chocolate Sponge Roll Cake, just out of the oven

One of the seven fillings listed on section Cakes

What to Do

Generously dust a clean kitchen towel with confectioners’ sugar; the towel should be larger than the jelly roll pan.

Within 1 minute of the cake’s coming out of the oven, invert the still-hot pan onto the kitchen towel; then remove the pan, leaving the cake behind. Do not peel off the parchment paper. Starting at one of the long ends of the cake, roll it up in the towel, using the towel as a guide, getting the towel and the parchment paper inside the cake as you roll it up. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

Gently unroll the cake. Peel off the parchment paper; the towel will be under the cake.

Spread the filling of your choice on the top side of the cake, then roll it up again, enclosing the filling but this time leaving the towel behind.

To store: The filled cake can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days. If you’ve used an ice cream filling or other frozen dessert filling, wrap the roll in plastic and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months; allow it to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Seven Fillings for a Sponge Roll

I. Jam

Soften 1½ cups raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, or strawberry jam in a small saucepan over low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly

II. Softened Ice Cream

Soften 1 pint ice cream, gelato, sherbet, or sorbet at room temperature until spreadable, about 10 minutes.

III. Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

IV. Chocolate Whipped Cream

Make a half recipe.

V. Chocolate Mousse Frosting

Make a half recipe.

VI. Lemon Filling

2 large eggs plus 6 large egg yolks, at room temperature

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

1¼ cups lemon juice

Whisk all the ingredients together in the top half of a double boiler set over about 2 inches of simmering water or in a large bowl that fits snugly over a large pot with about the same amount of simmering water. Adjust the heat so the water simmers slowly. Continue whisking until thick, like lemon curd, about 18 minutes. Cool for at least 15 minutes before filling the sponge roll.

VII. Marshmallow