Wait, come back! No matter how charming Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood made them look on that early episode of Great British Bake Off, I know how most of us feel actually feel about making rolled cakes, which is that they’re the worst: pesky with separated eggs, fragile, cracking, prone to failure, causing foul language to leave the mouth of the person cooking. (“You owe me a quarter, mom.” “Not if you want cake.” is a conversation that might or might not happen around here on Passover.) But this one is different. With flour and cocoa inside, plus an additional egg, it’s stretchier and softer, and it doesn’t fight you so much when you want to roll, unroll it, and then reroll it. And you want to do all of these things because this is one of the prettiest ice cream cakes I’ve ever made, and much easier and faster than it looks.

This is one of those old-school recipes I’d seen bouncing around for years and studiously avoided due to an inherent and well-earned distrust of rolled cakes. But then it showed up in a new book this spring, The Vintage Baker*, there as a holiday-ready peppermint cake roll, and I couldn’t resist any longer. I love this story behind this book, which is that one day a decade ago, Jessie Sheehan, then a baker at the new Baked bakery in Red Hook, went into an antique/junk shop with her not-exactly-patient toddler in a stroller that didn’t exactly fit in the narrow aisles, something I can relate to just a little bit. She spotted boxes filled with brightly colored antique recipe pamphlets, the kind that were once distributed by brands as a thank you for purchases but really were just brilliant marketing devices, since all the recipes called for that brand’s goods, and in a haste to leave, scooped up as many as she could carry. She ended up going back for more and more, amassing quite a collection, and the resulting baking she did — with flavor and ingredient tweaks for modern tastes — is assembled in this book. Butterscotch pecan curls, pull-apart cinnamon raisin pull-apart flake bread, sand tarts, sour cream jumbles, and cornflake macaroons, I want to make everything in it. But I think I started in the right place.

I took many liberties with the recipe. As written, it has a whipped cream filling and ganache topping. But it’s almost summer and I want ice cream, don’t you? I went to the store to find mint chocolate cookie (a flavor from the heavens, obviously) but came up with only cookies-and-cream. I decided to stick fully with the cookies-and-cream theme, swapping a little black cocoa powder (the “Oreo maker”) into the cake roll to get it extra dark. And I while skipped the ganache topping because it felt luxurious enough but if it was, like, your birthday, I’d definitely serve some hot fudge sauce and whipped cream on the side.

* I am no neutral observer of this book. If you spotted a very elaborate photo in my last cookbook for all of those one-bowl build-your-own party cakes, that was Jessie Sheehan who swooped in to help me bake, frost, and assemble them, saving the day. I got to preview this book over the winter and loved it so much, I blurbed it too.

Previously

One year ago: Tall, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes, Potatoes Anna, and Strawberry Graham Icebox Cake
Two years ago: Confetti Cookies, Roasted Carrots with Avocado and Yogurt, and Almond-Rhubarb Picnic Bars
Three years ago: Mushrooms and Greens with Toast, Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake, and Fake Shack Burger
Four years ago: Five Egg Sandwiches, and Soft Pretzel Buns and Knots
Five years ago: Japanese Cabbage and Vegetable Pancakes and Greek Salad with Lemon and Oregano, and Two Classic Sangrias
Six years ago: Warm Crisp and a Little Melty Salad Crouton, Chocolate Buckwheat Cake, and Vidalia Onion Soup with Wild Rice
Seven years ago: Leek Toasts with Blue Cheese, Vermontucky Lemonade, and Rhubarb Streusel Muffins
Eight years ago: Leek Bread Pudding, Oatmeal Pancakes, Spring Asparagus Pancetta Hash, and Pecan Cornmeal Butter Cake
Nine years ago: Endive and Celery Salad with Fennel Vinaigrette, Rhubarb Cobbler, and Broccoli Slaw
Ten years ago: Almond Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote, Cauliflower Bean and Feta Salad, Jim Lahey’s Pizza Bianca, and Brownie Roll-Out Cookies
Eleven years ago: Homemade Oreos and Cellophane Noodle Salad with Roast Pork

And for the other side of the world:
Six Months Ago: Bakery-Style Butter Cookies
1.5 Years Ago: Broken Pasta with Pork Ragu, Roasted Cauliflower with Pumpkin Seeds and Brown Butter, and Apple Strudel
2.5 Years Ago: Kale and Caramelized Onion Stuffing and Apple Cider Sangria
3.5 Years Ago: Smoked Whitefish Dip with Horseradish and Sticky Toffee Pudding
4.5 Years Ago: Spinach and Egg Pizzettes and Perfect, Uncluttered Chicken Stock