Ladyfinger Cranberry Cake Roll – Easy, No-Bake Holiday Dessert
This No-Bake Ladyfinger Cranberry Cake Roll is one of those winter desserts that feels almost too easy for how beautiful it turns out. It’s light, festive, and honestly, every time I make it, people think I spent hours in the kitchen. But the secret is that it comes together with zero baking and just a little assembly magic.
Ingredients
- 40 ladyfingers
- milk , for dipping the ladyfingers
Cranberry Sauce
- 10 oz (300g) cranberries , fresh or frozen
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice
Cream Cheese Filling
- 9 oz (250g) cream cheese , room temperature
- 1/2 cup (60g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cup (400g) whipping cream , chilled
For Decorating
- sugar coated red currants or cranberries
- sugar coated rosemary sprigs
- shredded coconut
Instructions
Prepare the cranberry sauce.
- In a small saucepan add cranberries, sugar and lemon juice.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool down until ready to use.
Prepare the cream cheese filling.
- In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
- Add the whipping cream.
- Continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
Assemble the cake roll.
- Dip each ladyfinger in milk, then lay it onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Keep going until you’ve formed a rectangle with 40 ladyfingers, about 10 rows of 4, all lined up horizontally.
- Spoon about half of the cream cheese filling over the ladyfingers, dropping it in small heaps from place to place.
- Use an offset spatula to gently spread it into an even layer.
- Next, spoon the cranberry sauce over the filling, again placing it in small dollops.
- Spread it as evenly as you can, but try not to mix it into the cream cheese layer.
- Starting from the long side of the rectangle, carefully roll the cake up, using the parchment paper to help guide it.
- Refrigerate the roll for about 2 hours so it can firm up.
- Once chilled, spoon the remaining cream cheese frosting all over the outside of the roll.
- Spread it evenly.
- Cut the edges and transfer to a serving plate.
- Sprinkle shredded coconut and decorate the cake roll with sugar-coated cranberries or red currants.
- Finish with a few sprigs of sugar-coated fresh rosemary for a beautiful festive touch.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving out of 10Calories: 365kcalCarbohydrates: 42.79gProtein: 7.97gFat: 18.52gSaturated Fat: 10.36gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 196mgPotassium: 164mgFiber: 1.7gSugar: 14.12gVitamin A: 776IUVitamin C: 4.5mgCalcium: 89mgIron: 1.96mg