Un gâteau délicieux: French nut roll cake

I bought six bottles of French wine when we were out shopping on Saturday.
"What's the point of that?" Dave asked. "We're going to be in Paris in three weeks. You can drink all the French wine you want..."

Well, I'm in pre-vacation obsession mode right now, trying to remember my long-forgotten French vocabulary, studying maps of Paris and the Loire Valley, circling bistros in my Zagat's guide before our 10-day visit at the end of the month.

Last night we had dinner with our friends Marti and her Dave, who are going to France with us. Fortunately, Marti is in obsession mode too. She bought a copy for herself and a copy for me of a wonderful book, Paris Bistro Cooking, by Linda Dannenberg. The book features chapters about specific Paris bistros, with recipes from each and gorgeous photography. Our plan is to take the book along when we try out some of these bistros, and perhaps even ask the various chefs to autograph our books. (We're not buying into any stereotypes about the snooty French! Pas du tout!)

Last night Marti asked me to bring a dessert to dinner, and I decided to make something French, bien sur. (Again, Dave shook his head...) So I found a recipe in my recipe box that my friend Felicia, who had lived in Paris, wrote down for me many years ago. I remembered it was delicious when she made it, but I had never tried to make it until yesterday.

Oh la la. Il était délicieux. Not complicated to make, either.

French nut roll cake

Butter a jelly roll pan and line it with waxed paper. Butter the waxed paper well. Beat until thick six egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar. Mix in 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1-1/2 cup finely chopped pecans. Fold in six beaten egg whites. Spread in pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cover with damp towel and chill (at least two hours). Turn cake out on towel and remove waxed paper.

Whip until stiff 1-1/4 cup heavy cream with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. (I also added 1/4 cup cocoa powder.) Spread on cake, reserving about 1/2 cup. Roll lengthwise and chill.

(My cake cracked in a few places when I rolled it up, so I used the reserved whipped cream as a thin coating to hide those imperfections. I then sprinkled the cake with sifted powder sugar and a few more finely chopped pecans.)