Swiss Roll

I've had a great fear of making a swiss roll, for the longest time. So read umpteen recipes of it, watched videos of it being made and told myself I can make one, but somehow never went on to make one, until one day I saw Rachael Allen make it. She's got a way of making things look really simple and it works. I finally decided to try it out and guess what...... it turned out great for a first attempt. In fact Im more than willing to make it over and over again. I think its a really simple, fail proof recipe. There is nothing to fear, its simple and it makes a great cake, if you can call it one. I used raspberry jam for the filling. How I wish there were some fresh strawberries around. Would've been perfect. You can try it out with different fruits I guess, Blueberries, strawberries, mangoes. Whatever is in season.

It took harldly any time to make this one and just a few ingredients and some butter and icing sugar in hand to make sure, everything went smootlhy while doing the rock and ROLL. .

Here is what you'll need

125 gms icing sugar plus extra for dusting

125 gms flour plus extra for dusting

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp warm water

and for the filling,

Fresh cream

Icing sugar as needed

Raspberry jam or any fruit you'd like

Line a sheet tray with baking paper and dust the sides with some butter and flour. If you don't have a sheet tray use the widest baking pan you have, rectangular or square for sure. .

Preheat your over to 190 C. Yes its 190 and not the usual 180. . I checked.

Whisk the eggs with the icing sugar till pale, for about 5 mins on high speed, using an electric beater. Its going to look like this when its done.

Looks a bit like whipped cream doesn't it.

Add the vanilla essence and the warm water and whisk again for a minute. Time to say bye to the beater and hello to the spatula. Here comes the great art of folding in the flour, which is really important to keep the cake light and fluffly I'm guessing.  Fold in the flour till just incorporated and pour into the baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven for about 15 mins.

You can check it  the cake is done  with the age old toothpick comes out clean method, and also you'll see the cake begins to leave the sides of the pan. .

While that cake is baking in your oven, quickly whip the cream and sugar. Remember not to make the cream extra sweet beacuse you're going to add jam to the roll. . When the cream is ready , toss it into the fridge and wait for the cake to be done.

When the cake is done, turn it onto a sheet of butter paper that has been liberally dusted with icing sugar. This will ensure the cake doesn't stick to it, and will help you roll the cake smoothly. Let the cake cool a bit.  I took my dog for a walk while I let the cake cool. A watched kettle seldom boils... Youve heard that haven't you. Its true, especially in the world of baking, where patience is a much needed virtue. 

Anyways when the cake has cooled, spread out a layer of cream on the cake, followed by a layer of the jam. I kept the jam out for a while and stirred it around, so it would be easier to spread on the cream. Put a very thin layer of the cream. Putting too much will cause it all to spill out, ask me, I know. . Make sure the roll less than an inch , otherwise it would be difficult to roll. If the cake is above an inch, cut into half using a serrated knife. I did that, so it left me with two rolls. . YAY!!!

Using the  butter paper thats below the cake, roll the cake, it'll stick into a roll, because of the filling.

and there you have it, a great swiss roll. . . Here's a link that can help. Its a different recipe, but see how he rolls the cake.

So are you willing to try it out. . I think you should. You'll be proud of how well you'll pull it off. I sure was. . .