My Strawberry Swiss Roll

Cakes baked in a sheet pan are called Sponge Cake filled with any jam, or filled with plain or flavored whipped cream; and or chocolate ganache. This is also called a Swiss Roll or Jelly Roll. Lots of people get worried about making this sponge cake because of the fear of having cracked all over when rolling the filled layer. Actually I am one of those….

 

Because of my curiosity how this beautiful pinwheel design was made and created with filling, I get interested to try for myself. So far, this was my second attempt of making Swiss Roll. Not bad… The first time I’m making this roll cake was terribly horrifying!!! It was overcooked… I really had the hard time in rolling it up because it’s dry and crunchy! What’s funnier is that when you start eating it you can hear the crunchiness of the cake and it tastes like a Cinnamon bun...absolutely funny! That made me encouraged then and thought to make it perfectly again soon! Well, I’m just hoping that it would be perfect the next time around…And yes I’ve made it!!! Except for little cracks on some of the cake yet still thankful I managed to roll it up as nice as it can be.

 

What I have learned from making this roll cake is that you have to carefully pay attention on the details and follow exactly on how the instruction was given. It’s really very important especially for me as a beginner. So you guys out there challenge yourself and give it a try… Lets bake ‘en roll.!!!

 

Ingredients:

 

Batter

• 1/3 cup sifted cake flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ cup granulated white sugar (for the batter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 1 teaspoon lemon juice instead)
• 3 egg yolks (room temperature)
• 2 whole eggs (room temperature)

Meringue

• 2 egg whites (room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Filling

• ½ cup strawberry jam (you can have your own choice of jam or other filling you like)

Procedure for Strawberry Swiss Roll:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place oven rack in the center of the oven. Grease the Swiss Roll tray, line it with parchment paper then grease the lined parchment paper (you may also use spray with a nonstick vegetable/flour spray).
2.  Place the 3 egg yolks together with the 2 whole eggs in a bowl and 2 egg whites in another bowl. Cover the bowls with a plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature. (Tip: It’s easier to separate the egg yolks from the whites while they are cold). Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the flour and the cornstarch.
4. In your electric mixer, place the egg yolks, whole eggs and the sugar. Beat in high speed for about 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Beat in vanilla extract. Using a spatula sift in half of the flour mixture gently until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and continue mixing until well incorporated.
5. In a separate clean bowl of your electric mixer beat the egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating. Add slowly one tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff peaks form (this is how you make the meringue). Once the meringue is done, using a spatula gently fold it into the batter (the batter is the one you made in step #4) and then add the rest of the meringue until it is incorporated.
6. Pour the batter and spread evenly with a spatula or spoon into the prepared pan. Bake for about 6-8 minutes until golden brown and springy to touch. Remove the cake from the oven immediately do not over bake. Sprinkle the top of the cake with confectioners sugar (this helps protect the cake from sticking to the cloth when inverted). Place a clean damp dish cloth in your workplace (the cloth should be same in size of your Swiss Roll tray).  Invert the cake into the prepared dish cloth (top facing down). Remove the parchment paper, sprinkle again a confectioners sugar and roll up together with the cloth (damp dish cloth helps prevent the cake from cracking). Place the rolled cake on a wire rack to cool for about 10-15mins.
7. Once the cake is completely cooled, unroll it from the cloth then spread the base with the strawberry jam. Roll up the cake, transfer it to the plate, cover and place it in the fridge to chill. You can decorate it with confectioners’ sugar on top of the roll before serving and…. Your Swiss Roll is done!!! Slice and enjoy!

 

Makes 6 – 8 serving.