Swiss roll is one of those desserts that looks amazing and we cannot wait to eat! On the good side is that it can be easily modified and different versions created as with any other sponge cake. On the other side though - is not too easy to make - I am not going to mislead you. It is a technical piece of work but once you take a hold of some small tricky parts you can experiment with other versions and impress your family!
In this post I will explain how to do a basic vanilla sponge I like for my swiss roll as it is very easy to make and to work with afterwards, and on top of that it it remains soft and moist.
As for the filling, I will also show you a very basic cream cheese and butter mix that holds well and is - again - very easy to make:)
The secret of a good swiss roll lays in the very thin sponge - so it can roll several times and you can clearly see a spiral when you cut it.
If you have any problems, please watch the video - it just takes a bit of patience to do the spreading and the rest is quick:)
Let's bake!
Ingredients
For the sponge
140g flour
140g confectioner sugar
120g melted butter
2 eggs separated
40g sour cream/ creme fresh
70g milk
1g soda
3g baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the filling
300g cream cheese (Philadelphia style)
100g softened butter
1 tablespoon icing sugar
Raspberries cut in halves
For decoration
Whipped cream (with sugar and vanilla extract)
Raspberries
Chopped pistachios
Tools
Mixer
Hand whisk
sifter
spatula
baking form
parchment paper/ baking paper
oven
Method
Heat the oven to 160oC with top and bottom heat.
Put the egg yolks, cream, milk, butter and vanilla extract into the bowl and whisk to combine.
Place a sifter on the bowl with wet ingredients and put all dry ingredients into it (flour, sugar, soda, baking powder). Sift the dry ingredients straight to the wet ones.
Whisk both together until just combined and no dry ingredients are visible.
Whip the egg whites with a mixer until stiff peaks - when you tilt the bowl - or put it upside down they should remain in place.
Put 1/3 of the egg whites to the other mixture and gently combine - we do not want to deflate the egg whites. Then add another 1/3 and do the same. Lastly add the remaining egg whites and repeat the folding process.
Prepare your baking form by placing a baking paper on the bottom.
Pour the sponge batter into the baking form and spread with spatula very thinly and evenly. you need to be careful as the paper on the bottom might move.
When ready, put the baking form into the heated oven and bake for 15 minutes. It should not brown too much.
After removing the sponge from the oven you need to quite quickly take it out off the form and place it upside down on the cloth or silicone mat. Take the paper from the bottom of the sponge away. Put the paper back on the sponge and you might want to use another piece of paper on the other side of the sponge so it does not stick to anything while rolled. With two papers on both sides of the sponge roll it very gently and carefully. The hot sponge is easy to roll and it holds its new form when it cools down - so it does not crack too much when rolling. When rolled, set it aside to cool down for around 15 minutes.
Prepare the filling. Put the softened butter, sugar and cream cheese into a bowl and mix well. Ready!
When the sponge cooled down, roll it out on the flat surface and cut off around 1 cm from each edge as this part is always a bit crispy and will crack when rolled creating an uneven roll. Spread the filling on top. The cream layer should be the same thickness as the sponge - for a good end result. Place some raspberries on top of the filling.
Roll the sponge starting from the same side as it was rolled before. Try to make quite a tight first fold.
When rolled cut off both edges of the roll - for presentation purposes.
Decorate with whipped cream, raspberries and chopped pistachios. You can also sprinkle some icing sugar on top.
Enjoy!
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