Swiss roll is usually served as a dessert or snack and has become popular in many countries worldwide. The cake gets its name from its shape, which resembles a Swiss roll. It has a light, spongy texture that melts in your mouth, while the creamy filling adds an extra layer of sweetness.
Brief History and Origin
The origin of Swiss Roll can be traced back to the 18th century when it was first created by an Austrian chef named Franz Zauner. He called his creation “Gugelhupf,” which translates to “spiral cake” in German. The cake quickly spread throughout Europe and became especially popular in Switzerland, known as “Schweizer Rolle” or “Swiss Roll” for short.
Swiss Roll – The Recipe
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 10 mins
- Total time: 40 mins
- Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 60g self-rising flour
- 3 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 3 eggs
- 75g white sugar, plus more for scattering
For the filling
- 200ml double cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 50g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra to serve
Instructions
- Prepare the oven and preheat it to 200 degrees C. Also, prepare a 22x32cm Swiss roll tin by lining it with parchment paper.
- Sift flour and add cocoa powder; mix well and set aside. Crack eggs in another bowl, add sugar, and whisk using an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until very thick and pale.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour-cocoa mixture and gently fold using a spatula until everything combines well, the color of the mixture is uniform, and there are no lumps.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin, level using a spatula, and place in the oven—Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until springy to the touch and puffed up.
- Meanwhile, spread another piece of parchment paper, a little larger than the tin, on the work surface and scatter sugar evenly.
- When the sponge is ready, remove it from the oven and invert on the parchment paper scattered with sugar; remove the tin and peel away the parchment paper on top.
- Score a 2cm line from one of the shorter sides, then roll the sponge in a spiral shape using the parchment paper and leave until the sponge is cooled completely.
- To prepare the filling, add all the filling ingredients in a bowl and beat until the cream thickens.
- When the sponge is completely cooled, unroll it and spread an even layer of filling on the top, leaving a ½” margin around the edges. Then gently roll again but this time remove the parchment paper.
- Dust the Swiss roll with icing sugar and serve immediately.
Popular variations
Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:
- Chocolate Cake Roll: This Swiss roll has light chocolate sponge cake, sweet vanilla whipped cream, and chocolate ganache. Indeed, it is rich and utterly irresistible.
- Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake: The light Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake has a beautiful, fluffy cake roll with whipped cream flavored with strawberries. It is so refreshing and perfect for summer.
- Pistachio Raspberry Swiss Roll Cake: This version has pistachio sponge cake with cream cheese and whipped cream, and with the tangy raspberry, it comes together as a delicious cake.
- Raffaello Cake Roll: This Raffaello cake has coconut and a touch of almond in it. We love how nutty, earthy, and sweet it is.
- Matcha Swiss Roll: This matcha Swiss cake roll is perfect for the green tea lover. The sponge is spiced up with matcha and filled with whipped cream, buttercream, and custard cream.
