Strawberry Swiss Roll

Swiss roll, what an elegant name! Does it really originate from Sweden? The answer is 'no'. It's an european dessert however, which has been existed in the world of bakery long time ago. I was attracted to swiss roll when I was a little girl about 10 years old. The shape of the 'cake' is so unique, so different from the norm which is in either square or round shape. I wondered how the baker managed to make such a beautiful 'cake'. I was pretty excited about it. In those days, swiss roll was not a 'super star' amongst other desserts available. Its taste was quite plain. My dad used to buy back home swiss roll for me particularly the one with grounded peanuts spread on top of the swiss roll. The taste and the look are still vividly remained in my memory till today!

But, bakers nowadays have innovated the look, flavour and texture so much so that it tastes much much better than 20 years ago. I have made quite a few with different flavours in the past. Here is one that I love very much ... the Strawberry Swiss Roll.



The sponge cake texture is very soft and fine. The little red thing at the centre is cut strawberry.

If this is your first time of making a swiss roll, there are a couple of things you need to know:
1. Line your parchment paper well fitted in the baking tray. This will help you later to take off the sponge cake easily.
2. When stripping off the parchment paper from the sponge cake, do it slow and gentle. Some recipes advise to do this step while the sponge cake is still warm whereas others say wait till the sponge cake is completely cool down. My approach is doing it while it's still warm.
3. Do not over bake the sponge because it is a thin layer and hence easily get burnt or hardened. You will find it difficult to roll the sponge if over baked. You don't want any cracks on the sponge when roll it.
4. There is a technic to roll the sponge i.e. using a roller pin (if you have one). You can always check this out by watching videos from youtube. What you want to achieve is a compact swill roll.

I will share more swiss roll recipes in my subsequent posts.

Here is the recipe for the Strawberry flavour:
For the sponge cake:
Egg 200g
Egg yolk 40g
Sugar 80g
Honey 30g
Flour - sifted 80g
Milk 30g
Oil 20g

For the filling:
Heavy cream 200ml
Sugar 1 tbs
Fresh strawberries - cut in small bite pieces 200g (or more depending on your preference)

Method:
1. Preheat oven at 200C. I used a baking tray measuring 30x33cm.
2. Add eggs, egg yolk, sugar and honey in a bowl. Keep stirring it over a double boiler. When the temperature comes to about 39C (or not too hot), then remove it from the heat and continue mixing it with an electical mixer. This will take about 10 mins or more to reach a light, fluffy consistency with no bubbles left.
3. Add the flour in the mixture and mix slowly.
4. Heat the milk & oil (just before boiling point) and quickly pour it into the dough. Mix slowly to incorporate the milk mixture.
5. Pour out the dough onto the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
6. Drop the baking tray on the table (1 time) to release any air bubbles in the dough. Bake for 8 - 10 mins.
7. Whip the heavy cream & sugar. Then spread the cream on the sponge cake. Place the cut strawberries on the whipped cream line by line.
8. Roll it and then place the swiss roll in the fridge for at least 4 hours before cutting it.