Homemade Swiss Roll

It's finally Saturday, and that can only mean one thing: time to preheat that oven and bake something delicious! This weekend, I chose to bake a Homemade Swiss Roll, one of my favourite childhood desserts that my Mom used to make almost every weekend when I was a kid. It is a simple yet delightful dessert that'll quickly become everyone's favourite. Mom would make the sponge cake from scratch, fill it with homemade jam (apricot or raspberry - my two favourites) and then pour a rich, shiny chocolate glaze on top of it. And of course, I would help her every single time! So there's no way I could forget this recipe. 😊

I sometimes add additional eggwhites if I have extras in the fridge - just to use them up. Or use different jam filling depending on what I have in my pantry, or skip the chocolate glaze (well, very rarely, because we are talking about chocolate here!). I filled this particular Homemade Swiss Roll with white currant jam that I made last summer: reduced sugar and absolutely yummy. You can check out the recipe here.

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1h 30min (including cooling)

SERVINGS: 10 -12 slices

INGREDIENTS

Sponge:

- 4 eggs, separated

- 4 tbsp sugar

- 4 heaped tbsp plain flour

- ½ tsp baking powder

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Filling:

- about 6 tbsp reduced sugar jam, we used homemade white currant jam

Chocolate glaze:

- 2 tbsp water

- 50g sugar

- 50g margarine (or butter)

- 10g unsweetened cocoa powder

You will also need:

- clean tea towel

- icing sugar or corn starch

- Hundreds and Thousands sprinkles (optional)
 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan/ gas mark 6, and line a rectangular shallow baking tray (approx. 27x40cm) with parchment paper.

2. Add the egg whites to a large bowl and start whipping with an electric mixer. Gradually, add the sugar and whip until soft peaks form. Next, add the egg yolks one by one, followed by the oil. Add the baking powder and pour the lemon juice on in to activate the baking powder. Swap to a spatula, and gently fold in the flour.

3. Pour the cake batter into the tray and level with a spatula. Bake for about 20 min, until a toothpick, inserted into the middle of the cake, comes out clean.

4. Lay the tea towel on a hard surface and sprinkle it with starch or icing sugar (this prevents the top of the sponge cake from sticking to the tea towel).

5. Once removed from the oven, turn the sponge over the tea towel and peel off the parchment paper carefully as the cake is hot. Roll up the sponge on the long side with the help of the tea towel and let it cool.

6. Unfold the sponge gently, spread over the jam of your choice, and roll it back.

7. For the chocolate glaze, add the water and sugar to a small pan and let it boil for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously. Add the margarine, and once melted, stir in the cocoa powder and let it cook for another minute. Then remove from the heat and let it cool for 2 minutes before you spoon in over the swiss roll. Sprinkle with ‘Hundreds and Thousands’ and let it rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Click on the below to download this recipe as a free, pdf recipe card:

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