Interestingly, the origin of the Swiss roll is not Switzerland, but may have been England and it was well known in countries influenced by the British empire, such as India. As a young baker, I’ll admit I’ve always been a little intimidated by the Swiss roll. It seemed there could be so many ways to fail while creating the light sponge cake, filling it to perfection and rolling it into a log shape. Finally,  I decided it was time to overcome my fear of failure and gave it it a try.  Success was sweet and looked pretty good too: a creamy strawberry filling perfectly enveloped in a golden sponge roll. Hope you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

 

 

Ingredients (Swiss Roll) 
Cake:
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 3 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste/extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4  teaspoons salt

Filling:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cup whipped cream (bought)
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup strawberry jam
Method
Prep Time: 45  min
Cook Time: 12-15 min
(Serves 8-12)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 15×10 inch pan with butter and flour. Lay a kitchen towel on a flat work surface and sprinkle well with powdered sugar for later.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs on high for 3 minutes until pale. Then, slowly add in the sugar.
  3. Add the oil, buttermilk, vinegar, and vanilla. Finally, add in the dry mixture and fold until combined.
  4. Pour batter into pan and bake  for 12-15 minutes or until it springs back when pushed.
  5. After removing from the oven,  immediately flip the cake onto the towel. Then, roll the cake in the towel starting at either the short or long end.  Cool completely.
  6. Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla. Fold in cool whip until creamy.
  7. After cooling, unroll the cake and spread the jam all over the cake leaving space around the edges. Spread the cream mixture  over the jam.
  8. Roll the cake back up and place seam side down on a platter.
  9. Decorate with strawberries and serve.
  10. Enjoy!