Chocolate Swiss Roll
This has to be one of the easiest swiss roll recipes I’ve made. Many recipes out there ask you to separate the eggs, but you know me, if I can do something quick and easy and still have it taste amazing, I’m on it.
Anyway, I started by testing an old recipe I had. We used to fill it with a mock cream filling that home cooks can’t buy. After testing at home, I felt the flavours needed a boost, so I fiddled around a bit and came up with this.
About the ingredients:
Use a good Dutched Cocoa. Dutching is a process, and it’s where the cocoa beans are washed in an alkaline solution to neutralize them. You’ll need to use baking powder, not soda, to add back a little acid in this recipe, but that’s pretty common. So, why are we using alkalized cocoa? Its becuase the flavour is much rounder, or mellow. I’m sure we’ve all tasted bitter cocoa? You can usually tell a dutched cocoa by its darker colour. This sort of cocoa also dissolves much easier into a cake batter. Handy when you don’t want to knock the air out of a sponge while folding it in.
How do you make a Swiss Roll?
Sift: Start by sifting the dry ingredients. One of the essential steps in this recipe is to sift the dry ingredients together. It’s a sponge, and you don’t want lumps of cocoa. Use a large sieve over a sheet of baking paper or a large bowl. In the Thermomix, you only need to mix for a few seconds; it will break up any cocoa lumps and lighten the mix.
Whip: Now whip the eggs & white sugar until ribbon stage: Whipping egg and sugar until ribbon stage takes a while in a stand mixer, so don’t get discouraged if you think it’s taking too long. Keep beating you’ll get there! Or you could do it over a bain-marie, but who wants to stand over the stove for 5 – 10 minutes with a handheld mixer. With the Thermomix, we can reduce the time by adding a little heat.
Ribbon Stage: What we’re looking for here is for our batter (in this case, the egg and sugar mix) to be whipped until light and thick. When you lift the beater or butterfly, the batter should fall in ribbons and stay suspended on top of the batter, remaining visible on the surface for a few seconds before disappearing.
Mix: Add the dry ingredients, then sprinkle half the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and fold them in. Repeat, folding until thoroughly combined with no streaks.
Bake: Spread the batter into the prepared baking sheet. Drop the pan on the counter a couple of times to smooth out the batter and remove any large bubbles. Baking takes less than 10 minutes. This cake is very thin and cooks fast; mine takes 8 mins in my benchtop oven!
Assemble: Invert the warm cake. Then while it’s still hot (or at least very warm), invert onto baking paper that has been dusted with a sprinkling of sugar/cocoa powder mix.
Cool in rolled-up shape. Gently roll the cake up with the baking paper. Let it cool in the rolled-up form, so when it’s time to roll it up with the whipped cream filling, it’s already “familiar” with the rolled-up shape. (And won’t resist or crack!)
Chill: Pop the Swiss roll in the fridge to chill. It will be much easier to slice once chilled.
Chocolate Swiss Roll
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becs-table.com.auEquipment
- 1 Thermomix or Stand Mixer
- 1 Tin I used: USA Pan Quarter Sheet Pan 31.7x23x2.5cm
Ingredients
For the Sponge
- 60 g plain flour
- 3 g baking powder ¾ of a tsp
- 20 g 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp of vanilla
- 75 g caster sugar
For the Baking Paper
- ½ tbsp caster sugar
- ½ tbsp cocoa
For the Filling
- 200 g thickened cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 g icing sugar sifted, plus extra to serve
Instructions
Thermomix Method:
- Heat the oven to 180°C fan (360°F fan). Line a Swiss roll tin with baking paper. *See tin measurements above.
- Weigh the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt into a dry TM bowl MC in mix 5 seconds/ speed 5 Set aside.
- Place the butterfly into the Thermomix.
- Crack the eggs into a clean bowl, make sure there’s no shell, then add them to the TM bowl and vanilla. Pop the lid on and sit a bowl on top of the lid.
- Weigh the sugar into the bowl on the lid. Set aside.
- Set the TM for 5 mins/ 60°C/ speed 3.5 start raining the sugar through the hole in the lid.
- Allow the eggs and sugar to continue to mix until ribbon stage is achieved. *See notes
- Remove the light, airy mix from the bowl into a mixing bowl. Using a spatula, gently fold ½ the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then once combined, add the remainder and mix gently until completely incorporated and everything’s the same colour with no streaks.
- Gently add the mix to the prepared tin and spread to the corners.
- Bake for 9-10 mins until puffed up and springy to touch. While the cake is baking, get another piece of parchment a little larger than the tin and scatter it with a mix of cocoa and sugar.
- When the sponge is cooked, use oven gloves to carefully invert it onto the sugar/cocoa-coated paper. Lift off the tin and peel away the top layer of baking paper.
- Score a line 2cm across the long edge of the sponge, then use the parchment to roll the sponge into a spiral with the baking paper running through it. Leave the rolled sponge to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the filling by whisking all the ingredients together until the cream stiffens.
- When the sponge is cool, gently unroll it and spread over the cream filling. Starting from the scored edge, use the parchment to roll the sponge around the filling. Lift onto a board or serving platter. It can be served straight away or chilled. It’s easier to slice when chilled. Serve in slices
Conventional Method:
- Heat the oven to 180°C fan (360°F fan). Line a Swiss roll tin with baking paper. *See the tin measurements I used above.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
- Crack the eggs into another bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and add the vanilla. Weigh the sugar into a small bowl. Use an electric whisk or the whisk attachment to start whipping the eggs, rain in the sugar, and beat until pale and thick. We’re looking for ribbon stage *see notes.
- Using a spatula, gently fold ½ the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then once combined, add the remainder and mix gently until completely incorporated and everything’s the same colour with no streaks.
- Gently add the mix to the prepared tin and spread to the corners.
- Bake for 9-10 mins until puffed up and springy to touch. While the cake is baking, get another piece of parchment a little larger than the tin and scatter it with a mix of cocoa and sugar.
- When the sponge is cooked, use oven gloves to carefully invert it onto the sugar/cocoa-coated paper. Lift off the tin and peel away the top layer of baking paper.
- Score a line 2cm across the long edge of the sponge, then use the parchment to roll the sponge into a spiral with the baking paper running through it. Leave the rolled sponge to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the filling by whisking all the ingredients together until the cream stiffens.
- When the sponge is cool, gently unroll it and spread over the cream filling. Starting from the scored edge, use the parchment to roll the sponge up around the filling. Lift onto a board or serving platter. It can be served straight away or chilled, it’s easier to cut when chilled. Serve in slices.
Notes
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My very first Swiss roll that didn’t split. So easy to make in the thermomix. I filled mine with slightly sweetened mascarpone, flavoured with coffee vanilla. I am very tempted to hide this from the rest of the family. I’m afraid I could consume most of it myself.
I love it Jean. Thanx so much for trying it. So happy you liked it.