One of the most beautiful desserts is a Swiss roll. A light, airy cake filled with something creamy and delicious and rolled into a gorgeous spiral. They are as eye catching as they are delicious and today, we are making a berries and cream version just perfect for the springtime.
Also referred to as roulades or the Christmas special buche de noel, this delicate dessert can be made in so many different ways, but the one constant is that beautiful spiral.
Making a Swiss roll is not as complicated as you may think and if you follow my simple steps, you can create this eye catching dessert right in your own kitchen.
Let’s get started…
Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a jelly roll pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and set it aside for now.
Separate 4 large eggs into 2 clean bowls.
Start by whipping the egg whites with an electric hand mixer until they are full of bubbles and soft peaks begin to form. Add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, continue whipping until stiff, glossy peaks form and then set aside for now.
Now that the egg whites are whipped, grab the bowl with the egg yolks and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Whip the yolks until they are light, creamy and pale yellow in color.
Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture a little at a time until they are mostly combined. Be careful to mix gently, so you don’t deflate the air you built up in the egg whites.
Sift 3/4 cup of cake flour into the mixture and fold until evenly distributed. Be gentle with this mixing too. You don’t want any dry flour remaining, but you also don’t want to mix vigorously enough that the batter starts to deflate and shrink up.
Evenly spread the batter over your prepared jelly roll pan and bake the sponge in a 350 degree oven for 11-12 minutes.
You’ll know that the cake is fully cooked when it feels springy to a light touch. This cake will be fully cooked before it starts to brown, so don’t wait for the cake to start browning or it may be too dry to roll up successfully.
While the cake is still baking, generously dust a clean, dry kitchen towel with confectioners sugar.
As soon as the cake is baked, flip the jelly roll pan over onto the dusted towel and gently tap the bottom of the pan to help the cake release.
Remove the pan and peel the parchment paper off of the under side of the cake.
Generously dust the cake with confectioners sugar and immediately start rolling the cake up with the towel starting from the short side. It is important to roll the cake up while it is still hot. Once it is rolled up, let it cool to room temperature before adding any fillings.
While the cake is cooling, make the berry sauce…
Combine 6 ounces of fresh berries with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon zest, 2 teaspoons of water, 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a small saucepan and place over medium heat.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Smash the berries down into a sauce like texture and transfer the sauce into a bowl. Chill the berry sauce in your refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the Swiss roll.
Now that the cake is baked and cooling and the berry sauce is ready to go, all we need to do is make the cream filling…
In a small bowl, cream 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and 1/2-3/4 cup of confectioners sugar (depending on how sweet you prefer your filling) until fluffy. Add a cup of heavy cream, a little at a time, mixing as you go, until you have a thick, creamy filling.
Once the cake has come to room temperature, gently unroll it. If you were not heavy handed enough with your confectioners sugar dusting, you may have to peel the towel off a bit, but don’t worry! Just work slowly and flatten everything out.
Add most of your cream filling (I like to reserve some for decorating the top of the cake, but this is optional of course!) and spread it evenly over the cake leaving a small border around the edges like in the photo above.
Dollop spoonfuls of the chilled berry sauce over the cream filling and then smooth it out into a thin layer covering most of the cream filling.
Roll the cake back up in the same way you rolled it initially and tightly wrap it in plastic wrap. Place the cake on a flat plate and chill in the refrigerator for an hour or more to allow everything to firm up nicely.
That spiral. As soon as you slice into this Swiss roll, you are going to be so happy that you made this beautiful cake. The cake is so light that as soon as the knife hits it, it will start sliding right through.
If you prefer each slice to be super clean looking then I would wipe the knife off after each slice, so you aren’t dragging berry sauce through the next slice.
This berries and cream Swiss roll is just lovely. The sponge is delicate, the cream filling is luscious and the berry sauce is perfectly sweet.
Whether you need a show stopping dessert for a casual dinner or big event, this beautiful little cake is perfect for the occasion.
Berries & Cream Swiss Roll
Ingredients
Vanilla Sponge
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup of cake flour
Berry Sauce
- 6 ounces of fresh berries
- 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of water
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Cream Filling
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
- 1/2-3/4 cup of confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°
- Grease and line a jelly roll pan or rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
Make the vanilla sponge…
- Place the egg whites and yolks in separate bowls
- Use an electric hand mixer to whip the egg whites to soft peaks, add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and continue whipping on medium high speed until stiff glossy peaks form
- Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in with the egg yolks and use the electric hand mixer to whip until creamy and pale yellow in color
- Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture a little at a time until mostly combined
- Sift 3/4 cup of cake flour into the mixture and fold gently until evenly distributed
- Spread the batter evenly over the prepared pan and bake in a 350° oven for 11-12 minutes
- While the cake is baking, generously dust a clean, dry kitchen towel with confectioners sugar
- Once the cake is baked, invert it onto the confectioners dusted towel, remove the parchment paper and generously dust the other side with confectioners sugar
- Carefully roll the cake up with the towel starting on the short side and transfer the cake onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature
Make the berry sauce…
- Add 6 ounces of berries, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon zest, 2 teaspoons of water, 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch a saucepan over medium heat
- Bring to a simmer and simmer stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes or until thickened
- Mash the berries down into a sauce texture
- Transfer into a bowl and chill until we are ready to assemble the cake
Make the cream filling…
- Add 8 ounces of softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup of confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract into a bowl and use and electric hand mixer to beat until fully combined
- Add a cup of heavy cream a little at a time, continuing to mix until the mixture is thick and creamy with a stiff consistency
Assemble the cake…
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, gently unroll it and set the towel aside
- Spread the most cream filling evenly over the cake leaving a small boarder around the edges without filling (optionally reserve some of the filling for decorating the Swiss roll)
- Drop spoonfuls of the berry sauce over the cream filling and use the back of the spoon to spread it evenly over the surface
- Reroll the cake and wrap tightly in plastic wrap
- Place the wrapped cake on a plate and chill for an hour
- Unwrap the chilled Swiss roll and if you reserved any filling for decorating, add or pipe dollops of filling over the top of the roll
- Garnish with fresh berries, slice and enjoy
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days
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