Chocolate, cream and strawberries is a combination made in heaven, though all sorts of fruits could be used instead – just pick your favourite. If you want to add cream to a Swiss Roll you’ll need to let the cake cool completely first. There’s a knack to not letting the cake dry out completely and causing serious crackage when you roll it – here’s how!
Makes one swiss roll
Prep: 30 minutes plus cooling
Bake: 15 minutes
Oven: 160°c (fan)/180°c/350°F/Gas Mark 4
4 eggs, large
100g (31⁄2oz) caster (superfine) sugar
60g (21⁄4oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
35g (11⁄4oz) cocoa powder
A little caster (superfine) sugar for rolling
300ml (10fl oz) double (heavy) cream
1 tbsp icing (confectioners) sugar
30g (1oz) grated dark chocolate
200g (7oz) strawberries
Electric handmixer
Swiss Roll tin (pan) or shallow-sided roasting tray approx. 33 × 23cm (13 × 9in)
Spreader
1 Follow the same method for the Swiss Roll, but sifting in 60g (21⁄4oz) plain (all-purpose) flour and 35g cocoa powder.
2 Bake for 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set the tin on a cooling rack, don’t take out the cake but throw a clean tea towel over the top. This keeps in the moisture whilst the Swiss Roll cools. Allow to cool completely, but don’t leave it hours and hours or the moisture will have gone. Keep the Swiss Roll in the tin under the teatowel until you’re ready for assembly.
3 Lightly whip the double cream with the icing sugar and hull and quarter the strawberries.
4 Place a sheet of baking paper on the work surface, slightly larger than the Swiss Roll and sprinkle well with caster sugar. Take the Swiss Roll from the tin and loosen the paper from the edges. Flip the cake onto the caster sugar and remove the paper from the base.
5 Spread liberally with the whipped cream, make an incision halfway through the depth of the cake all the way along one short side, about 2cm (3⁄4in) from the left short end of the cake. To the right of the cut add in a line of strawberries and a sprinkle of the chocolate.
6 Take the short end of the baking paper and start to roll up the cake, first folding over the piece to the left of the incision. Roll it over until the line of strawberries and chocolate are tucked inside. Add another row of strawberries and chocolate and continue rolling. Add in more fruit and chocolate as soon as the last line disappears. Once you get to the end of the cake, turn the Swiss Roll over until the seam sits underneath. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.