Best-of-the-best summer swiss roll

Name: Best-of-the-best summer swiss roll
Prep time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 8-10
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 10g flaked almonds; 140g plain flour; ½ tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp salt; 4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature; 135g caster sugar; 2 tbsp whole milk; 3 tbsp sunflower oil; 30g dark chocolate; For the compote; 600g mixed fresh berries (we used blackberries, raspberries and hulled strawberries); 4 tbsp icing sugar; For the mascarpone cream; 300ml double cream; 2 tbsp icing sugar; 100g mascarpone; 1 tsp vanilla extract; Specialist kit; 25cm x 35cm baking tray

Portion size: Serves 8-10
Hands-on time 1 hour, plus cooling and 1 hour chilling
Difficulty: medium

Pollyanna Coupland

Food producer, delicious.

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Learn how to make the best-ever summer swiss roll with food producer Pollyanna Coupland’s expert recipe. With a light but springy sponge, rich mascarpone cream and fresh seasonal fruit, this swiss roll is elevated from tea-time treat to dinner party dessert.

“It’s often the dishes we think of as retro or nostalgic that are in vogue – especially in the world of desserts. That’s fine by me, as it means more opportunities to eat the greatest cake-based pudding known to mankind. If you’re being fancy you might call it a roulade, but I call it a swiss roll,” says Pollyanna.

“I’m not referring to the dense, preservative-stuffed, plastic-wrapped logs sold in supermarkets. I’m talking about a light-as-air sponge wrapped around rich, silky cream and studded with summer berries. Swiss roll is my go-to summer dessert – and here’s how I make mine the best ever…”

Fancy another seasonal icon for your summer gatherings? Try classic summer pudding.

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Ingredients

10g flaked almonds
140g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
135g caster sugar
2 tbsp whole milk
3 tbsp sunflower oil
30g dark chocolate

For the compote

600g mixed fresh berries (we used blackberries, raspberries and hulled strawberries)
4 tbsp icing sugar

For the mascarpone cream

300ml double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
100g mascarpone
1 tsp vanilla extract

Specialist kit

25cm x 35cm baking tray

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Method

Heat the oven to 170ºC fan/gas 5. Line the baking tray with baking paper and scatter over the flaked almonds evenly. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
Crack the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attached (you could also use an electric hand mixer). Whisk at a medium-high speed for 4 minutes until pale, frothy and doubled in size. Turn the speed down to low, then add the sugar a spoonful at a time. Once the sugar is all incorporated, turn back to high and whisk for 4 more minutes.
Stir the milk and oil into the eggs and sugar, then fold in the sifted dry ingredients using a large spatula until evenly mixed. Pour the mixture carefully over the almonds in the tray, gently spread out evenly, then bake for 15-18 minutes. When the sponge is ready, it will have shrunk a little around the edges and should spring back with a gentle prod in the centre. Turn out onto a board and carefully peel off the baking paper. Flip again so it’s almond-side down, then roll up as tightly as you can and leave to cool rolled up.
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While the sponge cools, make a compote. Roughly chop half the berries, put in a pan with the icing sugar and simmer for about 10 minutes until you have a chunky, glossy sauce. Pour into a sieve set over a bowl and leave to cool, reserving both the syrup that collects in the bowl and the chunkier compote in the sieve.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whip the cream and 2 tbsp icing sugar to the soft peak stage (the tips will flop over when you lift out the beaters), then transfer to another bowl. Add the mascarpone and vanilla extract to the first bowl (there’s no need to clean it out), whip for 2 minutes at a high speed, then fold the cream back in.
Now you’re ready to assemble. Unroll the sponge onto a large clean tea towel and spread the strained chunky compote evenly over the top, almost to the edges. Evenly spread over two thirds of the mascarpone cream. Re-roll the sponge as tightly as possible, using the tea towel to gently help the roll as it turns. Chill for at least 1 hour to firm up the cream mixture.
Transfer to a serving platter, seam-side down, then spoon over the remaining mascarpone cream and top with the rest of the fresh fruit. Melt the chocolate, either by pulsing it in a microwave or sitting it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the water touch the bowl), then transfer to a piping bag (see Know-how). Drizzle the swiss roll with the reserved compote syrup, then use a piping bag to drizzle over the melted chocolate to finish.

Nutrition

434kcals Calories
29g (15g saturated) Fat
6.4g Protein
34g (24g sugars) Carbs
3.2g Fibre
0.3g Salt

Quick wins & tips

The sponge: It’s easy to dismiss sponge cake as something basic, but the simple set of ingredients (eggs, sugar, fat, flour) can produce very different results depending on ratios and method. Of course, a great sponge is key for a knockout swiss roll.

At one end of the sponge spectrum there’s the classic victoria, which has whole eggs beaten in to create something fluffy but structurally secure. At the other there’s angel food cake, which uses whites (no yolks) for an incredibly light and airy result. In between, you have genoise (whole eggs are well whipped to help the cake rise) and chiffon, which has oil instead of butter, egg yolks and whipped egg whites.

Swiss roll sponge is somewhere in the middle between chiffon and genoise. It has to be pliable enough to roll up, but substantial enough not to deflate and turn soggy when cream is added. Whipping the eggs (as with a genoise) creates just the right mixture of airiness, flexibility and strength while using oil (like a chiffon) helps later in the process.

A swiss roll needs to set in the fridge once it’s filled – butter-based cakes go crumbly quickly once chilled, as the butter in the sponge solidifies. I also always add flaked almonds to my swiss roll sponge, as they look pretty, add a subtle crunch and – of course – taste wonderful.

Don’t skip the sift. We’re all guilty of not bothering with this step, thinking any lumps will get beaten out during the mixing process. This cake really does need sifted ingredients, however, as to keep in all the air that’s whipped into the eggs, mixing must be minimal.

Whip well. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature and whipped in a spotless glass or stainless steel bowl. Any grease can stop them from whipping properly and plastic bowls are more likely to harbour it (even if you can’t see it).

Fold gently. You want to keep all those air bubbles, so use a wide metal spoon or silicone spatula, put it in the side of the bowl, gently bring it towards you, rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Use a short, gentle chopping motion rather than a full stir, and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Roll and cool. Loosely roll up your sponge as soon as it’s cooked, then leave it to cool. This makes it so much easier to re-roll the filled sponge.

The filling: I tend to stick with a traditional filling of berries and cream, albeit with a few tweaks here and there. My cream includes mascarpone for added richness, a little tang and more body. For the berries, I use whatever’s looking good and in season – but a mixture is always an excellent idea (perfectly ripe cherries are wonderful, so I often add those). A compote is better than jam as it’s less about the sugar and more about the fruit.

Give it a rest. Once filled, some resting time in the fridge really firms up the cream in a swiss roll, making it easier to slice and allowing the compote to sink into the sponge a little.

The finishing touch: A drizzle of dark chocolate sets off the sweet fruit and cream perfectly, adding yet another dimension to this simple dessert.

Make Ahead

You can make the compote and cream, and bake, roll up and leave the sponge to cool up to 24 hours in advance. Cover and chill the compote and cream. Cover the sponge and leave in a cool, dark place.