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How to make the ultimate Swiss roll, with some help from Mary Berry, James Martin, Delia Smith and more

Beth O’Brien’s recipe is six great recipes rolled into one, with cues from Mary Berry, James Martin, Delia Smith, Felicity Cloake, Kevin Dundon and Dominique Ansel

Beth O'Brien baked these six Swiss rolls in preparation for her own take

Beth O'Brien
Sun Jan 28 2024 - 05:00

There is something beautifully nostalgic about Swiss roll. It is typically made with a light Genoise sponge, rolled up with raspberry or strawberry jam, and often whipped cream. It might not be the most trendy dessert, but I think there is a distinct charm to this cake, and it’s not hard to make – provided you get the sponge right, and roll it carefully.

Although Swiss roll recipes are generally easy to follow, it can be tricky to get the structure right: if the sponge is too thick or dry, it will not roll easily, resulting in a split along the top of the cake. You need to be sure to add enough filling to provide contrast to the relatively plain sponge, but too much filling will spill out the ends.

I tested six different recipes for a classic Swiss roll, from food writers and authors Mary Berry, James Martin, Delia Smith, Felicity Cloake, Kevin Dundon and Dominique Ansel.

Sponge

Swiss roll is made with a whisked sponge: some variation of a Genoise or chiffon cake. Most of the recipes tested here use the simplest (and fairly fail-safe) approach of whisking the sugar and eggs to a mousse, before folding in dry ingredients, sometimes with fat (melted butter or oil) added at the end too.

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I preferred the flavour of the sponges that had melted butter whisked in towards the end, but the fat does seem to have a slightly detrimental effect on the texture – I think the inclusion of butter or oil knocks out some of the air previously incorporated into the sponge. Felicity Cloake’s recipe calls for the yolks and whites to be whisked separately (the yolks with the sugar to a sabayon, and the whites to stiff peaks), before flour and melted butter are folded in. Delia Smith’s is the most unorthodox in that the eggs, softened butter, sugar and dry ingredients are all whisked together in the same bowl.

Caster is the most popular choice for sugar, and it works perfectly when whisked with the eggs to produce a velvety smooth foam. I also like caster sugar to help roll the sponge up: it helps prevent the sponge from sticking to the counter, and provides a rustic decoration on the outside of the Swiss roll.

For raising agent, it seems that the egg foam is sufficient to leaven the sponge in some cases (Martin and Cloake), but the rest of the recipes all use some form of chemical raising agent (such as self-raising flour, bicarbonate of soda or baking powder) too.

Filling

The classic filling for Swiss roll is jam, but cream is also a popular option; James Martin folds raspberry purée through whipped cream to fill his sponge. The most popular jams are raspberry and strawberry, and I personally found that a good quality raspberry jam was the best option: the acidity of the fruit balances out the sweetness of the sponge quite well.

Assembly

When lining the tin, it helps to cut short slits parallel to the long end of the paper (kind of in a H shape), so that you can fold the excess and achieve straight edges and neat corners. I also found it useful to brush the paper lightly with neutral oil, to ensure that the sponge comes out cleanly after being baked. For the Swiss roll to have a nice round spiral, it is important to make sure that the sponge is not too thick. Furthermore, it should not be overbaked, or allowed to cool fully before filling. Some recipes recommend that the sponge be covered with a damp tea towel as soon as it comes out of the oven (Martin, Smith), but I found that it was sufficient to turn the sponge out on to a piece of parchment sprinkled with sugar. Once the sponge is rolled while still slightly warm, it should not crack.

Recipe: Beth O’Brien’s Blackberry and mascarpone Swiss roll

References