If you love swiss roll snack cakes – then you’re going to love any version of a  cake roll. A vanilla sponge cake is filled with fresh homemade strawberry jam and vanilla-flavored cream cheese frosting, served with fresh strawberries…definitely a wonderful dessert to prepare for your family and guests.

And while cake rolls look fancy, they’re actually very easy to make. It turns out that making cake rolls isn’t actually too difficult – it just takes a little more assembling than some recipes. First, we make the sponge cake. It’s light and airy, which makes it ideal for rolling.

Then after the cake is done baking, it gets inverted onto a piece of parchment paper (or a tea towel) dusted with flour powder. The flour is absolutely necessary, otherwise, the cake will stick to the parchment. Then while the cake is still hot – start from the short edge and roll it up.

The cake gets cooled just like this so that it’s easier to assemble later, and then it’s time for the filling.

Ingredients;

  • Vegetable oil for greasing
  • 125g/ 1/2 cup (4.4Oz) golden caster sugar plus extra to dust
  • 125g 1/2 cup (4.4Oz) plain flour plus extra to dust
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ jar of strawberry or raspberry jam
  • 1 cup of Strawberries (Optional)

Instructions;

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas 6. Lightly brush the base of a 33cm x 23cm Swiss roll tin with vegetable oil.
  2. Cut a sheet of greaseproof paper to fit the base of the tin exactly. Brush the paper with a little more oil, then dust with caster sugar and flour.
  3. Put the sugar and eggs into a large bowl that’s resting on a tea towel and whisk with an electric hand whisk for 10 minutes, until pale and thick enough for the mixture to leave a trail when the whisk is lifted.
  4. Sift half the flour into the mixture and fold in very carefully until no traces of flour are left. Repeat with the remaining flour.
  5. It’s important to take your time and do it gently. Fold in 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water.
  6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and use a spatula to smooth it evenly into the corners. Bake in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden and risen and just firm to the touch.
  7. Lay out a damp clean cloth on the work surface. Lay a piece of greaseproof paper that is larger than the sponge on top.
  8. Dust the greaseproof paper with caster sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the warm sponge and turn it out onto the sugar-dusted paper.
  9. Peel the paper off the base of the sponge. Trim off the edges of the sponge. Spoon the jam onto the sponge and spread it out, leaving a little border of clean sponge all around.
  10. Make an incision about 1cm in from the short edge near you, being careful not to cut through the cake: this makes it easier to roll up.
  11. Start rolling, using the incision to help you make the first turn. Use the paper to help you roll the sponge tightly. Sit it seam-side down until cold.