Super Light and Fluffy Chocolate Swiss Roll
- Faith Ong
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
My childhood favourite, or should I say my favourite? This chocolate swiss roll is a combination of fluffy chocolate chiffon cake with whipped chocolate ganache. Totally irresistible for chocolate lovers for sure - I can easily finish the whole roll myself! In our family, we never have to worry about storage when we bake this cake!
Before settling on this cake roll recipe, I have tried a few: butter vs oil, cocoa powder vs melted chocolate as well as regular all purpose flour vs cake flour! So this is the best one that I have found. The end product is one which the sponge is so light and airy that it almost melts in the mouth. To make this swiss roll, I have adopted the Japanese method which is well known for producing light and fluffy cakes.
This receipe is highly versatile and you can easily modify it to make different flavours by using powders and extracts in the cake base or fillings. For instance, I like to substitute the cocoa with other ingredients to make other flavours! Some of my favourite includes lemon, pandan and matcha flavoured swiss roll. You can also match the cake with different fillings types of different flavours as well - buttercreams, jams and just plain vanilla whipped cream! Try matching different cake base with different fillings, the combinations are endless!
Why You Will Like This Swiss Roll
Not-so-sweet
This is the perfect not-so-sweet Asian dessert style. This means that the sweetness is just right. While Swiss rolls are of European origins, this Asian version is a guaranteed to your liking.
Light and fluffy
Because this cake uses the chiffon cake as its base, it is super light and airy, each bite melts in your mouth. The texture comes from egg whites that are beaten to stiff peaks.
Flexible cake base
Remember I mentioned that I have tried different recipes? Many of those that I tried repeatedly cracked when I tried to roll them! This receipe had no such issue - perfect for those who have had no experience in making cake rolls!
Light but rich flavour
The whipped chocolate ganache is heavenly delightful. Chocolate ganache when whipped, produces such a light and silky texture but yet it’s got the most incredibly deep, dark, and intense chocolate flavor. If you are a true chocoholic, you are going to love this recipe!
How to Roll the Cake Without Cracking
Like I mentioned before, this swiss roll is so flexible that even a beginner should be able to do it without cracking the cake base if you follow the instructions. The most important step to creating the perfect cake roll is however to roll the cake base when it is warm. By rolling the cake up while it is still warm it sets the final cake roll shape. This prevents the cake from cracking during the rolling process.
Tips for Success
Use cake flour instead of all purpose flour
Cake flour contains a much lower protein level than all purpose flour. This prevents gluten formation which therefore helps to make this cake lighter and softer than if using all purpose flour.
Do not substitute oil for butter
Any neutral vegetable oil will do. I like to use canola but you may use grapeseed or even avocado oil. Vegetable oil remains liquid at room temperature and therefore helps to add and retain moisture and creates a soft texture compared to butter.
Fold in instead of stir
Folding is a very gentle way of mixing ingredients into a batter to prevent entrapped air from escaping. To do this , first run the spatula around the side. Then make a letter "J" as you fold the mixture over onto itself, along the base of the bowl. Rotate the bowl to 90º and repeat until combined. Stop folding when no streaks can be seen.
Do not over bake
Because the cake is very thin, it can be over baked quite quickly so keep your eye on the cake. Cakes which are over baked will be dry and prone to cracks when rolling. As the bottom of the cake will become the surface of the cake, make sure it does not get burnt on the bottom.
Roll cake while it is still hot
This is very critical to ensure that your roll will not crack. Pre-rolling the cake while it is still hot and flexible "trains" the cake so that it can be easily moulded to your preferred shape. In this way, the cake will become significantly easier to shape when layered filled with cream.
Fill the centre of the roll with more cream and the edge with a thinner layer
When rolling the cake, the centre of the cake will have more filling compared to the outer part of the cake. Thus when layering the cake with cream, apply a thinner layer on the edges to prevent the cream from squeezing out!
Commonly Asked Questions
Why did my cake crack?
You may have over baked the cake which caused the cake to dry out, resulting in stiffer cake which is prone to cracking.
The cake might be too cool already when rolling. Pre-roll the cake while the cake is still warm.
Can I make this cake ahead of time?
Yes - you will need to wrap this cake tightly in plastic wrap or foil and then place in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. To serve, thaw it by leaving it overnight in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature on the counter.
Otherwise do finish the cake in 3 days if just keeping in fridge as the cake will lose its moisture rapidly in the fridge. For cakes filled with fresh cream, do not leave in on counter top for more than an hour.
I have also used this recipe for my Yule log cake! Let me know if you have tried this recipe. I hope you enjoy the cake as much as I do!
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