Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake

I'm suffering from a bad eczema attack and don't much feel like baking.  The itch is killing me despite taking antihistamine pills and applying steriod cream (which I hated).  But I always console myself that this is nothing as compared to cancer patients who need to go through chemotherapy.  I'm sure they suffer more than me so I'm not complaining about my own condition.

We celebrated DD1's 9th birthday yesterday.  After googling on the internet for the past week, I decided on a swiss roll ice cream cake (I got the idea from Daring Bakers Challenge, July 2010) .  Reason being, I won't have time to bake and frost a cake over the weekend, so the easiest way is to buy ice cream from the stores and cover it up with swiss rolls.

It seemed simple, so much so that I took it for granted and didn't start baking the cake until 11pm on Saturday night.  It was a big mistake.  The swiss roll needs to be chilled before slicing, and the ice cream needs to be frozen layer by layer.  I was literally rushing through the whole process and only slept at 2am, with the cake only 75% completed.

The layers should go this way:- 1. swiss roll, 2. raspberry ice cream, 3. chocolate fudge and 4. chocolate chips ice cream.  I only managed to cook the fudge at the wee hours while waiting for the raspberry ice cream to harden.  Was rushing through to cool the fudge down in order to pour it into the prepared pan so I could catch up with my beauty sleep.  Everything looked perfect until I saw the cake the next morning.  What a disappointment!  The raspberry ice cream were not set enough and with the warm chocolate fudge, they decided to combine into one.  Argh!!  I was so angry with myself for not preparing the cake earlier. But there's nothing else I can do except to just go ahead and complete the cake.

A cross-section of the cut cake. 

What a pity, I say :-(

Nevertheless, the birthday girl is happy to see her cake :-)

 
I'm submitting this to Aspiring Bakers: #9 Swiss Rolling Good Times by Obsessedly Involved with Food.

I used the same recipe here but just omit the decorative part.

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
(A)
6 egg yolks
20g sugar
60g fresh milk
45g corn oil
100g plain flour/cake flour
15g corn flour

(B)
6 egg whites
70g sugar

(C)
Ice cream of your choice, 2 flavours

Method

1. Lightly whisk the egg yolks together with 20g sugar.
2. Add in fresh milk and corn oil, mix well.
3. Sift in plain/cake flour and corn flour and stir well.  Set aside.
4. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat till egg whites are frothy. Add in sugar gradually and beat till stiff peak.
5. Fold in 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture using a rubber spatula till incorporated.
6. Pour the mixture to the remaining egg whites and fold in gently till incorporated.
7. Pour batter into lined 11" x 14" pan.
8. Using a spatula, level the top evenly.
9. Bake @ preheated oven of 180C for 12 - 13 mins.
10. When the cake is cooked, remove from oven and leave to cool completely.
11. Spread a layer of whipped cream/butter cream/jam onto the sponge cake. Roll it up and chill in fridge.

Chocolate Fudge
Ingredients
200g caster sugar (I used 150g)
3 tbsp of natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 ½ cup water
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract (I omit)

Method

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornflour and water.
2. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).
3. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool .

Assembly

1. Cut the Swiss rolls into equal slices.
2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl (I used a loaf pan instead) in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap. 
3. Arrange swiss roll slices at the bottom and sides of the pan, with their seam sides facing away from the pan.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm. (I missed out this step)
5. Soften the first flavoured ice cream (for my case, it's raspberry ripple). Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm.
6. Add the fudge sauce over the first layer of ice cream (chocolate chip ice cream for me), cover and freeze till firm (I left it overnight).
7. Soften the second flavoured ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .
8. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.
9. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minu

Creative Swiss Rolls

I cannot remember how long ago it was but I'm able to post any comments in blogger.  I'm unable to login to my Google Account and whatever post is signed off as Anonyomous.  Anyone has the same problem?

The last time I baked a cake was back in April, where I baked a pandan chiffon cake for my birthday.  To date, the pictures are still sitting in my harddisk and I've not updated my blog :P  When I saw July's Aspiring Bakers - Swiss Roll, I knew it's time to get my engine started again.

Reese made this Creative Srawberry Swiss Roll and I thought it was cute. I wanted to try my hands on it but just couldn't find the time. With Aspiring Bakers, what a perfect excuse to bake some swiss rolls ;-)

I didn't want to spend too much time on designing the strawberries so I just piped them into hearts instead.

I didn't do justice to this cake because the pictures were taken on a late afternoon where the sun was setting.  I took 3 pictures of the cut cake and they were either overexposed or too dim.  This is the best I have.

Verdict:  Yields a soft and light cake.

If you are comfortable with chiffon method, this recipe is really quick and easy.  Just make sure you've got all the ingredients measured out before you proceed, it helps.

With DS2's teachers in mind, I made another batch the next day, this time round with DD3 as my assistant.  She helped to choose the colours and mixed them :-)

The baked cake, unrolled.

This is the only rolled up cake I have as I didn't have time to cut and pack.  After my routine trip to the local supermarket, I prepared the cake before I cooked lunch.  Yes, it is that quick and easy!  However, by the time the cake is cooled, I didn't have enough time to chill it in the fridge and it was time to fetch DS2.  So the rolls were given to DS2's Form Teacher and his Mother Tongue teacher in this state.  I'm glad they like the cake but I think I can do better next time.

Let your creativity run wild!  Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury to spend too much time on it.  Maybe next time during the school holidays, I'll get DD1 to design her very own cake.

I'm submitting this to Aspiring Bakers: #9 Swiss Rolling Good Times by Obsessedly Involved with Food.

Creative Swiss Roll

Recipe seen here
Adapted from 小本
(with slight modifications on ingredients and method)

Ingredients
(A)
6 egg yolks
20g sugar
60g fresh milk
45g corn oil
100g plain flour/cake flour
15g corn flour

(B)
1/2 egg whites, ~ 20g
10g sugar

(C)
5.5 egg whites
70g sugar (I used 55g)

(D)
red colour paste

Method

• Lightly whisk the egg yolks together with 20g sugar.  Add in fresh milk and corn oil, mix well.
• Sift in plain/cake flour and corn flour and stir well.  Set aside.

• Spoon out 30g egg yolk batter (about 2 tbsp) and mix in red colouring. Mix well.
• Whisk the egg whites and sugar (ingredients B) till medium peak form and mix with the prepared 30g egg yolk batter. Stir well.
• Spoon the pink batter into a piping bag with tip #3 (I just used a plastic bag and cut a small hole). Pipe some heart shape onto lined tray (11"x14").
• Bake at 180'C for 1.5 minute, remove from oven.

• In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat till 5.5 egg whites are frothy. Add in 55g sugar gradually and beat till stiff peak.
• Fold in 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture using a rubber spatula till incorporated.
• Pour the mixture to the remaining egg whites and fold in gently till incorporated
• Pour batter into prepared pan (the half-baked hearts).
• Using a spatula, level the top evenly.
• Bake @ preheated oven of 180C for 12 - 13 mins.
• When the cake is cooked, remove from oven and leave to cool completely.
• Spread a layer of whipped cream/butter cream/jam onto the sponge cake. Roll it up and chill in fridge before serving.

Pumpkin Swiss Roll with Chocolate Chips

I'm falling in love with swiss roll making for one simple reason - baking time is merely 10 mins!  With some leftover pumpkins, I made this pumpkin swiss roll from Kang & You Favourite.

I was trying to replicate an effect like this one here but unfortunately, the chocolate chips were stucked onto the parchment paper when I tried to peel it off.  The cake turned messy and ugly.  It didn't occur to me that chocolates melt.  I need to give myself a slap *piak*

DS2 loves this cake and requested for me to pack some for his school teachers but I explained to him I'll bake a nicer swiss roll for his teachers next time, I promise.

The texture of this cake is soft and fluffy.  DS2 had 2 slices and DD1 ate 1 as she had just finished her lunch.  DD3 is still taking her nap so no chance to try it yet ;-)

Pumpkin Swiss Roll with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
(A)
4 Egg Yolk
40ml Oil
100g Cake Flour
100g Pumpkin Puree

50ml Water

(B)
5 Egg White

35g Castor Sugar

1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar

Method

1. Combine (A) together until well blended, leave aside.
2. Beat egg whites with electric beater till frothy, add in cream of tartar and whisk till soft peak.
3. Add in sugar gradually and beat till stiff peaks are formed.
4. Fold in 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture using a rubber spatula till incorporated.
5. Pour the mixture to the remaining egg whites and fold in gently till incorporated.
6. Sprinkle some chocolate chips on the tray and pour the batter into tray.  Bang the pan to release air bubbles.
   
7. Bake in preheated oven 200°C for 10 - 12 minutes or till cooked.
8. When the cake is cooked, leave to cool completely.
9. Spread a layer of whipped cream/butter cream/jam onto the sponge cake. Roll it up and chill in fridge before serving.

Strawberry Swiss Roll

Auntie A tried my sugar roll recipe but failed.  She tried a few other recipes online but they didn't turn out well too.  So she returned to her regular recipe which she claimed was the "perfect" swiss roll, soft and fluffy.  I asked for the recipe and made it last Sunday.

I was over the moon when the skin remained intact while I was rolling it, BUT I realised the texture of the cake was crumbly.  My heart sunken :-(

If you give one recipe to 10 bakers, they may all churn out different results.  And this was exactly what happened to us.  Auntie A tried my recipe but it didn't turn out well.  Now that I'm using her trusted recipe, I couldn't get the soft and fluffy texture.  Maybe it's just me, when it comes to sponge cake recipe, I just couldn't get it correct.  I still feel more confident doing the egg separation method.

Anyway, I'm posting the recipe for my own records and for those interested (and probably better luck than me), do give it a try and let me know how the cake turns out.

Strawberry Swiss Roll
Ingredients
4 eggs
80g sugar
80g self raising flour, sifted
40g corn oil
Strawberries, hulled and halved
Whipped Cream

Method

1. With an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar on HIGH speed until the batter double in volume and is ribbon-like (the beater should leave a ribbon-like texture when the batter is lifted up). Turn to LOW speed and whisk for another 1 to 2 mins. Whisking at low speed helps to stabilise the air bubbles in the batter.
2. Add sifted flour into the batter. With a spatula, gently fold in the flour until well blended. Take care not to deflate the batter. (To ensure proper folding in of the flour, you can add the flour in three separate additions.)
3. Add corn oil and fold with spatula until well blended.
4. Pour batter into 11" X 14" baking tray (lined with parchment paper) and bake at pre-heated oven of 200C for about 10 - 12 mins.
5. When the cake is cooked, leave to cool completely.
6. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream onto the sponge cake and lay the sliced strawberries evenly on top of the cream.
7. Roll it up and chill in fridge before serving.
   
   

White Christmas

I've been really busy the past 1 week and didn't have much energy to blog.  Here I am with another over-due post :P

I made this upon the request of SIL LY.  Tried a new recipe and I thought the texture seems better than my previous logcake.  It was originally a chocolate swiss roll recipe but I just omit cocoa powder and substituted with flour to get a basic swiss roll.  Also I didn't follow to bake at a lower temperature for a longer time.  The end result was satisfactory despite not following instructions ^-^

Bought a can of blueberry pie filling for this log cake but unfortunately my kids didn't quite like it (only DD3 enjoyed the cake).  Also, I didn't manage to roll up the swiss roll tightly so it became oblong instead of round.

Swiss Roll
Ingredients
4 Egg Yolks
40g Corn Oil
100g Cake Flour
80ml Water
4 Egg White
40g Castor Sugar
1 tsp Lemon Juice (optional)

Method

1. In a bowl, using hand whisk, whisk yolks, oil, water and sifted cake flour until well blended.  Set aside.
2. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat till the whites are frothy. Add in lemon juice and beat till soft peaks.
3. Add in sugar gradually and beat till stiff peaks.
   
4. Fold in 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture using a rubber spatula till incorporated.
   
5. Pour the mixture to the remaining egg whites and fold in gently till incorporated.
   
6. Pour batter into 11" X 14" and bake at pre-heated oven of 200C for about 10 - 12 mins.
   
7. When the cake is cooked, leave to cool completely.
   
8. Spread a layer of whipped cream/butter cream/jam onto the sponge cake. Roll it up and chill in fridge before serving.

Yule Log Cake

To welcome DH home, I made a Chocolate Nutella Yule Log Cake :)

I was hesitant prior to making this as I've failed my swiss roll previously.  Searched online to find out more about rolling the cake as per my understanding, there are 2 ways of rolling:

1. To roll the cake fresh from the oven while it is still hot.

2. To cool the cake completely before rolling.

I may have overbaked my cake last time so this time round, I eye-balled the cake and baked at exactly 12 mins.  And instead of waiting for it to cool, I decided to use the first method and rolled it while it was still hot.  It did crack a little but at least it was rollable.

The skin got stucked to the parchment paper when I unrolled it but since I was planning to have the cake frosted, I could't be bothered to sprinkle some sugar onto the parchment paper before rolling (see notes below).

This was baked in 11" x 14" pan but since it was an impromptu decision to bake this cake, I do not have any cake board nor cake box to contain the cake.  Searched high and low for a suitable box and found this microwaveable container (about 6" x 6").  Lined the base with aluminium foil and proceed to frost the cake.  However, I wasn't able to put any decorations on it as the lid was just touching the tip of the cake.

These were the balance cake that couldn't fit into the container so we had it for our afternoon tea.

Served it with some decorations and the kids were thrilled!

Without any whipping cream on hand, I decided to try out buttercream frosting.  Instead of using melted chocolate, I added Nutella to the buttercream to get a nice brown.  Both DS2 and I prefer fresh cream but DD1 loves it and licked up every single bit of cream on her plate.

The kids helped with the decorations and this was what they came up with.  Abit overwhelming as they were trying to put every single decoration onto the cake.

I used the same sugar roll recipe but modified it into a chocolate cake instead.  Also, I do not have enough cake flour so I substituted the balance with all purpose flour.  Not too bad for my standard (alright, I must admit I'm not a fussy eater) but kids commented they couldn't taste the chocolate at all.

Yes, I've finally made my very first swiss roll successfully!  After this episode, I feel more confident making swiss roll ^-^

Chocolate Swiss Roll

Ingredients

4 egg yolk

45g cake flour
40g plain flour

15g cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

40ml corn oil

4 egg white

60g caster sugar

Butter cream/whipped cream/jam

Method

1. Sift cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
2. Whisk egg white for a while then add in caster sugar gradually. Whisk till medium peak.
3. Drop in the egg yolk one by one into the beating egg white until finish and beat on low for another 3 mins.
4. Stop the machine, fold in the sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Fold in cornoil and pour into a 11" x 14" tray and bake at pre-heated oven of 200C for about 10 - 12 mins.
6. When the cake is cooked, let it cool in the oven for 5 mins. Turn cake out onto a piece of parchment paper (*see notes below) and immediately roll up the sponge cake together with the paper.  Leave to cool completely.
7. Unroll the cake carefully and spread a layer of whipped cream/butter cream/jam onto the sponge cake.  Roll it up again and chill in fridge before serving.

Notes

Sprinkle some sugar onto a parchment paper before inverting the cake and roll up into a swiss roll. This helps to prevent the skin from sticking onto the parchment paper.