Rolling out my first Swiss Roll after three failures!

I told you I will try to make my swiss roll tomorrow but I will be out flying off to celebrate my good friend's birthday in Singapore tomorrow so I have to make it today, to be in time for my entry to the Aspiring Bakers #9. I am so "kiasu", I don't want to miss the fun of the swiss rolling good times with all my wonderful blogger friends. LOL!


I finally use a sponge cake recipe to make my swiss roll. I did everything right and happily send the batter to the oven. After 5 minutes, I smell something burning. Oh my god!! it was my swiss roll burning in the oven. I rushed to take it out and the top is like charcoal! I was mad, I lost my cool! I stomped my feet and I was ready to throw in the towel. Then when I calm down and go back and look at my oven, I found out the cause of the burn. When my maid cleaned the oven this morning, she accidentally turned on the top grill button. GRRRR!!!  I almost want to blow my top!! 


That is no point scolding her because she is not even aware of it. OOOMMMMPH!!! It is your fault, check the settings before you start baking, learn from your mistake. Let go Quay Po, it is okay! GOOD ADVICE!!

After cleaning up the mess, I started all over again to make the batter. While the cake was baking in the oven, my heart was pumping a little faster. Then the cake was ready. I was so afraid to get it out from the baking paper but I did it. Next was to turn it over. I was worried I will tear the cake but I did it too with no accident.  I applied the kaya on the cake and stood back and looked at it.  I said to myself, “Quay Po, you have come this far, don’t mess up, only one more step to go, the rolling!”  Honestly, I was scared to roll and fail again. The biggest fear is fear itself and I have to overcome it to get my roll and no other choice right?  Like Chinese like to say, Die, Die lah, let’s do it! 

VOILA! I finally roll out my first "REAL" Swiss Roll! I know it is nothing to shout about compared to my dear friends’ visually appealing rolls but then, to me, it is a BIG deal after so many tries. I can now untie all my crossed fingers and clap my hands. My Quay Lo, poured me a glass of wine and asked me to sit back and relax. I can now enjoy the fruit of my hard labour, so to speak. Hey, but swiss roll does not go with wine! I don’t care, I just want to eat my swiss roll.  Want a piece?

Vanilla Kaya Swiss Roll
Swill roll recipe largely adapted from Nasi Lemak Lover with modification

Ingredients:

26g unsalted butter, melted

84g egg yolk (5 medium egg yolks)

26g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

126g egg white (4 medium egg whites)

80g caster sugar

47g cake flour, sifted

Kaya Filling Ingredients:

Largely adapted from Madam Kwan’s Kitchen with modification

10 Eggs

450 grams sugar

20 grams freshly pressed pandan juice

500 ml coconut milk

Method:

Beat the eggs and sugar together with a whisk, mix in the coconut milk and add in the pandan juice.  Next, fill the base unit of a double boiler with water and bring to a boil.  Add mixture into the top unit of the double boiler, stirring every 10 minutes until the mixture reaches into a smooth consistency.  This will take an hour. Cool and bottle up.  The kaya can be kept well up to two months in fridge.

Tip – to obtain a smooth consistency, use hand held blender to blend the kaya.

Method to make Swiss roll sponge:

Whisk egg yolks and sugar over a pot of hot water till thicken and pale in color. Add vanilla extract into egg yolk mixture, stir well and set aside. In another clean bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until foamy, gradually add in sugar and beat till glossy and soft peaks form. Take one-third of egg whites mixture to mix with the egg yolk mixture using a hand whisk. Then fold in the remaining egg white using a spatula until well combined. Gently fold the sifted flour (in 3 batches) into the batter. Take some batter and add into melted butter to incorporate and add back to the remaining batter and mix well. Pour the batter into baking tray lined with baking paper. Spread evenly with a scraper. Gently knock the tray on tabletop to remove air bubbles trapped in the batter. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for around 13mins. When cake is done, remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

Method to assemble Swiss roll:

Please see the video on my post My steamroller swiss roll turned layers butter cake.

I am submitting this recipe to Aspiring Baker #9 "Swiss rolling good times" hosted by Obessedly Invovled with Food.