Matcha Swiss Roll with Raspberry Cream
Makes:
one 10-inch (25 cm) dessert
Serves:
8
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
20 minutes
Introduction
About this Recipe
Category:
Recipe from Anna Olson’s Baking Wisdom
© 2023 Olson Food Concepts Inc. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
Ingredients
Swiss roll:
- ¼ cup (60 mL) 2% milk
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) matcha green tea powder
- 3 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup (50 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- Green food colouring gel, powder or paste (optional)
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Raspberry cream:
- 1¼ cups (310 mL) whipping cream, divided
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup (32 g) icing sugar
- 4 tsp freeze-dried raspberry powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line the bottom of an ungreased 10 × 15-inch (25 × 38 cm) baking tray (jelly roll pan) with parchment paper.
Step 2
Heat the milk and matcha tea in a small saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes, then set aside (it can be warm when used).
Step 3
Whip the egg whites using electric beaters on high speed until frothy. Slowly pour in ¼ cup (50 g) sugar and continue to whip until the whites hold a stiff peak when the beaters are lifted. Set aside.
Step 4
Whip the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup (50 g) sugar on high speed until they turn buttery yellow, thicken and hold a ribbon when the beaters are lifted. Whisk in the warm milk by hand. Sift the flour and cornstarch over the eggs and whisk in by hand.
Step 5
Fold in a third of the whipped whites until almost incorporated and then add the remaining whites, folding gently but quickly until no streaks of the whites are visible. Add food colouring, if using. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread the batter to make it as level as possible.
Baking Wisdom: Matcha green tea gives the batter a pea-green colour. If you prefer a brighter green, add a drop or two of food colouring liquid or a little sprinkle of colour powder to the batter.
Levelling the cake batter in the pan is important because this thin cake shows every detail and unevenness of the cake once rolled and sliced. When first spreading the batter in the pan, push the batter into the corners to get it to fasten to the edges, then use your palette knife to spread it evenly over the entire surface. Try not to lift your palette knife until you reach the edge of the pan, to keep the batter smooth and level.
Step 6
Bake the cake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the cake springs back when gently pressed. Cool the cake on a rack for 5 minutes.
Baking Wisdom: The 5 minutes of rest allows the cake to cool a little, but not too much. If you rush to roll the cake directly from the oven, it might “sweat” when rolled in the tea towel, causing the surface of the cake to get sticky.
Step 7
Shape the cake while warm. Run a palette knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Dust the surface of the cake with icing sugar and place a clean tea towel overtop. Place a cutting board or second baking tray on top of the towel and invert everything together. Remove the jelly roll pan (now on top) and peel away the parchment paper. Dust the cake with icing sugar and, using the tea towel to help, roll up the cake from a short side, rolling the towel in with it. Set the cake back on the rack to cool completely before filling.
Baking Wisdom: Add only a light sprinkling of icing sugar to the cake before covering with the tea towel and rolling. The icing sugar helps create a little barrier between the cake and the towel, but too much will just melt and stick.
When starting to roll the cake to shape it, lift the cake up a little as you coax it forward and over itself. That first roll is the most prone to cracking since it is the smallest part of the spiral and uses the outer edge of the cake, which might be drier than the centre.
Step 8
Whip the cream with the cornstarch. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk ¼ cup (60 mL) whipping cream with the cornstarch, whisking constantly until it thickens and just starts to bubble, under 2 minutes. Transfer the thickened cream to a dish to cool for 5 minutes (it can be warm).
Baking Wisdom: Thickening some cream with cornstarch and then adding it to a larger batch of whipping cream is a bakery technique that gives the cream more strength and structure than adding skim milk powder. In this recipe, the added step is worth it—your matcha roll will slice cleanly and the whipped cream will maintain its full volume.
