Bammie's Strawberry Swiss Roll

if any of you saw the previous swiss roll i made, you will totally understand why i am jumping in joy now....lol....today is my 3rd attempt making a swiss roll or jelly roll (as most Canadians go by) & FINALLY, they are soft and most importantly, i am able to roll them up nicely.....sure, it is still far from the perfect swiss roll...there are still cracks on the cake but i dusted it with icing sugar so it is not soo obvious...

Actually, the most important aspect of making a swiss roll is to make a really good, light & airy sponge cake. It is not difficult to make a sponge cake but to make one that is the right texture & consistency for it to be rolled is the challenging part..

/sweat

The good thing is that if you dun succeed in turning it into a swiss roll, it is a versatile cake & you can just about switch & make it into a variety of desserts such as a trifle cake topped with chopped fruits or just use it instead of lady fingers to make tiramisu (no one can tell the difference anyway...lol).....

Swiss Roll is one of those things that i always loved to eat but never will in a million years, imagine myself baking it from scratch. So, i have to say that i am actually pretty proud of myself in a sort of kind of SMUG way....hahhaaa../wahaha

Now for the recipe:

Ingredients:

5 eggs

1-2/3 cups white sugar

1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon hot water

1-3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Icing sugar for dusting

Sliced fresh strawberries

Raspberry Jam

Instructions:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a jelly roll pan with buttered parchment paper.
2.	Beat the eggs until thick and pale yellowish color (Patience & a Mixer is a Must here. Even with a mixer, it took like 10 minutes of beating at medium speed to get the thick consistency i wanted sooo imagine doing it by hand!!...You will just get insane before you get to roll anything...lol). Gradually add the white sugar, beating constantly. Stir in hot water and vanilla extract. Fold in flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour batter into the jelly roll pan.
3.	Bake for 10 minutes. It should be springy to the touch, and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the pan.
4.	Lay out a tea towel, and sprinkle it with confectioners' sugar. Turn the jelly roll out on the towel. Take off the paper or foil. Cut away crusty edges.
5.	Spread with the jam and place the strawberries all around.Roll the cake up in the towel, and leave it to cool. Chill. Dust the top with icing sugar.

NOTES:

• Since you want the cake to be all airy and light, you have to be careful when you fold in the flour. Gradually add the flour & use a spatula to lightly fold in the flour. Fold the egg mixture and the flour mixture together very gently as you are trying not to knock any of the air out of the eggs. Heavy & too much handling at this stage will give a flat, tough sponge.
• The dusting of the icing sugar is really optional. I like to dust off with it because it helps to cover the cracks of the cake.
• Once the cake has finished baking, do not leave the cake to cool for too long. Otherwise, the cake becomes too dry and tear during roll up.
• Trim away the crusts/edges which are thinner and more dry, they interfere with the rolling.
• Cut the cake into slices using a serrated knife
  

/bye