Lemon Swiss Roll
We found a beautiful swiss roll at the Windsor Family Farm Shop in Windsor, UK, and savored every last bite. I’ve been trying to recreate this at home ever since and this is pretty close. It consists of a thin lemon chiffon cake with a crème leger in the middle, and then all rolled up. Crème leger is simply crème patisserie combined with whipped cream. I also brush the cake with a little lemon simple syrup to help keep the cake from cracking when I roll it and to sneak in a little extra lemon flavor. It’s important to make a thin cake or it will crack and press out the filling when you roll it. I’m using a ½ sheet pan, which is roughly 12”x18”.
Chiffon Cake
☐ 1/4 cup canola oil
☐ 3 egg yolks
☐ Zest of 1 large lemon
☐ 3 tbsp lemon juice
☐ 2 tbsp water
☐ 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
☐ 1 cup (120 grams) cake flour (can use all purpose)
☐ 1 tsp baking powder
☐ 1/2 tsp salt
☐ 5 egg whites
☐ 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
☐ 1/4 cup sugar
Start by lining the bottom of a ½ sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper. Spray the parchment with cooking spray and then generously cover with sugar.
In a big bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients (oil, yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, water, and ½ cup sugar). In a separate bowl, combine the flour, powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients – whisk to combine…it will make a loose paste.
Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until you get to soft peaks. Gently add in the ¼ cup sugar and then beat the eggs until you get to stiff peaks.
Fold 1/3 of egg whites into the other ingredients - using a rubber spatula to "cut" the mix down the middle and then scrape along the bottom of the bowl and turn the mix over on itself. Turn the bowl a few degrees and go again. You will "sacrifice" a bit of the air in the whites in this first batch to loosen up the mix, but go as carefully as you can. Once the first 1/3 is just incorporated, cut in the remaining 2/3 of the egg whites until they are just incorporated and then stop.
Pour into pan. Bake at 325 for ~20 min. Don’t open the oven to check it until at least 18 min in. It’s done when a toothpick inserted toward the middle comes out clean and the surface resists you.
Let cake cool for ~5 min and then remove cake from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Test to see if the parchment is stuck to the cake or can be removed easily. If easily removable, leave it on. If it seems like it wants to stick, take off the parchment now before the cake cools.
Crème Leger (equal parts crème patisserie and whipped cream)
Crème Patisserie:
☐ 4 egg yolks
☐ 1/3 cup (67 grams) sugar
☐ Zest of 1/2 lemon
☐ 2 tbsp corn starch
☐ Pinch of salt
☐ 1 cup whole milk
Set aside a ¼ sheet pan or other rimmed baking sheet and plastic wrap. You’ll need this when the crème pat thickens. If you’re hunting for something to put it in, it will thicken too much and you’ll get lumps (yikes!).
Mix yolks, sugar, lemon, salt & starch in a medium bowl, whisk together everything EXCEPT THE MILK.
Bring the milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan. While you are whisking the yolk mixture in the bowl, slowly pour/drizzle the hot milk in (keep whisking!). Do this slowly and keep the eggs moving so you don’t scramble them. Once combined, return the whole mixture to the saucepan and keep whisking on low heat. Whisk gently - not so vigorously that you are creating bubbles but keep the egg mixture moving. Whisk for a couple of minutes and then you’ll see the mixture thicken significantly.
When it is the consistency of a runny pudding, turn off the heat and immediately pour into the ¼ sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic down onto the surface of the crème pat so that it doesn’t form a skin while it cools. Put this in the fridge for about an hour until it is completely cooled.
Whipped cream:
☐ 1 cup whipping cream
☐ 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Using a stand or hand mixer, whisk the whipping cream until it has soft peaks. Add in the powdered sugar (you may want to sift it in if you have a lot of lumps). Then continue whipping the cream until you have stiff peaks.
Combine to make Crème Leger:
To make the Crème Leger, simply combine the whipped cream with the cooled crème patisserie. Keep chilled in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the roll.
Lemon Simple Syrup
☐ 1/4 cup water
☐ 1/4 cup sugar
☐ Juice of 1/2 lemon
Heat water, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan until it simmers and sugar dissolves. Turn off and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
Assemble the cake
If you had to remove the parchment from the cake while it cooled, place a kitchen towel over the cake and invert it so that the visually best side is down on the side of the towel.
Gently brush the Lemon Simple Syrup onto the cake. You might not use all the syrup – you want the cake to be moist, but not soggy.
Spread the Crème Leger on the moistened cake to make a nice thin layer (you might not use all the crème either – excess crème is GREAT on raspberries!).
Starting on the long end, gently roll the cake over on itself using your fingers to start the roll. Once the roll is started, use the parchment or kitchen towel to help lift and roll the cake. You want a tight roll, but not so much that the crème is pushed out.
Wrap the cake roll in plastic and chill in the fridge for at least an hour to set.
When chilled, remove the plastic wrap and decorate the roll as you like – a simple dusting of powdered sugar, thin slices of lemons, piped crème leger, berries, etc.
Slice and enjoy!! Happy baking!