Chez Awesome: Matcha Mother's Swiss Roll (Vanilla, Green Tea, and Chocolate Swiss Rolls)

I apologize for the terrible post title but I couldn't resist the urge to make a stupid pun.

Usually I start a post with a story or an explanation of how I decided to try making the recipes covered in the post. But this time there's nothing special about it: I just googled recipes that use matcha (green tea). I was in the mood for baking something that was matcha flavored, found a recipe for a green tea Swiss roll, and liked the look of it. Nothing fancy.

Swiss rolls apparently aren't Swiss at all. They come in a variety of flavors and the filling (usually whipped cream) can also have pieces of fresh fruit in it. It turns out that I spent my childhood eating the "Hong Kong" style of Swiss rolls from the Chinese bakeries in San Francisco without realizing that the European versions are much sweeter. I prefer the less sweet style, especially when it lets the taste of any fruit in the filling come through more (mango!!! yum).

The green tea Swiss roll recipe I found by googling comes from KitchenTigress's blog, and she is from Singapore. I got lucky and happened to find a recipe that is in the Hong Kong style without knowing it. I tried three different cake variations (vanilla, matcha, and chocolate), and two different filling variations (flavored whipped cream only or whipped cream with fruit).

While looking up Swiss roll facts for this blog post, I also found out that most people have trouble with the cake cracking and splitting when they roll it. I did not have any of these problems when using KitchenTigress's recipe as the base for my experiments. This is because Kitchen Tigress designed her recipe to produce a cake that is 1) moist and 2) stretchy and flexible.

The Pioneer Woman's post on Swiss rolls shows an excellent example of the cake cracking. This is not a criticism of the Pioneer Woman, it's just the reality that most people face when making Swiss rolls.

The other major difference I found while googling is that people recommend rolling the cake while it's hot and letting it cool down, then unrolling it to fill it and then re-rolling it back up again. I let the cake cool down completely before spreading on the filling and rolling and didn't have to rush through any steps.

This was the result of my first attempt at a Swiss roll using Kitchen Tigress's Vanilla Swiss roll recipe:

Vanilla Swiss roll with whipped cream filling and mandarin orange slices
The little black square is where a piece was when I dusted with powdered sugar but I ate the piece before I took this picture.
It was great.

The hardest part of the green tea recipe was remembering to double the ingredient quantities after converting from metric to imperial units.

Because Kitchen Tigress is from Singapore, all of the units in her recipes are for weight instead of volume and in metric instead of imperial units. Keep in mind when reading her original recipes is that her oven is also in Singapore so it's half the size of an American oven, which means that her baking pans are half the size of ours and so her ingredient measurements are for what we would consider to be a half-sized dessert. I have converted everything but you can go back and check if something looks wrong. (To make things more confusing, she used a larger pan for the original Swiss roll recipe so those ingredients are not doubled, but a smaller pan for the matcha Swiss roll recipe so those ingredients are doubled. I've got the correct amounts you'll need for a standard American cookie sheet ~17" X 11".)

Here are the experiments that I tried:

original Swiss roll recipe (whipped cream filling and mandarin orange slices from Trader Joe's) (pictured above) (success)
original Swiss roll recipe with cocoa powder added to make it chocolate (not a success)
green tea Swiss roll recipe (with almond whipped cream filling) (definite success)
chocolate Swiss roll recipe (whipped cream filling and morello cherries from Trader Joe's) (not a success)
green tea Swiss roll recipe modified with cocoa powder instead of matcha powder to make it chocolate (with Nutella whipped cream and chopped hazelnut filling) (definite success)
original Swiss roll recipe (whipped cream filling and fresh blackberries) (success)

I don't know why Kitchen Tigress's vanilla (#1) and matcha (#3) recipes worked so well but the chocolate one failed (#4). The texture of the cake from #4 was not nice at all - dry and dense and heavy.

The technique in the matcha recipe for adding a powdered flavor works quite well (#5) and I would recommend using this recipe for adding any powdered flavors, while keeping in mind that the amount of oil is lower in the matcha recipe than in the original recipe and may need to be increased a bit depending on what you've added. Experiment #2 was just a confirmation that Kitchen Tigress was correct about adding cocoa powder to the original recipe: the cake was just a dry, hard mess.

As far as cake and filling combinations go, let your imagination run wild! For example, I used blackberries in experiment #6 because I saw them at the grocery store and that's when I decided to put them in the filling. I'm thinking of trying another experiment with making a mango cake.

You can also vary the sweetness by changing the amount of sugar in the filling. I recommend that you don't adjust the amount of sugar in the cake by very much because it can make the cake either very sticky or very dry. The cake itself is not very sweet by American standards but you can easily add sugar to the whipped cream filling, or you can use a sweeter filling (like Nutella in experiment #5) to increase the sweetness.

Swiss Roll Recipe

original recipe from Kitchen Tigress

Ingredients

4 large egg whites (140 grams)
0.27 cup granulated sugar (60 grams)
4 large egg yolks (60 grams)
0.4 cup cake flour (40 grams)
1/16 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
0.27 cups vegetable oil (60 grams)
butter (for greasing the pan)
heavy whipping cream (~1 cup per cake)
sugar
any extracts (if desired)
fresh fruit (if desired in filling)

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Grease a cookie sheet with butter and line it with parchment paper. Make sure to remove any trapped air bubbles under the paper by running the edge of your hand over the paper to the ends of the cookie sheet.

Whisk the egg whites until a thick foam forms, like bubble bath. Slowly add the granulated sugar while keeping the hand mixer running. Continue to mix until the egg whites have firm peaks (a hooked peak remains when the beaters are lifted from the egg whites).

Add the yolks to the egg whites one at a time. Mix on a slow speed until each yolk is completely incorporated.

Sift half of the cake flour into the egg mixture. Add the salt. Mix the flour into the eggs with a whisk; do not use a hand mixer. Sift the remaining half of the cake flour into the batter and mix with the whisk until just even. Add the vanilla extract and the vegetable oil. Fold into the batter with a spatula until just evenly mixed, banging the mixing bowl against the countertop 2-3 times.

Pour the batter onto the cookie sheet and spread it out with the spatula as evenly as possible, making sure to push the batter into the corners of the pan. Jiggle the pan until the batter is level. Bang the pan against the countertop twice.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the middle of the cake is springy when pressed, about 10 to 11 minutes. Do not overbake! It is okay to open the oven and feel the cake several times. Remove the cake from the oven and drop the pan from onto the countertop from about 1 foot up. Drop the pan about 3-4 times. Using the edges of the parchment paper, pick up the cake and place it on a wire rack to cool. Peel the parchment paper from the sides of the cake and leave it for 20-30 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature.

While the cake is cooling down, whip the heavy whipping cream until the whipped cream is very solid and nearly becoming butter. Add the amount of sugar you want and any extracts if desired.

To assemble, place the cake on a new sheet of parchment paper, face down. Peel the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake. Spread the filling evenly over the cake. If using fruit, place it either in the middle of the filling in a line or sprinkle the fruit across the filling.

Roll the cake from one of the long sides so that the resulting roll is long and skinny. When making the initial roll, try not to squish the cake so much that it cracks or smushes while also making sure that the roll is tight enough to be solid. You can squish the roll gently with your hands to make it more circular at this point. Wrap the roll tightly in saran wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to several hours (or overnight) to make sure the whipped cream filling is solid and to let the flavors mix. Make sure that the edge of the roll is on the bottom when you put it in the fridge. If desired, melted chocolate can be poured over the roll but should only be done within several hours of when the cake will be eaten. Do not pour chocolate on a roll and leave it overnight because the chocolate will seep into the cake and oil will separate out.

To cut the cake, use a serrated knife and either wipe it clean with a towel or run it under hot water and dry it after every cut. This keeps the filling from sticking to the knife blade and being transferred to the outside of the roll on the next cut.

You can store either a cut or uncut roll overnight in the fridge. If desired, sift powdered sugar (or any other powder) on the roll either before or after cutting it. Whipped cream can also be piped on top of each cut for decoration.

Egg whites with firm peaks: the whites don't fall off the beaters and the peak made when the beaters are lifted doesn't fall back down into the whites.

With all 4 yolks beaten in.

With the flour, salt, oil, and vanilla whisked in.

Prepared cookie sheet

The batter should be quite thick and you should need to push it with a spatula.

Batter spread out across the whole cookie sheet. The batter will make a thin layer and you will need to jiggle the cookie sheet quite a bit to get it as even as possible.

The cake cooling down. Remember to peel the paper away from the edges of the cake.
This cake isn't cracked - I accidentally bent it towards the bottom when I picked it up.

Spread with very firm whipped cream

Smashed fresh blackberries spread on top of the whipped cream.
To roll, take the bottom edge (one of the two long edges) and roll towards the top edge (the other long edge).

Rolled up and in saran wrap to rest in the fridge.

Cutting the roll. The first several cuts on either end won't be pretty because the filling is usually thinner there. You can discard those pieces.

Finished product: vanilla roll with whipped cream and blackberry filling.

Green Tea/Chocolate/Other Flavor Swiss Roll Recipe

original recipe from Kitchen Tigress

Ingredients

4 teaspoons very hot water (20 grams)
1 tablespoon green tea powder (matcha)/cocoa powder/any other kind of powder
4 egg yolks (60 grams)
1.60 tablespoons granulated sugar (20 grams)
2.15 tablespoons vegetable oil (30 grams)
4.80 tablespoons cake flour (30 grams)
4 egg whites (140 grams)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3.20 tablespoons of granulated sugar (40 grams)
butter for greasing the pan
heavy whipping cream (~1 cup per cake)
sugar
any extracts (if desired)
fresh fruit (if desired in filling)

Add the hot water to the green tea powder/cocoa powder in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Cover and set aside.

Using a hand mixer, whisk the egg yolks with the 1.60 tablespoons of sugar in a medium bowl until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the vegetable oil and whisk until thick. Add the green tea/chocolate paste and mix until even. Sift the cake flour into the mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just even after each batch.

Whisk the egg whites with a hand mixer in a large bowl until very frothy, like bubble bath. Add the cream of tartar and keep mixing until a thick foam forms. Slowly add the 3.20 tablespoons of sugar while mixing. Keep whisking until firm peaks form.

Add the egg yolk mixture to the egg whites, folding with a spatula until just evenly mixed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure not to miss any of the batter, banging the bowl against the countertop 2-3 times.

Pour the batter onto the cookie sheet and spread it out with the spatula as evenly as possible, making sure to push the batter into the corners of the pan. Jiggle the pan until the batter is level. Bang the pan against the countertop twice.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the middle of the cake is springy when pressed, about 9 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake! It is okay to open the oven and feel the cake several times. Remove the cake from the oven and drop the pan from onto the countertop from about 1 foot up. Drop the pan about 3-4 times. Using the edges of the parchment paper, pick up the cake and place it on a wire rack to cool. Peel the parchment paper from the sides of the cake and leave it for 20-30 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature.

While the cake is cooling down, whip the heavy whipping cream until the whipped cream is very solid and nearly becoming butter. Add the amount of sugar you want and any extracts if desired.

To assemble, place the cake on a new sheet of parchment paper, face down. Peel the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake. Spread the filling evenly over the cake. If using fruit, place it either in the middle of the filling in a line or sprinkle the fruit across the filling.

Roll the cake from one of the long sides so that the resulting roll is long and skinny. When making the initial roll, try not to squish the cake so much that it cracks or smushes while also making sure that the roll is tight enough to be solid. You can squish the roll gently with your hands to make it more circular at this point. Wrap the roll tightly in saran wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to several hours (or overnight) to make sure the whipped cream filling is solid and to let the flavors mix. Make sure that the edge of the roll is on the bottom when you put it in the fridge. If desired, melted chocolate can be poured over the roll but should only be done within several hours of when the cake will be eaten. Do not pour chocolate on a roll and leave it overnight because the chocolate will seep into the cake and oil will separate out.

To cut the cake, use a serrated knife and either wipe it clean with a towel or run it under hot water and dry it after every cut. This keeps the filling from sticking to the knife blade and being transferred to the outside of the roll on the next cut.

You can store either a cut or uncut roll overnight in the fridge. If desired, sift powdered sugar (or any other powder) on the roll either before or after cutting it. Whipped cream can also be piped on top of each cut for decoration.

Beating the egg whites.
The green tea paste is in the small bowl above the yolks.

Yolks and sugar before being beaten.

Egg yolks beaten with sugar: the color is much lighter than the color of a yolk.

With the green tea paste beaten in.

With the cake flour mixed in.

With the stiff egg whites mixed in.

The chocolate paste

Egg yolks and sugar mixture with the chocolate paste mixed in.

Firmly beaten egg whites and chocolate/flour mixture

Egg whites with the chocolate mixture folded in

The batter is evenly spread out due to lots of jiggling of the pan.

The batter needs to be jiggled more in the pan: the top left corner is visibly thinner than the rest of the batter.

After baking for 10 minutes

Cooling down: the brown spots aren't on the cake, they're little bits of batter than were on the paper and which popped into the air when I peeled the edges of the paper away.