Alistair's Amazing Raspberry and Almond Swiss Roll, Sunday February 17th
17/02/2013 , 11:45 AM by Alice Wood
Here's a "swiss roll with bells on." It looks sophisticated, yet it's made with a fail-safe and simple sponge recipe - the kind that might well "save your life."
You make the sponge by combining a quick-mix cake batter with a French meringue mix.
Beat together until fluffy:
115g icing sugar
150g almond meal or almond powder
1 whole egg
90g plain flour
200g egg white (about 6 egg whites)
until they start to “split” - you'll see the water in the whites begin to separate from the proteins - on the side of the bowl.Sprinkle in while still whisking:
75g sugarContinue to whisk until the meringue mix is glossy and, when you feel the mix between your fingers, there is no longer any sugar “grit”.
Fold one third of the meringue mix into the almond mix, and “really beat it down.” Then fold in the remaining two thirds more gently.
Bake the sponge “hard and fast” in a sheet pan lined with silicon paper - that’s at about 200’C for about 6 or 7 minutes. However, if your pan size means you have a have a thicker cake than Alistair’s, which was about 2cm deep, lower the temperature to 170'C and bake for a little longer.
Put a second sheet of silicon paper on the bench and sprinkle it liberally with sugar (to prevent the fresh cake sticking to the paper).
Fill a cup about a third full of water.
Now, take the cake out of the oven and pour the water on the lip of the sheet pan, and then tip it on an angle to make the water flow in between the silicon paper and the tray down to the other end of the tray. You’ll hear a hiss as the steam lifts the paper from the tray and also separates it from the cake. This will stop the sponge from sticking to the paper in the next step, and prevent tearing of the sponge.Turn the cake, in it’s paper, out on to the sugared paper on the bench. Peel the steamed paper from the back of the cake.
Wait for the cake to cool a little, then spread it with jam and Chantilly cream (vanilla flavoured, whipped cream) and fresh raspberries. Roll the cake up around the filling, as you would a filled crepe rather than a sushi roll.
Alistair decorated the top of this roll with chopped nuts, a thick chocolate syrup and “shards of macaroon.” Unfortunately he isn’t giving away these recipes just yet. We’ll keep asking, but in the meantime, why not experiment with toppings? Tell us what you come up with!
To hear the recipe straight from the horse, click on the audio link: