:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Earl Grey Swiss Roll (text recipe)
// 中文版 //
- Serving: 6 to 8 pieces
- Special equipment:
- around 33 x 23 x 4 cm swiss roll tin
- Time: approx. 2 hours.
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/ Sponge cake ingredients /
- 4 egg whites
- 40g caster sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 40g cake flour
- 40g caster sugar
- 2 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves (from tea bags)
- 1½ tsp poppy seeds (can be replaced by Earl grey tea leaves)
/ Butter cream ingredients /
- 180g icing sugar
- 110g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3.5g Earl Grey tea leaves (from tea bags)
/ Directions /
- Sponge cake
- Fold a piece of parchment paper and place in the swiss roll tin, set aside.
- Sieve the cake flour 3x, set aside.
- Make 40g sugar, tea leaves and poppy seeds fine with a food processor, set aside. (Skip this step if you don't have a food processor.)
- Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.
- Whisk the egg whites with an electric hand mixer on a high speed. When the egg whites are foamy, pour in 40g sugar little by little (3x or so). Stop the mixer when the egg whites get a stiff peak.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolk with the electric hand mixer. Add in the 40g sugar, tea leaves and poppy seeds and keep whisking. And then add the cake flour little by little into the batter (3x or so) with a whisk.
- Fold the batter 100 times with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the swiss roll tin. Drop the tin several times on the working table. Bake it for 25 minutes. Turn the tin around after 13 minutes.
- Take the cake out from the oven and drop the pan on the working table several times to avoid sinking. Take out the cake sill on the parchment paper to cool and cover it with a pan or a towel.
- Butter cream
- Put the tea bags into hot milk for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and take out the tea leaves, set aside.
- Whisk the butter until fluffy for around 5 minutes. Sieve in icing sugar little by little and keep whisking. Add the tea leaves and mix well.
- To assemble
- When the sponge cake is cool, turn it upside down on a flat surface. Remove the parchment paper used for baking gently.Trim off the four edges.
- Place the cake on a new piece of parchment paper with one of the short sides in front of you. Spread the butter cream on top evenly and roll up the cake.
- Wrap the swiss roll first with the parchment paper tightly with the edge of the cake at the bottom. Wrap a piece of cling film around tightly and close the two ends. Refrigerate the roll for 30 minutes until firm and set.
- Sieve some icing sugar on top of the swiss roll for decoration. Guten Appetit~!
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I've tried to follow a recipe and make an Earl grey choffin cake. It was okay but personally I just have a feeling that the sourness from the cream of tartar doesn't fit the delicate taste of Earl Grey. But I didn't give up because the use of the Earl Grey tea and milk in this recipe reminds me of home. What was missing is the much needed sweet taste!
So I was left with the question "how can I keep the light and fluffy texture if I don't make a choffin cake?" The recipe I used before did make the choffin cake as soft and light as an angel food cake, and I wanted to keep this texture as much as possible! Then an idea popped into my head: Japanese roll cake (swiss roll)!
I amended a matcha roll cake recipe to this Earl Grey swiss roll because Japanese people are definitely keen on making fluffy cakes - and who doesn't love something sweet and fluffy! When I was developing this recipe, I also learnt that poppy seeds seem to intensify the taste of Earl Grey making the flavors matcha perfectly (get it :P).
To make the sponge cake for the swiss roll light in texture, egg whites play a very important roll (get it again ;P).
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| Echos Tipp: If you want
your egg whites to more easily get stiff peaks, always use glass or steel containers. Oil is the biggest enemy of egg whites, they love sticking on plastic containers no matter how 'clean' you think you've washed them. Steel or glass containers comparatively have less problems. |
Japanese also love using cake flour instead of all purpose flour to make their cakes even more fluffy. I know it's not uncommon to use cake flour, but what they do differently is that they sieve the flour 2 to 3 times before adding to a batter. This makes sure the end result is as light and airy as a summer cloud.
Fine ingredients are the key to get the much desired cloud texture. Processing the Earl Grey tea leaves, poppy seeds and caster sugar as fine as possible can not only contribute to the softness of the sponge cake, but also release the flavor of the tea leaves and poppy seeds - the delicious rain from the cloud.
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Echos Tipp:
Using a food processor is the easiest way to make the sugar, tea leaves and poppy seeds fine. If you're using a handheld processor, cover the container with a tea towel or lidl! Keep the lid/towel on top for around twenty seconds after you switch off the device, so the powder settles instead of going into your nose - you don't want to sneeze all over your lovely ingredients. |
Prepare two big bowls to whisk the egg whites and egg yolks separately. Pour the egg whites to the egg yolks little by little instead of all in one to make sure the lightness of the egg whites can be maintained. Gently fold the batter 100 times. Don't worry I haven't gone crazy and you didn't see it wrong, it's 100 times. You will see the batter gets more glossy after your hard work - trust me!
Since I don't have a proper swiss roll tin for the sponge cake, I used a roasting tin instead and found it works well too. It doesn't matter when the edges are not very straight because they have to be trimmed off before rolling the cake anyway. It just requires a special technique and practice to fold the parchment paper.
Pour the batter into the tin and drop the tin on the working table several times to allow the bubbles come out. Then bake it in a preheated oven (170°C / 340°F) for 25 minutes. Turn the pan around after 13 minutes for a more even bake.
Drop the tin on the working table again right after taking it out from the oven to avoid sinking - clouds are fluffy and full after all. Take out the sponge cake with the parchment paper to cool and cover it with the tin or a towel to keep in the moisture - we don't like rain clouds, only fluffy ones.
In the meantime prepare the butter cream. I used the Earl Grey tea leaves from two tea bags. To make them soft, I let them to soak some hot milk for around five minutes. Beat the butter until fluffy and then sieve in icing sugar little by little until incorporated - baby steps are the key for the best result. Add the tea leaves into the mixture and mix well.
When the sponge cake is cool, turn it upside down on a flat surface. Remove the parchment paper used for baking gently.
Trim the four edges off for better presentation and easier rolling. And then turn the cake around with the brown side up again - remember to be gentle we don't want to burst our cloud!
Place the cake on a new piece of parchment paper with one of the short sides in front of you. Spread the butter cream on top evenly.
You can roll the cake with the help of the parchment paper, but I found that the texture of butter cream is actually very stable. This means you can also roll the cake tight without the help of the parchment paper - do whatever you find easier and again don't be forceful.
Finally we can see the delicious roll now after such a long process! But keep patient! If you want your Earl Grey swiss roll not only tasting lovely but also looking lovely too, the following steps are essential!
Wrap the swiss roll first with the parchment paper tightly with the edge of the cake at the bottom. Then wrap a piece of cling film around tightly as well and close the two ends. This ensures the moisture of the swiss roll can be maintained - rain always ruins fluffy clouds. Refrigerate the roll for 30 minutes until firm and set.
If you want to add that little bit of extra style and beauty (why wouldn't you after all your hard work), you can sieve some icing sugar on top of the swiss roll.
So here it comes your beautiful, fluffy and delicious Earl Grey swiss roll. Guten Appetit~!
 |
Echos Tipp:
Egg yolks are another enemy of egg whites. Therefore whisking the egg whites first is always a smarter approach. |
 |
| Echos Tipp: Measure the base of the tin and draw a rectangular on a piece of parchment paper. Cut off the indicated sections and then hide the red triangles behind the blue rectangles. Use steel paper clips to hold. |
Pour the batter into the tin and drop the tin on the working table several times to allow the bubbles come out. Then bake it in a preheated oven (170°C / 340°F) for 25 minutes. Turn the pan around after 13 minutes for a more even bake.
 |
| Echos Tipp: Use a spatula to spread the batter to the corners. |
Drop the tin on the working table again right after taking it out from the oven to avoid sinking - clouds are fluffy and full after all. Take out the sponge cake with the parchment paper to cool and cover it with the tin or a towel to keep in the moisture - we don't like rain clouds, only fluffy ones.
In the meantime prepare the butter cream. I used the Earl Grey tea leaves from two tea bags. To make them soft, I let them to soak some hot milk for around five minutes. Beat the butter until fluffy and then sieve in icing sugar little by little until incorporated - baby steps are the key for the best result. Add the tea leaves into the mixture and mix well.
When the sponge cake is cool, turn it upside down on a flat surface. Remove the parchment paper used for baking gently.
Trim the four edges off for better presentation and easier rolling. And then turn the cake around with the brown side up again - remember to be gentle we don't want to burst our cloud!
Place the cake on a new piece of parchment paper with one of the short sides in front of you. Spread the butter cream on top evenly.
 |
Echos
Tipp:
Leave about 4cm plain on the side that is in front of you, here is the starting point where you start rolling the cake. |
You can roll the cake with the help of the parchment paper, but I found that the texture of butter cream is actually very stable. This means you can also roll the cake tight without the help of the parchment paper - do whatever you find easier and again don't be forceful.
Finally we can see the delicious roll now after such a long process! But keep patient! If you want your Earl Grey swiss roll not only tasting lovely but also looking lovely too, the following steps are essential!
Wrap the swiss roll first with the parchment paper tightly with the edge of the cake at the bottom. Then wrap a piece of cling film around tightly as well and close the two ends. This ensures the moisture of the swiss roll can be maintained - rain always ruins fluffy clouds. Refrigerate the roll for 30 minutes until firm and set.
If you want to add that little bit of extra style and beauty (why wouldn't you after all your hard work), you can sieve some icing sugar on top of the swiss roll.
 |
Echos Tipp:
To have a clean cut of each piece of the cake, clean your knife with a wet towel before each cut. |
So here it comes your beautiful, fluffy and delicious Earl Grey swiss roll. Guten Appetit~!
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