Tips for a good swiss roll

Today, we attended the third class of the baking course, "The Art of Swiss Rolls".

Actually, I think I've made a swiss roll before...

It was many years ago in Secondary School, during a Home Economics class.

I think I made a vanilla-flavoured swiss roll with strawberry jam then. I also remembered going home after the class that week, and trying to make another one by myself. It didn't roll up properly and as nicely as it did in school.

Today, I learnt that there are certain things that needs to be done to ensure you get a good swiss roll - one that rolls up properly!

Here are the few tips that I thought were especially useful:

1. Use the right tray size
Using too small a tray results in a thicker cake that is more suspectible to cracking when you roll it. Use one too big and you end up with a thin and skinny swiss roll that yes, may not roll properly as well.

2. Beat the cake mixture until "ribbon stage"
That's when the batter is really foamy and when you lift some up with a whisk, it drops and forms a lump on top of the cake mixture.

3. Send the mixture to the oven quickly
When the batter is foamy, fold in flour, oil and other stuff gently but quickly. Then quickly send it into the oven to keep the cake soft and fluffy.

4. Bake the cake until it is just right
Overbaking and underbaking will result in cracks when you roll the cake.

5. Roll the cake gently
You only really need to exert a bit of strength at the beginning of the roll, and when tucking the roll in. When rolling the cake, it should be done gently, without exerting any vertical force on the cake throughout the process.

I went to today's class feeling tired and a little grumpy from the flight last night. But making 2 beautiful swiss rolls (at least to me, they are pretty beautiful..) really lifted my spirits up.

(As a side-note: I forgot my camera today so we had to use The i-Phone to take pictures. And to my pleasant surprise the quality of the pictures were really quite good.. Another reason why I ought to change my phone..?)

Rainbow swiss-roll with a zoom-in on the mice.. done by the teacher

How the whole cake looked like with 3 little mice..

The 4 cakes The Husband and I made

Assorted views of the cakes we made