Sunday 8 December 2013

Red Velvet Swiss Roll with Mascarpone Cream













I love a rolled cake. Last year I made this Chocolate Peppermint Roll for Christmas which gave my traditional Christmas pudding a run for it's money. Since then I've made this divine Fudgy Chocolate Chestnut Roulade (which is just a fancy way of say Fudgy Chocolate Chestnut Roll) and just recently I made this utterly delicious Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll which is just a fancy way of saying Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll, no wait a minute??... Anyhooo, I love a rolled cake. They just roll of my tongue, I mean onto my tongue.



Red Velvet Swiss Roll with Mascarpone Cream
slightly adapted from Donna Hay

For the Cake:
75g cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 eggs
110g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon of red food colouring (I use the colour gels which are very concentrated.
If you're using the liquid, just add enough to give you the intensity of colour you desire.)
50g unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons caster sugar, extra for sprinkling
80g icing sugar

For the Mascarpone Cream:
80ml cream
35g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g mascarpone cream

Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 37cm x 26cm x 2.5cm baking tray with cooking oil spray and line it with baking paper.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together three times. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachement, whisk the eggs, caster sugar and food colouring together for about 12 minutes, until tripled in volume. Sift half the flour mixture over the egg mixture and using a large metal spoon, gently fold it in. Sift the remaining flour mixture over the batter and fold gently again. Finally add the butter and fold until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared tray and level it off with a spatula. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.

While the cake is baking, place a large piece of baking paper on a work surface and sprinkle it with the extra caster sugar. When the cake is ready, take it out of the oven and immediately turn it out onto the prepared paper. Remove the paper from the top of the cake. Using the sprinkled paper and starting from one of the shorter edges, gently roll the cake up. Cover it with a clean cloth and leave it to cool completely. I popped mine into the refrigerator to chill after it had cooled a little.

Make the Mascarpone Cream:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachement, whisk the cream, icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Add the mascarpone and whisk until thickened.

Assemble the Cake:
Unroll the cake, taking care not to crack the cake, and gently spread the mascarpone cream evenly over it. Gently roll the cake to enclose the filling. Sprinkle icing sugar onto a baking tray and roll the cake in it to coat. Trim the edges and serve.




29 comments:

  1. :D! So festive and pretty, I love swiss rolls too, and the cream filled ones are the best. Looks so fluffy and I love the mascarpone filling!

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    1. Thanks Emma. This is my most successful roll so far, as far as the rolling is concerned. No cracks and fairly even distribution of the filling... But to heck with all that technical stuff, it tastes fantastic.

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  2. Love this - what a beautiful and festive cake for the holidays. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. This is a really lovely cake for this time of the year.

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  3. I made a similar cake a couple years ago and it was a hit! Everyone loves red velvet plus there's mascarpone in the middle, wow :) Love your pictures!

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    1. Thanks Gabrielle. The mascarpone filling really does make this cake.

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  4. One of these days I'm going to make a roll cake. This looks beautiful! My son is hosting Christmas Dinner, hopefully he'll ask me to bring dessert. Pinning this one.

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    1. This is pretty easy to make Lea Ann. I hope you knock their socks off if you get a chance to make it.

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  5. I saw this recipe in the latest Donna Hay too! I have marked it with a giant Post-it note :)
    I am going to try the red velvet truffles featured as well. I have a feeling they will be very popular on Christmas Day.

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    1. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the cake Amy. The only thing I would point out is the cooking time. The original recipe states to bake the cake for 7-8 minutes. My cake was just about raw at that point so I baked it for 16 minutes in total and it was baked to perfection. Oh, and those red velvet truffles look divine don't they? I can't wait to give them a try.

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  6. Hi,
    I am a follower of your blog and think it is wonderful. I actually bought the Donna Hay Christmas Edition solely for this recipe. I have been trying to make a Red Velvet Roll ever since I went to a gorgeous Tea House in Melbourne. The two recipes I have tried ended up in the bin ...they were like rolled up yoga mats...tough and rubbery. Yours looks absolutely gorgeous. Was it as light and fluffy as it looks? Does it taste like a Red Velvet cake without having an essential ingredient...buttermilk? Also what did you use for cake flour ....a combination of plain & cornflour?
    Thanks so much for posting this. It really has made my day.
    Angela

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  7. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment Angela. I love to hear from my readers.

    I'm a fan of all things Donna Hay: recipes, styling, photography, style... This is, by far, my most successful roll cake to date. Yes, it tastes like Red velvet is meant to taste. I suspect the buttermilk would make the cake a little too moist to be able to be rolled, so that's why it has been omitted from the recipe. It's light and fluffy and moist - all the things you want in a swiss roll. The major change I made to the recipe was the cooking time. The original recipe states a cooking time of 7-8 minutes or until set. My cake was only half baked at that point, so I left it to bake for 16 minutes total. It was perfectly baked. I use "Lighthouse" soft, low protein flour for Biscuits, Pastry and Cakes. I get it from the baking aisle at Coles/Woolworths.

    I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, just ask and I'll try to answer them. I really hope you give this a try. I'm sure you'll be delighted with the results.

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  8. What a great idea for Christmas, looks beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Sara. It's a perfect cake for Christmas.

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  9. Thank you for giving me more detail for baking the roll. Your recommendation seems a more suitable time to bake it. I have seen the flour at Coles & Woolies but just thought it was flour that was suitable for baking rather than bread or pizza. I have usually made cake flour with plain & cornflour. Yours looks so perfect I will buy that flour to get a result such as yours.
    Please keep up the fantastic recipes you share on your blog. I marvel how anyone can give so much of themselves and their time to bless so many.
    Thank you,
    Angela

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  10. This roll looks picture perfect!!! Great photography and the recipe sounds just divine for a christmas dessert!!
    xox Amy

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  11. this cake looks yummy and festive!

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    1. Thanks Dina. Red velvet would have to be one of the go-to recipes at Christmas time.

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  12. Replies
    1. Thanks Laura. Red and while swirls always do the trick at this time of the year.

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  13. So, so pretty and I truly admire your rolled cake skills. I'm a bit scared of attempting one! I'll be Facebooking you with questions when I try one ok? So, so lovely and I bet delish!

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    1. Facebook away Maria. I'm happy to help in any way I can.

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  14. I like this sweety swiss roll. Thanks for hosting this post. Its really a healthy food guide.

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  15. I will have to try this. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. I have just tryed this and seams to of worked

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  17. For the Mascarpone Cream, 80ml cream refers to what cream?

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  18. Hi Felicia. Use 80mls whipping cream (aka thickened cream).

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