Tri-Colour Cake Rolls
Many years ago while I was living in London, I was lucky enough to partake in a traditional and (highly “bougie”) English High Tea. You know the type - little tables decorated in pastels and more lace that could ever be deemed necessary. You get served those bite sized morning tea treats by a man wearing white gloves all the while you sit as straight as you possibly can, pretending you know your 1-2-3s in classic English table etiquette. Little did they know, I will often lick the plate after pancakes to enjoy every drop of that golden syrupy, creamy goodness. Not in company of course - oh no! Although, you can’t tell me that Your Majesty the Queen wouldn’t have licked her fingers after a scone or two when she was alone.
Now, it won’t surprise you that I was the first to go for all the sweet versions of said bite-sized delicacies offered up to us on literally a silver platter. My particular favourite was the tiny little variations of a Swiss roll. Cloud-like sponge spiraled around a filling of slightly sweet whipped cream. Simple - but oh-so-good.
A merely 6 years after that day and I’m still thinking about those little sponge-y delights. Not surprisingly as I’m a huge fan of a good Swiss roll, which got me thinking that I wanted an adaptation that I could drag out for an afternoon tea treat. I’m not saying you can’t make a Swiss roll for afternoon tea. In fact, I’ve been know to do that myself but sometimes the idea of a quaint little bite-sized cake wins over. This again, brought me back to those spongettes in London which eventually led me to find these incredibly cute little tri-colour cake rolls.
I’ll be honest with you. This isn’t the most straightforward recipe in the world. There is a fair bit of mixing, dividing, a tiny bit of measuring etc. But if you’re wanting a little bit of English sophistication in your life or there’s a special someone coming over to visit, I encourage you to give this recipe a go. The reward is certainly worth the effort!
Tri-Colour Cake Rolls
Ingredients
- 4 eggs - room temperature
- 150g almond meal
- 160g icing sugar
- 50g plain flour
- 30g unsalted butter - melted
- 4 egg whites
- 1tbsp caster sugar
- 1-2 drops pink/red food colouring
- 1tbsp cocoa powder + 1tbsp hot water
- 3tbsp caster sugar - additional
- 300ml thickened cream
- 1tbsp icing sugar
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 100g strawberry jam
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Trace a 8inch x 10inch rectangle on the back of three baking paper sheets - place them pencil side down onto three large baking sheets. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add eggs, almond meal and icing sugar. Beat well until the mixture is light, creamy and thick. About 5-8 minutes. Once beaten, add flour and stir through butter. Set aside.
- Clean and dry mixer bowl and whisk. Whisk the egg whites on low speed, gradually increasing to high until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1tbsp of caster sugar and continue to whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Fold the egg whites gently with a whisk into the almond mixture in three different batches until there are no lumps. Divide this batter between 3 small bowls.
- To one bowl, add 1tbsp cocoa + 1 tbsp hot water. Mix thoroughly. To the second bowl, stir through 1-2 drops of food colour until the desired colour is achieved.
- Pour and spread evenly the three different batters individually onto the three previously measured 8x10inch rectangles. Bake each cake for 5-10 minutes or until edges start to become golden.
- Meanwhile, on a separate large sheet of baking paper, sprinkle 1 tbsp of caster sugar across the surface. Once sponge is cooked and still hot, invert onto this sugared piece of baking paper and remove top paper lining. Trim any crooked edges with a sharp knife.
- While still warm and starting from the short end, carefully start to roll the sponge until it's completely rolled, allowing the paper to be rolled up inside. Place on a cooling rack, seam side down and allow to cool completely. Repeat for remaining sponges.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the cream, vanilla and icing sugar until the cream is firm with soft peaks. Set aside in fridge until ready to use.
- Carefully unroll cooled cakes. To the vanilla cake, spoon 2-3 tbsp of strawberry jam across the surface. Add 1/3 of the cream filling before rolling - as tightly as possible. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for minimum of 1 hour. Repeat with remaining cakes.
- Cut each roll in half and then each half into halves - resulting in 4 cakes from each roll. Serve with icing sugar and enjoy!