Polka Dots Swiss Roll with Nutella® Buttercream

It was a tormenting night for me yesterday because I could hardly fall asleep. My mind was flooded with imaginative ideas of various designs I hope to create for my blog. Imaginative I would say because I could hardly figure how to customise the default simple template, let alone create fanciful designs (for now at least). To further complicate my "already-going-to-burst" mind, I was also brainstorming about recipes that I could experiment in order to fit into this month's Aspiring Bakers' theme, "Rainbow and Ombre Party!".

Anyway before I know, I had fallen asleep and the next moment when I open my eyes, it's daytime! I couldn't wait to get out of bed after my husband left for work because that means I will be free and alone to commence my baking experiment!

Saying I am excited may be an understatement. But I simply can't wait to see the very first publication of my baking post on my very own blog!

To fulfil the Aspiring Bakers theme, I have decided to make my all time favourite (which is also what I have mastered pretty well so far) - Swiss Roll, decorated with colourful polka dots. To top off its yumminess, I thought I would fill it with another all-time favourite - Nutella®.

Polka Dots Swiss Roll with Nutella® Buttercream

Polka Dots Swiss Roll with Nutella® Buttercream

Ingredients Required

Swiss Roll
Recipe referenced and modified from: Vivian Pang's Kitchen

Group A
4 egg yolks
20 grams castor sugar
30 grams vegetable oil
40 grams milk
60 grams cake flour
20 grams rice flour

Group B
4 egg whites,
1 teaspoon lemon juice
50 grams castor sugar

Nutella® Buttercream Filling
Recipe referenced and modified from: The Baker Upstairs

1/4 cup butter (56 grams), at room temperature
2/3 cup powdered (icing) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup Nutella®

Bakeware Used

Two baking sheets with dimensions 15.25"x10.25"x0.75"

Preparation Steps

1. Grease one baking sheet and line with parchment paper extending up from all sides. Set aside.
2. Place the other baking sheet in the lower rack of the oven and fill with water to 2/3 full.
3. Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.

Swiss Roll

1. Combine and sift both flours into a bowl and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg yolks and castor sugar (from Group A) in a large bowl till mixture becomes thick and pale yellow.
3. Stir in vegetable oil and mix well.
4. Add sifted flour and milk to egg yolk mixture in two batches and whisk till well combined. Set aside egg yolk batter.
5. In a separate large bowl, beat egg whites till foamy using an electric mixer.
6. Add lemon juice and half portion of castor sugar to egg white and continue beating till glossy.
7. Add remaining sugar and continue beating the egg white till stiff peak.
8. To create the polka dot design - Scoop one tablespoonful of egg yolk batter and one tablespoonful of the meringue in each individual three small bowls. Add a small drop of edible food colouring as desired to each of the individual small bowl. Fold to combine coloured batter evenly. Fill piping bag with coloured batter and pipe half side (lengthwise) of the baking sheet lined with parchment paper in any desired fashion. Place baking sheet on the rack above the water bath in the preheated oven and bake the polka dots for one minute. Remove baking sheet from oven and set aside to cool.
9. Using a spatula, fold remaining meringue in thirds to the remaining egg yolk batter gently till batter is well combined. 
10. Pour batter over polka dots design and smooth out surface evenly. Gently tap the baking sheet on the table top thrice to release any big bubbles.
11. Place baking sheet back on the rack above the water bath in the preheated oven and bake for  approximately 13 to 15 minutes (baking time varies with different oven). Cake should be done when cake springs back when pressed gently. If not, go with the traditional toothpick method where you know the cake is baked through when you insert a toothpick into the cake and the toothpick comes out clean. 
12. Remove baking sheet from oven. Transfer cake by lifting parchment paper from baking sheet and place on wire rack. Set aside to cool for approximately three to five minutes.
13. Invert the cake to a clean parchment paper and carefully peel off parchment paper from the cake.
14. Invert the cake again on another clean parchment paper with the polka dots design side down.
15. With the plain downside of the cake towards you, gently roll the cake along with the parchment paper. The polka dots design should finally appear on the outer surface of the cake. Set aside to cool completely.
16. Once the cake has been cooled completely, unroll the cake. Spread filling evenly on the entire cake up to one-inch away from the furthest end of the cake.
17. Re-roll the cake without the parchment paper. Wrap rolled cake with cling wrap and refrigerate with end side of cake down till filling is set. Keep refrigerated for at least 30 minutes or longer.
18. To serve, remove cling wrap and trim off both ends of the swiss roll. Slice into desired thickness.

Nutella ® Buttercream Filling

1. In a large bowl, whisk butter till light and fluffy using an electric mixer.
2. Add powdered sugar and salt, whisk till sugar dissolves and mixture becomes smooth.
3. Add vanilla extract and whisk till well combined.
4. Add in Nutella® and beat till light and fluffy.
5. Set aside in the fridge.

The Dream Baker's Experiment

1. I prefer to prepare the Nutella® Buttercream and set aside in the fridge before proceeding to prepare the cake baking. I remove the buttercream from the fridge only when my cake is cooling. 
2. I tried to bake with 75 grams of cake flour in substitution of the original 60 gram of cake flour + 20 grams of rice flour and it did not affect the texture of the cake.
3. Often than not, I get puzzled when recipes call for large eggs or when there is no specifics indication. I attempted to measure the 4 egg yolks and 4 egg whites which were used for my baking and they weighed approximately 62 grams and 118 grams in total respectively. At the same time, I used eggs at room temperature as I learned that the meringue is light, fluffier and holds better when the egg white is beaten at room temperature.
4. I used granulated sugar instead of castor sugar and it work just as well. Note that granulated sugar are slightly coarser than castor sugar.
5. I added 40 grams of sugar to the egg white mixture instead of the original amount of 50 grams.
6. I used a 2% reduced fat milk.
7. The batter for my polka dots design were quite runny. Be mindful when filling the piping bag with the batter to prevent a mess.
8. For the Nutella® Buttercream, I added about 1 tablespoon of milk to the beaten mixture and continue to beat till well combined to thin out the buttercream to a more spreadable consistency.
9. It is important to properly line the parchment paper on the greased baking sheet and ensure no air bubbles are trapped in between in order to achieve "wrinkle-free" cake surface.
10. Some bakers advised to trim off the length-wise sides of the cake before rolling and filling. However, I trimmed off the sides of the cake after it has been rolled and refrigerated just before serving. I find this method neater because the filling tends to spill from the sides of the cakes after rolling, which doesn't look pretty.
11. Somehow the filling tends to smudge the cake while slicing. I tried to wipe clean my knife after each slice to minimise the smears.

 When the cake was first inverted and the parchment paper has been peeled off. 

The "wrinkles" were caused by the uneven parchment paper surface when lined on the baking sheet due to air trapped between the greased baking sheet and the parchment paper.

Wrapping with cling wrap for refrigeration to better hold the shape of the rolled cake.

 Notice the polka dots design is on the outer surface of the cake because the plain portion of the cake has been rolled in first.

Trim both ends of the cake before serving.

Although this is the fourth time I have baked an artwork Swiss Roll, I would say I am most thrilled this time because this will be my very first baking post. As detailed as I try to be in my descriptions, I do regret that I did not manage to take pictures of each and every stages due to my wet and dirty hands during the baking process. But never mind, I shall continue to improve myself. ^_^ 

I am submitting this Polka Dots Swiss Roll with Nutella® Buttercream Filling to the Aspiring Bakers #40: Rainbow and Ombre Party! (March 2014) hosted by Cynthia of The Baking Biatch.


My First Baking Post Afterthoughts

This is so not easy! I really salute the bloggers out there. Apart from the two hours I spent on my baking experiment, I literally spent the rest of my entire day sitting in front of my computer preparing this post! It is an exhausting but definitely the most satisfying task for the day. Although I have yet to master the different techniques of blogging, I am just as satisfied now with my simple and humble blog. I will strive to keep this post alive!

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope it won't be too long before my next post.
Till then, see you.

Dare to dream.
The Dream Baker