Swiss roll (gluten-free) with fresh strawberries and cream filling

Hello again ! So many recipes, so little time. 

(Version française en cours...)

Time for a little nostalgia with this Swiss roll, my first attempt at baking as a child.  I always dreamed of cakes, if I wasn't drawing them (I loved to invent the creamiest toppings with flowers, pretty colors, basket shapes, heart shapes...), I was attempting to recreate them, even by piling up cookies with jam and whipped cream, because we didn't have an oven in the tropics, for obvious reasons.

Back to the Swiss roll, this is fairly easy to bake, and actually an excuse for me to get rid of egg whites, since I always have at least 7-8 left over that I freeze for the week (yes, they freeze perfectly well, just allow time to defrost in the refrigerator or on the kitchen counter a few hours before using).

Here are the ingredients : 

Batter :
4-5 egg whites

50 g sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (or 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice)

50 g flour (or gluten-free blend)

30 g cornstarch

60 ml whole milk (or dairy-free alternative, I used almond milk)

1 tablespoon of oil

Confectioners sugar for dusting

12-15 strawberries cut in quarters, simmered with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of kirch or rum (optional), simmered about 3-4 minutes so you should still have chunks.

Whipped mascarpone cream :

150 g mascarpone

5 cl of whipping cream

30 g confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean or vanilla extract

Preheat oven 163° C/ 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (9 x 13 for ex). Whip egg whites with a beater until they form stiff peaks .  Add sugar and cream of tartar (or lemon juice) and beat with until you get a thick meringue.  

In a separate bowl, whisk oil, milk and vanilla extract.  Add flour and cornstarch.  Add about 2 large heaping tablespoons of the egg whites to the milk mixture and fold in with a spatula.  Then continue to add the rest of the egg whites, folding in gently and careful not to over mix.  Once you get a uniform color, spoon the batter onto the baking sheet and smooth out the surface to the edges with a spatula. Release bubbles dropping or by tapping the pan gently onto the kitchen counter.  

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the center is firm and springs back.  Remove from oven and drop the pan upright on the counter, at about a foot high, to prevent shrinkage.  Allow to cool on a cooling rack about 12-15 minutes and remove the parchment paper.

Whip egg whites with a beater until stiff.

This is the step where you fold in the milk and flour cream with egg whites.

Spread another piece of parchment paper on the counter and dust the surface with confectioners sugar. Place the cake on this surface so the bottom side is down, and gets dusted with the sugar entirely.  Slice off edges (evenly, not like me). Some recipes suggest removing the baked golden surface to get an even white color, but I leave it on, (more cake to eat, ha).  

Spread a thin layer of cream over the entire surface.  Then spread a sparse layer of strawberry topping.  For a regular size roll, begin to roll from the width-side, making sure it is tightly rolled without air pockets.  For double the size but shorter roll like what I made, after spreading strawberry topping, cut the cake in half lengthwise. Begin to roll from the shorter side until you get a regular size roll, then continue to roll onto second piece, meeting edges together when you begin, to get a larger width of a roll.  Wipe off excess strawberry or cream off of the parchment paper and wrap the roll in this paper (or use new one if there's too much debris), closing off edges, then refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Decorate as you please with some leftover cream, berries, or meringue (I had some leftover).

Enjoy, everyone !