Isn’t it hard to resist the softness of a chiffon cake?
Typically, a Christmas log cake comes with chocolate or whipped cream.
Here we have a special Swiss Roll recipe with a bittersweet kick, courtesy of hojicha and some smokiness from a caramel filling. [Go straight to recipe]
The base for this Hojicha Log Cake With Caramel Mousse is a pillowy swiss roll. If you already know how to make a Swiss Roll, yielding your desired log cake will be relatively simple.
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If you are a beginner, read on.There are a few keys to a light and soft Swiss Roll.
The tenderness and lightness of a swiss roll cake comes from the cake flour and chemical leaveners. Cake flour has a smaller percentage of protein content which produces less gluten, so your cake will stay soft.
Another key part of making a Swiss Roll like this is in the use of an egg white meringue to provide air to your batter. This makes your Swiss Roll incredibly light and fluffy.
Instead of a sponge cake, we opted to use a chiffon cake for our Swiss Roll.
A Swiss Roll is all about the softness. The basic requirement of an ideal chiffon cake is one that is moist, light, and fluffy.
In every chiffon cake recipe, the first step is always to bring your ingredients to room temperature. However, since we will be using milk to dissolve the hojicha powder, we’ll warm the milk up instead.
Oil is used instead of butter in a chiffon cake to keep the cake moist and light. Whenever you want to make a cake less dry, oil is a good ingredient to bet on, primarily because it stays liquid at room temperature.
Use a vegetable oil that doesn’t impart strong flavours, such as canola!
Using a strong-flavoured oil like olive oil for baking is generally not recommended, due to the lower smoking point and the flavours it imparts to your baked goods.
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The most important tip when rolling your swiss roll is that you have to roll your cake while it’s warm. For a much better result, this step needs to be done carefully.
Why does the cake have to be rolled while it’s still warm?
Rolling a sponge cake while it’s warm will spare you the disappointment from a cracked surface. When the cake is warm, it’s more malleable and thus, allows you to roll the cake without cracking.
Letting the cake cool in its rolled form will let it set in that shape, and when you finally put your fillings in, rolling it again without cracking will be far easier.
After diving into the world of a classic Swiss Roll, now it’s time for you to make one!
We took a bit of creative freedom with this by making it a hojicha log cake filled with a caramel mousse, then topped off with a whipped chocolate ganache.
Verdict? Absolutely divine!
Yield: ~6x servings
Storage: Best served immediately. Can be stored in the fridge and in an airtight container, can last up to three days.
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Trying this recipe out? Make sure you hashtag #bakestarters on Instagram so we can see your wonderful creations!
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