Surprisingly, I'm into all things cheesy this year.
I want all of the flowers, all of the chocolates and, of course, all of the hearts.
It's no surprise that my mind dreamed up these little bite sized heart-shaped Swiss rolls. They're perfectly adorable and so flavorful. I was so excited to test them out.
Then...I started making the sponge cake, and it flopped. Encouraged by how "easy" the recipe I was following said, I adjusted my technique and tried again. Another flop. I then spent hours researching different recipes, techniques, and ingredients to finally found success in this recipe.
The sponge cake is soft, moist, and pliable. Perfect for rolling, and delicious to eat. Let me let you in on a few secrets that will make your cake perfect as well:
1. Beat the eggs with an electric mixer for no less than 5 minutes. This process beats air into the eggs that will allow your sponge cake to rise correctly. The egg mixture should be a very pale yellow, frothy, and have doubled in size before you're done mixing.
2. You will pour the batter onto parchment paper, but make sure to spray the parchment with cooking spray and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Otherwise, the parchment will stick to the cake when cooled.
3. Roll the cake into one giant roll immediately after removing from the oven, and let it cool while rolled. If you wait to roll the cake until cooled, the cake will crack.
As long as you follow these steps, you're golden!
The filling is super easy, but takes a bit of time to prep. The raspberries need time to cook and cool, so start this process while your cake is cooling.
Now it's time to assemble!
Unroll your cooled cake and peel the parchment off the back. I rolled my cake onto a surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar so that the cake wouldn't stick.
Brush one side of the cake with the raspberry simple syrup, allowing it to sink in for a few minutes. Next, add 1/4 inch of buttercream on top of the syrup layer. It's important that the layer of buttercream isn't too thick. A thin layer will allow you to roll your hearts much easier.
With the long side of the cake toward you, cut one inch strips of cake. You should get about 18 strips. To make the hearts, gently fold each each end toward the middle and shape into a heart. The hearts should retain their shape without any additional buttercream.
Repeat with each strip of cake until you have a group of adorable little cake hearts. Share them with your love, your classmates, or yourself!
I hope you all have a rockin' Valentine's Day full of chocolate and all things happy and good.💕
Mini Raspberry Swiss Rolls
By Nicole Ramsey
These mini chocolate Swiss rolls are drenched in fresh raspberry flavor and are perfect for Valentine's Day, or any day!
Ingredients
Cake - adapted from Crazy for Crust
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 oz. raspberries
- 1 cup raspberries
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup raspberry puree
- 1 tablespoon milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a medium sized pan with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
2. Beat room temperature eggs on high for 5 minutes until eggs are very frothy and pale yellow. Beat in sugar, water, and vanilla extract.
3. Whisk together cocoa, salt, baking powder, and flour. Sift dry mixture into wet ingredients and fold to mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
4. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Use a spatula to spread the mixture to all corners of the pan, ensuring the mixture is evenly spread. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cake slightly springs back when pressed.
5. Place pan on wire rack. Working from the short end, roll the cake (with parchment attached) until completely rolled. Let cake cool while rolled, at least an hour.
Simple Syrup:
1. Combine sugar, water and raspberries in a small saucepan. Stirring often, cook over medium heat until raspberries have completely broken down.
2. Remove from heat. Raspberries should remain in pot until the syrup has completely cooled.
3. Once cooled, pour sauce through strainer to remove the fruit and seeds from syrup. Syrup can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Raspberry Buttercream:
1. Combine raspberries and sugar in small pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes, or until soft.
2. Transfer raspberries and juices to blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture over a strainer to remove any seeds. Let cool completely.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar and salt. Beat until smooth. Add raspberry puree and milk and beat until smooth.
Assembly:
1. Unroll the cooled cake onto a surface lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove parchment.
2. Brush cake evenly with raspberry syrup. Let sit for 1-2 minutes.
3. Spread thin layer (about 1/4 inch tall) of raspberry buttercream over syrup layer.
4. With the long side facing you, use a pizza cutter to cut 1 inch strips of cake (about 18).
5. Gently fold each side of the cake into the center, creating a heart. Repeat for all strips.
Refrigerate rolls for up to 1 week.
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Yield: 18 mini rolls
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