Chocolate Orange Flour-free Vertical Swiss Roll Cake
Learn how to confidently make a Swiss roll/jelly roll, take that skill further & make a showstopping vertical Swiss roll cake that reveals a surprise when sliced! Gluten-free too!
Equipment
- Scales or measuring cups
- measuring Spoon – tbsp
- Large mixing bowl
- Hand or Stand Mixer:
- Medium Bowl
- Sieve
- Plastic/rubber spatula for folding
- 2 Baking tray/sheet or jelly/swiss roll tray/sheet (see notes)
- Baking spray oil or butter for greasing
- Baking/parchment paper
- Wooden Cocktail stick
- 2 Tea-Towel (wider and longer than the baking sheet/tray)
- 4 Clips/Pegs (or string)
- Baking Palette Knife (off-set best)
Ingredients
- 12 Medium/Large Eggs (US large or extra large size)
- 300 grams Caster Sugar (10½ oz, 2 cup level extra/super fine, *see notes)
- 100 grams Cocoa Powder (3½ oz, ⅔ cup)
- 188 grams Dark/plain Chocolate (6⅔ oz, bitter chocolate, *see notes)
- 122 grams Milk Chocolate (4 oz, semi-sweet chocolate)
- 300 grams Icing Sugar (10½ oz, 2½ cups Powdered Sugar, sieved)
- 300 grams Unsalted Butter (10½ oz, 1⅓ cup, 2⅔ sticks, cubed & softened)
- 1 - 2 tbsp Orange Extract (or even peppermint or coffee)
Instructions
Prepare The Cake Batter
- Begin by separating the 12 Medium/Large Eggs, & thoroughly clean the mixer bowl and beaters, followed by rubbing a lemon over them to help with egg white whipping. Whisk the egg whites first, till stiff peaks are formed.
- Now whisk the egg yolks & 300 grams Caster Sugar, (without cleaning the egg white bowl as not needed, carefully decanting if needed). Whisk the yolks & sugar till creamy, pale in colour & increased in volume. Perform the 'ribbon/trail' test to see if whisked enough. (See step-by-step instructions before this Recipe Card for more, or watch the trail/ribbon test video.
- Heat oven to: 180°c/160°c Fan oven/360°f/Gas mark 4. Grease the baking tin/tray & paper line the bottom. Use Frylight cooking spray, homemade lining paste/cake goop, cake release spray, or butter & flour.
- Gently fold in the 100 grams Cocoa Powder to the whisked yolks/sugar, with a rubber/silicone/plastic spatula, (not a metal one), until all incorporated.
- Add ¼ of the egg whites to the mixture & very gently fold in, before adding another ¼ of the egg whites until all incorporated, being as gentle as possible (see video).
Bake The Cake
- Pour the cake batter equally between the 2 prepared cake tins & tap a few times on the counter/worktop before popping in the centre of the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes till cooked, and coming away from the sides.
- While the cakes are baking, prepare an area to work as the cakes will be removed as soon as out of the oven.
Turning Out The Cake
- As soon as removing the cakes from the oven, run a cocktail stick around the edges of the cakes to help turning the cake out. Sieve or sprinkle icing/powdered sugar on the cake, then place baking/parchment paper on top, followed by a clean tea-towel.
- Hold everything together and turn the cakes over (slowly lower down when on the tin's longest side, or use another tin to help flipping everything over). Then lift the tin off to release the cake & carefully peel off the paper.
1st Time Rolling The Cakes
- Right away, start to roll up the cake, (from the shorter end), with the paper and tea-towel inside, starting with a tight roll, squeezing and neatening the ends as you go. Repeat for the second cake roll and twist then tie the end of the tea-towel with clips, pegs etc to told closed.
1st Chilling Time
- Place the cake rolls in the fridge, seam side down and chill for 30 minutes.
Prepare Buttercream Filling & Coating
- Meanwhile prepare the buttercream filling & coating. Begin by melting 188 grams Dark/plain Chocolate & 122 grams Milk Chocolate in the microwave in 30-second bursts till melted, then leave to the side. Briefly beat 300 grams Unsalted Butter (softened), & very gradually add in the 300 grams Icing Sugar (powdered sugar) till incorporated.
- Add just 2 tbsp of the melted chocolate to the buttercream mixture & beat to combine. Remove a little more than ½ of this paler chocolate buttercream to another bowl and leave to the side for the cake filling later.
- Add the rest of the melted chocolate to the remaining buttercream & mix till combined. Add 1 - 2 tbsp Orange Extract , taste test and add more orange extract if required.
Filing & Assembling
- Unwrap and unroll the cakes, place side by side and make sure the shorter sides are equal, trimming if needed. Cut the cakes in half length-ways to make 4 long cake strips. (For a shorter but wider cake, cut a total of 6 strips). Trim the 'cake memory' bent over ends of cake, from all but one of the cake strips.
- Spread the paler chocolate buttercream over the cake strips, filling the curled over cake. Start to roll up this cake strip with the curled over end, tightly like before, until you are near the end, (less the paper and tea-towel). Position the 2nd cake strip to meet the end of the 1st cake strip, rolling the cake over the join. Very carefully roll to the end and repeat with the other 2 strips. Use buttercream to help join the seams if needed, and smooth the end of the 4th strip with buttercream too. **Note you can add the 2nd to 4th layers with the cake upright and wrap instead of roll, but as a flour-free cake, this was easier to do by rolling.
Chill The Vertical Cake Roll
- Wrap the cake with some acetate (optional) and place in the fridge to set the filling for 30 minutes.
Applying Buttercream Bark
- Spread chocolate buttercream on the top of the cake and on the sides as a crumb coat, but no need to scrape off the buttercream, just apply a layer to cover. Spread on the sides in upward strokes to resemble tree bark. Then chill the cake for 30 – 60 minutes to set.
- Now apply a more generous layer(s) to all of the cake, making a bark design & making a swirl on the top of the cake. Make as thick a layer as you want or are happy with (there will be plenty of buttercream). Wrap the acetate around again if using, and chill for at least 1 hour.
Staging/Decorating
- Once ready to serve the cake, transfer the cake to a cake stand, cake board etc (using the acetate makes moving so much easier). You can decorate the vertical Swiss roll cake with some leaves or as I did, some pieces of tree branches that had been cut down already. The green colour works really well with the chocolate cake, bringing it alive. If having for Easter/Spring, add some little bunnies and mini chocolate eggs, or for Christmas, add some red berries and some holly. These you can make from fondant (see my Flour Free Yule Log recipe for details.
Serving & Storage
- After chilling, slice the cake in thin slices about 1½ cm (⅔”) thin and in straight slices as it is a deep cake. Serve with some cream or even ice-cream.
- Store the cake somewhere cool (fridge is fine without fondant decorations), and cover loosely. Will last at least 3 days.
Video
Notes
Caster Sugar - US equivalent is extra/super fine sugar, Bakers' Sugar. Alternatively make by pulsing granulated sugar. See my sugar comparison photo before this Recipe card for guidance or check out my Difference Between UK & US Ingredients Article.
Chocolate - no need for expensive high cocoa percentage chocolate or baking chocolate. Use a combination of dark/plain/bitter chocolate and milk/semi-sweet to increase the cocoa content. Aldi & Lidl own brands are recommended.
Baking Tin/Sheet - Swiss Roll/Jelly roll tins/pans are about 33 x 23cm (13 x 9”) and a small depth of 2 – 3 cm ( ¾ – 1⅛”). However, I use a cookie tray/sheet for making Swiss Rolls. I have 2 slightly different sizes that work well, and are about 37 x 24 x 2cm (14 x 9¾ x ¾ ") with this very small lip.
Servings - the cake makes about 18 slices and since tall and rich, thin long straight slices are recommended.
Make In Stages - the vertical cake roll can be made in stages and several days ahead. The cake and buttercream must be made at the same time, same for rolling the cake. You can however assemble one day, cover another day and serve another day after that.
For more information, and step-by-step instructions and process photos, see before this Recipe Card.
See more Swiss Roll recipes, or check out the Christmas page. Jump to the cake page for more ideas, or go to the Index Page to look for your favourite recipe.
**I am not a qualified nutritionist, & all nutritional values approximate & based on a thin slice of cake, based on cutting 18 portions as per above. Bigger or smaller slices & the nutritional values will change. All values from My Fitness Pal.com
Baking Tin/Sheet - Swiss Roll/Jelly roll tins/pans are about 33 x 23cm (13 x 9”) and a small depth of 2 – 3 cm ( ¾ – 1⅛”). However, I use a cookie tray/sheet for making Swiss Rolls. I have 2 slightly different sizes that work well, and are about 37 x 24 x 2cm (14 x 9¾ x ¾ ") with this very small lip.
Servings - the cake makes about 18 slices and since tall and rich, thin long straight slices are recommended.
Make In Stages - the vertical cake roll can be made in stages and several days ahead. The cake and buttercream must be made at the same time, same for rolling the cake. You can however assemble one day, cover another day and serve another day after that.
For more information, and step-by-step instructions and process photos, see before this Recipe Card.
See more Swiss Roll recipes, or check out the Christmas page. Jump to the cake page for more ideas, or go to the Index Page to look for your favourite recipe.
**I am not a qualified nutritionist, & all nutritional values approximate & based on a thin slice of cake, based on cutting 18 portions as per above. Bigger or smaller slices & the nutritional values will change. All values from My Fitness Pal.com
Nutrition Facts
Chocolate Orange Flour-free Vertical Swiss Roll Cake
Serving Size
1 grams
Amount per Serving
Calories
427
% Daily Value*
Fat
24
g
37
%
Saturated Fat
14
g
88
%
Potassium
2
mg
0
%
Carbohydrates
43
g
14
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
25
g
28
%
Protein
7
g
14
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.