Fresh Orange Swiss Roll

Orange is one of those flavors that is really hard to get through in a baked good, however, I have succeeded!

This cake has that zingy orange flavors that we all love, plus a smooth cream filling and a bitter chocolate that sneaks into every bite.

If you love orange, this is definitely the cake for you.

Makes: 1 large Swiss Roll

Takes About: 2 hours - 2.5 hours (with cooling and resting)

Difficulty: 2 out of 5 (because of the rolling)

Prep:

Find yourself a large cookie sheet with a lip that is at least 10 inches by 15 inches.

Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom and cover it with butter and durst it with flour.

Set the prepared cookies sheet aside until needed and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 eggs (read instructions carefully about eggs)

1/4 cup + 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

3-4 tablespoons powdered sugar

Cream Filling:

9.5 ounces or 270 grams cream cheese

2 tablespoons greek yogurt

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) heavy whipping cream

zest from 1 orange (this depends on how strong you want the orange flavor to come through)

30-50 grams dark chocolate shavings (I just had a bar of chocolate and used a carrot peelers to get shavings)

Instructions

Step 1 - Combine Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, combine the 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Set aside until needed.

Step 2 - Separate 3 Eggs

In one large bowl and one medium bowl, separate 3 eggs by placing your egg yolks in the large bowl and your egg whites in the medium bowl.

Set the egg yolks aside for now.

Step 3 - Whip Your Egg Whites

Place 1/4 cup of granulated sugar near your work space so you can add it when needed.

Using a mixer, whisk your egg whites until they start to get foamy.

Once they reach a foamy consistency, start to add your 1/4 cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time, to the egg whites, mixing each tablespoon completely in, until you've added all of your sugar and your egg whites have reached stiff peeks - about 4-5 minutes.

A lot of bakers and chefs like to test their egg whites by turning the bowl upside down over their head and if they stay in the bowl, then they are perfectly whipped.

I didn't put them over my head, but I did tip them upside down (with lots of anxiety). (By the way, taking a photo and tipping egg whites upside down was actually difficult; but fun!)

Once the egg whites have been whipped perfectly, place them aside until needed.

Step 4 - Whip Your Egg Yolks

Add the two remaining full eggs to your egg yolks (you should have two full eggs and 3 egg yolks in your large bowl).

Mix with a mixer for about 5 minutes or until your egg yolks have reached a lighter and airier consistency and are also lighter in color.

Step 5 - Add in Sugar and Orange Things

Once your egg yolks (plus the two full eggs) have been whipped into a lighter consistency, add your 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, and the 1 teaspoons orange zest.

Mix until combined - About 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Step 6 - Sift and Fold in Dried Ingredients

Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt mixture that you set aside in step 1 into the fluffy egg yolks.

It is okay if it starts to sink.

Using a spatula, fold in the dried ingredients carefully until fully incorporated.

It will start to thicken up pretty quickly, that is okay.

Step 7 - Start Folding in Fluffy Egg Whites

Spoon 1/4 of the fluffy egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

Slowly and gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until combined.

Spoon the remaining fluffy eggs whites into the yolk batter.

And continue to fold in gently and slowly until there are not more streaks of egg white.

Optional Step - For Decoration:

If you want to have a pattern on the outside of your roll, spoon a small amount of your batter into a separate small bowl and add 1 or 2 drops of your desired color with food coloring.

Mix it gently until you have reached your desired color.

Then pipe or dollip (whatever you desire) your pattern onto your prepared cookie sheet.

You can do drops like the picture below.

Or, I tried making something that looks like oranges, with little success.

But, do whatever your heart desires or don't do this step at all. Completely optional.

Step 8 - Spoon Batter Onto Cookie Sheet

Go ahead and spoon the batter over the cookie sheet (trying to evenly disperse it throughout the cookie sheet.

Then using your spatula (or my preferred tool for this, an offset spatula) spread the batter evenly across the cookie sheet.

(If you made the optional pattern, do this slowly or it can mess up your design).

Try to make it as even as possible, because we want it to bake evenly.

Step 9 - Bake!

Once you are batter is beautifully spread out, pop the cake in the oven for about 8-12 minutes.

This cake does bake quickly because it is so thin, so make sure you check after 8 minutes and then check the done-ness by poking it with a toothpick.

If it is still wet, add a minute or two.

Once complete, take the cake out of the oven and let it cool for about 3-5 minutes.

Step 10 - Roll

While the cake is cooling, take a clean dish towel and sprinkle it with powdered sugar.

After the cake has cooled for the 3-5 minutes, transfer the cake upside down on a cooling rack and slowly remove the parchment paper.

Once the parchment paper is removed, transfer the cake to the powdered sugar towel with the bottom of the cake (the side that had the parchment paper on) onto the towel.

The top of the cake should still be facing up.

Carefully roll the cake, not too tightly, into a log.

Mine cracked, so be very careful. We want to roll it shortly after the bake to try to keep it from cracking and so it can memorize the shape we want it to be in I waiting too long and that is why mine cracked.

After rolled, roll the cake into the towel and place the towel on a cooling rack to let the cake cool completely - about 30 minutes.

Step 11 - Whip Your Cream Cheese

In a large bowl whip the 9.5 ounces of cream cheese until light and fluffy. Once fluffy add your 2 tablespoons of greek yogurt and the 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

Whip until combined and then scrape down your sides and mix one more time for a few moments to confirm everything is mixed and then scrape down the sides again.

Step 12 - Zest that Orange

You will add as much zest as you want in the frosting, it just depends on how much orange flavor you want to come through.

I zested an entire orange because I wanted the orange flavor to be strong.

However, start with 1/4 of the orange, try it,fold it in, and then add more if needed.

Step 13 - Whip the Whipping Cream

In a medium bowl, add your 1/2 cup whipping cream and whisk it until you get stiff peaks. (I chose a tall plastic bowl because I somehow get cream everywhere when I whip cream)

When you have reached soft peaks, spoon the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Fold the two together gently until it comes together.

Taste again to confirm you have the right amount of orange for yourself.

If you need more add more.

Step 14 - Fill the Cake

Unroll the cake carefully and fill it with your cream filling. However, don't over fill it or it will squish out the sides.

See, I have a large crack because I let my cake cool too long...We all learn from our mess ups though.

Step 15 - Add Chocolate

Using a bar of dark chocolate, shave large pieces over the cream. Use as much chocolate as you like, I had about 40 grams in my cake.

You can also use pieces of chocolate or other forms of chocolate if you don't have any to shave.

Step 16 - Roll and Store!

Once the cake is filled to your satisfaction, roll the cake back up and wrap with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Store it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until needed.

If you have left over cream, store it to serve on the side or on top of the cake.

Step 17 - Enjoy!