Isn’t this cake adorable? I had so much fun making this :D. Although this might look complicated, it is actually quite easy to make. The tricky bit, as with all Swiss rolls, is getting the cake to roll without it cracking. I have a given a few tips to ensure that your cake doesn’t crack, but even if it does a little, don’t worry. It’s still gonna look good in the end.
So here’s how you make this cute pineapple Swiss roll. First, you need to prepare the frosting. I’ve used a Swiss Meringue Buttercream for the filling, as I wanted a frosting that was less sweet. You can use regular buttercream made with butter and powdered sugar, but it cannot compare to the silky texture of SMBC. To make the SMBC, you need the heat the egg whites and sugar over a double boiler until the sugar is all melted and there is a thick foamy layer on top of the egg whites. Then you whip the egg whites until they are no longer hot and have reached stiff peaks. Drop your butter in 1 tablespoon at a time until it is combined. At this point, you can add any flavourings or food colour that you want. I’ve used pineapple flavouring and yellow food colour in this one.
Then you need to prepare your decoration batter. For this just mix together equal quantities of egg whites, unsalted butter, icing sugar and all purpose flour. Then divide the batter into 3 portions – I like to divide it in the ratio 1:1:2 – and mix in green, black and yellow food colours into the divided batter. Transfer the batter into small piping bags and set aside in the refrigerator.
The next step is to draw the pattern for your Swiss roll on a sheet of paper. You can print out the pattern as well if you have a printer at home. Here I’ve drawn the pattern on 2 A5 sheets and taped it to my 12 by 8 inch pan. Place a parchment paper over the template and use the black piping bag to trace the outlines of the pineapples.
For the black colour batter, make sure you don’t snip a large hole on your piping bag. You need a thin outline to make the yellow and green colours pop.
Then, carefully fill in the leaves and fruit with the green and yellow batters. While filling in, be careful not to disturb or move the black outline around. Place the pan in the freezer while you prepare the sponge cake batter.
For the sponge cake batter, beat the yolks, half of the sugar & pineapple extract until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add in the flour and melted butter, and fold them in. Then whip the egg whites with the remaining sugar until firm peaks form (kind of between soft and stiff peaks). Fold the whites into the yolk mixture in three batches. Remove the pan from the freezer and slide off the template and the tape from underneath the parchment paper. Pour the batter over the parchment paper and smooth the top. Bake for 11 minutes in an oven preheated to 190C. I like to flip the pan around at the 6 minute mark because the back of my oven is hotter than the front.
Once the pan is out of the oven, go around the edge of the pan with a thin knife to release the cake from the pan. Then let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 to 20 minutes until the cake is no longer extremely hot. You need to roll the cake when it is warm to avoid cracking. Then, sprinkle powdered sugar and cornstarch over the cake and flip it onto a piece of parchment paper. Remove the pan and flip the cake upside down again so that the side with the pineapple pattern is facing down. Now roll the cake slowly along with the 2 parchment papers. Cover the whole thing with a thin cotton towel. This helps to keep the cake moist. The drier your cake, the more likely it is to crack.
When the cake is almost at room temperature, unroll the cake and remove the parchment paper on top. Spread an even layer of SMBC over the cake. When you’re unrolling, make sure not to fully unroll it. The end which stays inside the roll should stay rolled (refer picture above) as it might break. I also added some pineapple pieces for a fruitier flavour.
Once you’ve filled the cake, roll the cake slowly while peeling off the parchment paper on the bottom at the same time. If your cake cracks slightly, don’t worry. Just keep rolling until it gets to a more or less round shape. Then, wrap it tightly with a piece of parchment paper, twist the ends and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. This is when the magic happens. Even if your cake cracked while rolling, when you take it out of the refrigerator, the cracks will be barely visible.
Tada! You have a beautiful pineapple Swiss roll cake. Cut it into slices and enjoy.
Pineapple Swiss Roll
Course: DessertCuisine: EuropeanDifficulty: Moderate10
slices40
minutes11
minutes1
hour2
hoursIngredients
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
25g egg whites (around 1)
50g sugar
83g unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp pineapple extract
3 drops yellow gel food colouring
- Decoration Batter
13g egg whites (around 1/2 an egg white)
13g unsalted butter, room temperature
13g icing sugar
13g all purpose flour
1 tsp cocoa powder
Black, yellow & green gel food colouring
- Sponge Cake
4 eggs, seperated & at room temp
120g caster sugar
80g all purpose flour
20g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp pineapple extract
- To assemble
1/4 cup pineapple pieces (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
2 tbsp powdered sugar mixed with 2 tbsp cornstarch
Directions
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Take the butter out of the refrigerator and cut into cubes. By the time we have whipped the egg whites, it would have warmed up enough to add to the meringue.
- In a thick ceramic bowl, mix the sugar and egg whites until just combined. Place it over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the surface of the water. If it is, you can leave a wooden spoon between the bowl and pot to prevent contact.
- Cook the egg whites while occasionally stirring until the sugar is fully melted.
- Cook for another minute or two until the egg whites are looking foamy on top and have a sticky consistency when touched between two fingers. Make sure egg whites don’t boil. If you have a candy thermometer, it should register about 70 C.
- Remove the bowl from the pot and whip the egg whites on high until the egg whites reach stiff peaks. The mixture will be thick and glossy like marshmallow fluff.
- Check if the egg whites are cool to the touch. If not, refrigerate for about 5 to 10 minutes until cool.
- Once the mixture is cool, start adding the butter one cube at a time, waiting until the cube is fully mixed before adding the next.
- Once all the butter is added, add pineapple extract and yellow food colouring. Mix on high for 3 minutes until fluffy.
- Decoration Batter
- Mix everything but the cocoa and food colouring together in a bowl.
- Divide the batter in the ratio 1:1:2 into 3 small bowls.
- Add 2 drops of yellow food colouring to the bowl with the most batter in it. Add 2 drops of green food colouring in another bowl. Add 1 tsp cocoa and 2 drops of black food colouring in the third bowl. Mix the contents of each bowl until the color is uniformly distributed.
- Spoon the batter into 3 separate piping bags and secure the bags with rubber bands.
- Draw or print the design on a piece of paper and tape it into an 8 by 12 inch baking pan.
- Place a parchment paper on top of the design and use the black batter to pipe the design.
- Use the green and yellow batter to fill in the leaves and the flesh of the pineapple.
- Place in the freezer.
- Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 190 C.
- Beat the yolks, half the sugar and the pineapple extract with a whisk until the mixture is pale and fluffy, around 3 minutes.
- Add the flour and fold it in.
- Add the melted butter and fold it in.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and the remaining sugar with an electric beater until it reaches firm peaks (between soft and stiff).
- Mix one third of the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture until fully combined. Fold in another third with a spatula taking care not to deflate the whites. Fold in the last third.
- Take the baking pan out of the freezer and slide off the template and the tape holding it to the pan. Pour the sponge cake batter over the design and carefully smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake for 11 minutes until the top is a light golden brown.
- Take the pan out of the oven and run a knife around the inside edges of the pan to release the cake. Let cool in the pan for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Assembly
- Sprinkle powdered sugar and cornstarch over the cake. Place a large piece of parchment paper over a large baking sheet and flip the pan with the cake over it.
- Remove the pan and again flip it upside down. Roll the cake gently with the 2 pieces of parchment paper inside it. Cover it with a thin cotton towel and let cool until almost room temperature.
- Unroll the cake while leaving the end which stays inside the Swiss roll still rolled.
- Spread the SMBC evenly on the cake, making sure the full surface of the cake is covered.
- Place the pineapple pieces over the SMBC.
- Roll the cake back up, while peeling off the parchment paper at the same time.
- Wrap the roll in a large piece of parchment paper tightly and twist off the ends.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.
Notes
- If SMBC looks soupy while whipping, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes and whip again.
- If SMBC looks curdled while whipping, warm it up slightly over a double boiler and whip again.
- I live in a humid place, so I usually serve the cake right when it comes out of the refrigerator. But if you live in a colder region, you might need to let it thaw a bit so that the SMBC can soften. Otherwise it is going to taste like biting into hard, sweet butter.
Looking for other dessert recipes? How about giving these Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberry and White Chocolate or Ricotta Mascarpone Cheesecake with Passionfruit Topping a try?
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