Trouble with Swiss Roll

[Sashameow]

Hi

I'm new to this forum and new at baking as well.

I recently attempted my first Swiss roll. The recipe is from a book, I own and it is as follows...

- 4 eggs

- 100g caster sugar

- 75g + 2 tablespoons self raising flour. ( I replaced the suggested 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder with flour)

I also made my own self raising flour with baking powder and salt, but the measurement was a little off when the flour was weighed.

The outcome: It turned out smelling of raw eggs and tasted like egg too.

While I was whisking the eggs and sugar, I read how it should be beaten for 10 minutes, however, I didn't keep track of the time and probably overbeat since I started smelling raw eggs and the mixture would drop in blobs and then trail and blob down and trail.

I thought the smell of raw eggs would disappear once it cooked. After folding in the flour, and baking it for 10 minutes, I took out and proceed to roll it.

However, when peeling off the parchment paper the sides and bottom of the cake was really sticky.

After unrolling to put in the filling, the top of the cake tore a patch off the sticky bottom surface.

I decided to try a student recipe on how to beat the eggs and sugar.

So I tried the second time, with a smaller recipe as follows.

2 eggs

50g caster sugar

50g self raising flour

So this time, I felt like the mixture was good to go, before it turned into a huge blob and decided to stop my 550w stand mixer. I don't know if beating till 10 minutes would have ruined it...

I didn't smell as much raw eggs as I previously did. However this time I baked it at 170C for 15 minutes ( they didn't state any temperature and timing was wrong and gathered info from commenters and my oven's manual ), however after removing the parchment paper off the flan dish this time, the bottom was STILL sticky but not as before. However, it still had a raw or fried eggy.

[Lisa Shock]

Sounds underbaked. Also, some formulas have vanilla in them, which would add extra flavor and help mask the egginess.

That said, the recipes I have call for the eggs to be separated, the whites beaten just to stiff peaks, the yolks beaten a few minutes until pale yellow. Then add the sugar (and any flavorings like vanilla extract) to the yolks, beat for a couple minutes, then slowly add in the flour and other dry ingredients. The whites are folded in last and the batter immediately spread in the pan and baked. From your description, you do not seem to be separating the eggs. This could be your problem.

[Sashameow]

Hi

Thank you for reply.

I was thinking of adding in vanilla extract as my last resort. And ppl were commenting on the student recipe how its so delicious and all that, but I just can't get pass the egg smell.

I followed this method:

But the second recipe was this:

http://studentrecipes.com/recipes/desserts/easy-to-make-swiss-roll/

Why ppl are commenting it tastes yummy is beyond me cause I can't stop smelling eggs.

The first time around I thought that the flour to sugar ratio was bad since the self raising flour wasn't measured out accurately.

The second recipe used the same flour but the ratio was 1:1...

I have seen recipes where they've separated the eggs, what would that help with? The fried eggs smell or the sticky bottom?

[Lisa Shock]

Separating the eggs helps leavening and structure. It should help with the sticking.

That said, I found one reliable recipe that has the eggs not separated, however, they are beaten with the sugar over a water bath like Swiss meringue. This helps the sugar dissolve completely which would help with stickiness.

Honestly, The recipe you are using is essentially the same one found in a lot of places, even if the video is definitely less than professional. In the future, you should probably look for a more serious source for recipes.

All of these type of cakes tend to have an eggy taste/odor, it's necessary to have a lot of eggs in this cake to make sure that it's flexible enough to roll successfully.

[Mjx]

I'm wondering how swapping egg whites for an equal amount of some of the yolks would work out, since the white is the part of the egg that provide structure (Maybe just omitting some of the yolk? Too much white might make the cake tough).

[Lisa Shock]

Dunno, some formulas call for extra yolks.