Aunty Vera's Kitchen - Strawberry Swiss Roll

Hello Crafty Bloggers and Happy Bakers and welcome to this week's installment of.....

Today I (Aunty Vera) am in the kitchen, and I thought I'd make something gorgeous and fruity before summer truly disappears, taking all the yummy fruit with her.........

I had to borrow this book from Bill.
Bill's friends on twitter (the #bakinbears) are already very familiar with it...........

The Clandestine Cake Club is such a brilliant concept. Across the UK, happy bakers meet up at a location that is kept secret until the very last minute, each bringing with them a fabulous cake to share. You can find out more about it on their website or facebook page.

So now to the recipe. I decided to bake Lynn Hill's Strawberry Swiss Roll from the book.

1. Firstly, beat 3 egg whites (keep the yolks for later) and 30g of caster sugar until soft peaks form.
Set aside.........

2. With an electric mixer, beat the 3 egg yolks with 140g caster sugar until light, fluffy and doubled in volume..........

3. Mix in the scraped seeds of 1 vanilla pod.

4. Fold in 2/3 of the egg white mixture, then 100g of self-raising flour, and finally the remaining egg white mixture, until thoroughly combined.

5. Pour into a greased and lined swiss roll tin (32 x 23 cm) and bake at 180 for 10 to 12 minutes.....

6. Leave to cool in tin for a few minutes.........

7. Lay a tea towel on your bench top and then a large sheet of baking paper on top. Tip your sponge onto the paper sheet and gently peel off the sheet of paper from the bottom of the cooked cake.
Now beginning from the short side, roll up your cake so that it is rolled with the paper. Then roll the tea towel around the cake log. Leave to cool completely.

Making the filling........
You will need one punnet of strawberries (or 2 if you want extras for decorations)

1. Pop about 1/3 of a punnet into a food processor with a little icing sugar for sweetness, and whizz until you have a lovely pink puree (do you like my mini processor? It's perfect for jobs like this!).......
Pour through a sieve so you have a lovely smooth strawberry syrup.

2. Whip 300ml of cream with a heaped tablespoon of icing sugar and a dash of vanilla.
Spread the cream over your cold and unrolled sponge and then drizzle the strawberry syrup over the cream.......

3. Thinly slice the remaining strawberries and sprinkle them all over the top.....

4. Now the fun bit - roll that baby up! Because it has cooled in the rolled up position, this is really easy. If you find that you have over-stuffed it (like I always do....lol) just push those stray bits back in :)

Dust your cake with icing sugar and if you like, decorate with more strawberries......

I have a son who doesn't believe in dessert without chocolate, so for his benefit I added some chocolate dipped strawberries...... YUM! .........

And voila! A stunning looking dessert or afternoon tea that is really quite simple to make.
A big thank you to Lynn Hill and the Clandestine Cake Club, UK.

Does this put you in a baking mood?
We'd love you to join in our baking fun.
Please comment below and feel free to share your pics via our email (vera@auntyverascrapandcraft.com.au), on twitter, or on our facebook page or our Crafty Facebook Group

Wishing you a lovely, crafty and yummy weekend
Aunty Vera :)