Strawberry Almond Swiss Roll (Gluten Free)

A few more hours to bid farewell to 2011 and to welcome 2012. Every year on Dec 31st I go through my picasa album and look at all the beautiful pictures, cherish all the moments that I had in that year and will end up making a collage of all the beautiful moments. I did the same today as well, I can only say that I did have an amazing 2011 and no regrets whatsoever. There were ups and downs and I believe that’s what makes life thrilling. One of the best moments of 2011 was when my husband became a pilot and flying with my pilot was the most amazing part.
I had made a New Year’s resolution to photograph my dinner everyday for 365 days straight, I was able to stick to my resolution and have successfully uploaded all the dinner pictures. This year, I was featured on a gazette and two other websites and was chosen as one of the best food bloggers of 2011. I am so happy that what I am doing with all my heart and passion is finally getting recognized. I can’t thank enough all the lovely people who follow my cooking and who support me unconditionally. Without my readers and fans, I wouldn’t have reached so far. I have no words when it comes to conveying my gratitude to everyone out there who are a part of my life’s journey. THANK YOU!
I have always followed one thing in my life: keep it simple and be genuine, then everything will turn out to be beautiful!

I always make something sweet and delicious for New Year’s eve. Last night, I couldn’t resist and made strawberry-almond swiss roll. As I made the cake with gluten free flour, I was little concerned about the texture of the cake. When the cake came out of the oven, I jumped out of joy seeing the soft and fluffy texture of the cake. Made the strawberry filling and whipped-cream frosting from scratch. The swiss roll tasted so delicious, it was unbelievably soft and creamy. This is a very simple recipe and can be made without much effort.
Wishing everyone a Fantastic 2012!!!
Strawberry and Almond Swiss Roll Recipe

Recipe adapted from here
Ingredients
For making cake:

Large eggs – 4 (separate yolks and whites)
Granulated sugar- 3/4 cup
Almond extract or vanilla extract- 1/4 tsp
All purpose flour or Gluten free flour- 1/2 cup
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Confectioners sugar or powdered sugar for dusting- 3 to 4 tbsp

For making Strawberry filling and Whipped-cream frosting:

Strawberry syrup (thick syrup) or spread- 1/4 cup
Heavy cream- 2 1/4 cups
Sugar- 1/4 cup

For Garnishing:

Roasted almonds
Colored sugar balls
Glitters etc etc

Preparation:

Making cake:

Separate egg yolks and whites from the 4 eggs.
In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks along with 1/2 cup granulated sugar until it turns pale yellow ( You could use an electric hand mixer to gently beat it).
Add almond or vanilla extract and flour to the yolk mixture, whisk just until combined (don’t over mix the batter).
In another large bowl, using an electric hand mixer beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.
Slowly add remaining 1/4 cup sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) and beat until the egg whites turn stiff.
First, whisk in one third of the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture.
Gently fold in the remaining beaten egg white using a rubber spatula, keep aside.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease a 10-by-15 inch baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Coat the parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray.
Spread the prepared cake batter evenly on the parchment paper.
Bake for 15 minutes until a fork inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
After 15 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven.
Gently run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen up the cake.
Dust the top of the cake with confectioners sugar.
Place another parchment paper on the top of the cake and gently invert the cake on it.
Peel off the parchment paper that’s now on top of the cake.
Starting from a short side of the cake, gently roll cake along with the parchment paper.
Place the seam side or the side where the rolling ended down on a baking sheet and let cool for 20 minutes.

Making strawberry filling and Whipped-cream frosting:

In a medium bowl, whisk strawberry syrup with 1/4 cup cream, set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer beat remaining 2 cups heavy cream with sugar till soft and stiff peaks form.
Fold half of the prepared whipped cream into the strawberry filling, this is to spread on the cake.
The remaining whipped cream is the whipped-cream frosting to spread over the swiss roll.

How to assemble:

After 20 minutes of cooling the rolled cake.
Gently unroll the cake.
Spread the prepared strawberry filling on the cake, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Starting from a short side of the cake, gently re-roll the cake along with the filling.
This time discard the parchment paper.
Place the seam side or the side where the rolling ended down on a platter.
Spread over and the sides of the roll with whipped-cream frosting.
Using a flat spatula, clean the frosting so that it’s spread evenly. Or using a fork gently run over the frosting to make lines.
Garnish the top with roasted almonds, colored sugar balls, sprinkles, glitters etc as per your preference.
Refrigerate the swiss roll for at least 2 hours or keep it overnight.
While serving, using a sharp knife slice into rolls of 1 to 2 inches wide.
Enjoy this delicious swiss roll with your dear ones.
This roll tastes delicious and sets really well the next day, so it will be good if you refrigerate this overnight.

Tips:

I used gluten free flour and the cake came out perfect.
You could use any kinds of flavor for the filling: chocolate, apricot, caramel etc. Use a thick syrup or spread.
To cut down the preparation time, you could use store bought whipped cream frosting.

http://www.thasneen.com/cooking/strawberry-almond-swiss-roll-gluten-free/