Apricot Swiss Roll

My grandmother gave me this recipe. I make it when I long for good times past. A very quick and versatile recipe that is light and dairy-free. I like using apricot jam, but you can use any filling you prefer instead.

If you are using a different filling and it is something that can easily melt (like whipped cream) cool the sponge before filling and rolling.

Enough for one medium sized Swiss roll (serves 10 - 12)

SWISS ROLL CAKE BATTER

plain/cake/all-purpose flour, 150g (250ml or 1 cup)

baking powder, 5ml (1 teaspoon)

fine salt, 1.25ml (1/4 teaspoon)

eggs, 4

caster sugar, 200g (250ml or 1 cup)

cold water, 60g (60ml or ¼ cup)

FILLING

apricot jam, 125ml (½ cup)

To start, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and line a shallow rectangular tin with baking paper (I use a 40cm x 27cm tin).

Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a clean, dry mixing bowl (I use a free-standing mixer bowl) and the yolks in another large mixing bowl.

Add the sugar and water to the egg yolks and using an electric mixer, beat together until pale in colour.

Add the dry ingredients to this mixture and whisk by hand until the mixture is uniform.

Whisk the egg whites on a high speed until stiff peaks.

Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter mixture until uniform (at first just a little with a whisk to loosen the mixture, then gently fold in the rest using a large metal spoon or spatula).

Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and gently level the top, spreading the batter to all four corners of the tin.

Bake immediately for about 10 minutes until the sponge is golden in colour and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

While the sponge is baking, place a clean tea towel on a work surface and sprinkle extra sugar to prevent the cake from sticking to the tea towel when rolling it up.

Once baked, turn the warm sponge out onto the prepared tea towel and remove the baking paper.

Spread a thin layer of jam (or whatever filling you prefer) all over the surface of the sponge (if your filling can melt, let the sponge cool first).

I like to make a cut, not all the way through, on one of the short sides, to achieve a tight roll.

Using the tea towel, roll up the sponge starting from one of the short sides.

Allow the sponge to cool for 10 minutes rolled up before trimming both ends.

Transfer it to a serving plate (you can brush off the excess sugar).

Delicious served with tangy, unsweetened Greek yoghurt (or unsweetened coconut yoghurt for a dairy-free option).