Mary Berry Swiss roll recipe | Cooking with my kids (2024)

A classic bake that brings with it a nice sense of nostalgia, this Mary Berry Swiss roll is so simple to bake it’s perfect for children to make.

This Mary Berry Swiss roll is a timeless classic, that with only four ingredients, it is so easy to make.

It’s a fat-less sponge which is great if you want a cake recipe with no dairy. And it looks quite special so no one need know how simple it is to make.

What can you fill a Swiss roll with?

A classic Swiss roll just has a simple jam filling and that’s what we went with. Either raspberry or strawberry jam work perfectly.

If you want to jazz up your Swiss roll and serve it as a delicious dessert you could add whipped cream (about 250ml) and chopped fresh strawberries or raspberries.

If you like a little extra zing you could also try a lemony filling. Lemon curd and some soft cream cheese along with some mixed berries make a refreshing twist on the classic recipe.

How can kids help make the Swiss roll?

It might not look like it but this is such a simple recipe so it’s perfect for kids to try. The sponge itself only has three ingredients. The hardest part is having the patience to wait for the eggs and sugar to whisk. The lightness of the sponge comes from the air that you manage to get into the batter at this point, so it’s important to do it for long enough.

With 4 eggs in the sponge there are lots of chances for kids to practice cracking eggs. A skill that is useful for all little chefs.

They will also get to measure out the ingredients and mix them all together.

Finally, kids can add the filling and roll up the Swiss roll. They’re all really simple tasks, but together make a really tasty treat.

How long does a Swiss roll keep?

A classic Swiss roll with just a jam filling will keep in an air tight container for a few days, although it will be at it’s best in the first day. If you’ve filled your Swiss roll with whipped cream you need to keep it in the fridge and serve it within a day or two.

It’s possible to freeze a Swiss roll sponge before it’s filled. Once you’ve rolled it and it’s cooled down you can wrap it in cling film and freeze it for a month or two, although I think it’s better served fresh.

How do you roll a Swiss roll?

To roll your Swiss roll sponge without it cracking, you need to first of all make sure you don’t over bake it. It’s a very thin sponge, and is easy to over bake, so it’s important to remove it from the oven as soon as it’s browned and is coming away from the edges of the baking tin.

My second tip for rolling the sponge, is to do it while it’s still warm and then leave it to cool rolled up. The sponge is still quite bendy and pliable while it’s warm, but will crack if you try to roll it up once it’s cooled down.

How do you stop the Swiss roll from sticking to the baking paper?

To make the Swiss roll sponge roll, you wrap it up on a sheet of baking paper. To make sure this sheet doesn’t stick to the sponge itself as it cools, you need to sprinkle some caster suger over the baking paper.

Other delicious desserts

If you liked this Swiss roll, you’ll love our chocolate Swiss roll as well as some of our delicious desserts:

Lotus Biscoff cheesecake
Meringue nests
Raspberry Eton Mess
Peach trifle
Berry pavlova
Raspberry cranachan

Useful equipment

You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this swiss roll

Swiss roll tin
Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Spatula
Sieve

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Ingredients

4 eggs
100g (½ cup) caster sugar
100g (2/3 cup) self raising flour*

For the filling
4 tbsp jam (raspberry or strawberry)

If you don’t have any self raising flour, simply use plain flour and add 2/3 tsp of baking powder.

How to make a Swiss roll

Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C Fan / 425F.

Get your kids to grease a 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 inch) Swiss roll tin and then line it with baking or parchment paper.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together

Get your kids to crack the eggs into a small bowl. Mine normally tap the eggs onto the edge of our metal mixing bowl before pushing their fingers in and dropping the egg into the bowl.

To stop it getting too messy I usually have another small bowl for the kids to pop the shell into. I also have wet wipes handy to wipe messy hands.

If any shell does go in with your eggs, use a larger piece of shell to fish it out (egg shell sticks to egg shell,) or use a teaspoon.

Put the eggs into a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.

Now measure out the sugar and add that to the mixing bowl with your eggs.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together until they are light and frothy and at least doubled in size. It’ll take a good few minutes. You can test that it’s done by lifting the whisk out of your bowl – it should leave a trail in the mixture below. Don’t shorten this step. The bubbles will give you a nice light sponge.

Add the flour

Get your kids to measure out the flour, then sift it into your mixing bowl.

Using a spatula, gently fold the flour into your egg/sugar mixture. Make sure you can’t see any flour left at the bottom of your mixture but don’t over mix it otherwise you’ll knock out the air from your sponge.

Bake the sponge

Pour the mixture into your prepared Swiss roll tin. Get your kids to gently turn and shake your tin so the mixture flows into all the corners of the tin, and is level across the tin.

Bake the sponge in the oven for 8 – 10 minutes. It’s ready when the sponge has turned a nice golden shade of brown and is starting to shrink away from the edges of the tin.

Prepare the Swiss roll

While the cake is cooking put a clean tea towel down on your work surface. Put a piece of baking paper / parchment paper, slightly bigger than the size of your Swiss roll tin on top. Finally, sprinkle some caster sugar (about 1 tbsp) on top. Make sure the sugar covers the baking paper as this will stop the sponge from sticking later.

Make the Swiss roll

Remove the cake from the oven and turn it out onto the baking paper. (This isn’t really a job for children)!

Now, very carefully peel the baking paper off the bottom of your sponge. Then, if you need to, trim the edges of your sponge with a sharp knife so you have a nice neat rectangle.

Score a line 2cm (just under an inch) from the short edge of your sponge. Don’t cut all the way through it – just enough to leave a mark.

Finally, from your score mark, roll your Swiss roll sponge up. Use your tea towel to help you, then leave the sponge to cool.

Fill the Swiss roll

Once your sponge has cooled, unroll it then get your kids to spread the jam in the middle with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.

Roll the cake up again, nice and tightly.

Sprinkle with icing sugar (optional) serve and enjoy.

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This recipe was first published in June 2020 and republished with new pictures in January 2024.