So was rolling a swiss roll as terrifying as it looked on Bake Off? YES! And to be honest, maybe I should have listened when lots of them rolled their sponge while it was still warm. I left mine to cool and it cracked a little while I was rolling it, hence the nutella buttercream covering the outside. Shhhh! It may look like there’s not a lot of filling but, it’s quite sweet with the buttercream on the outside too, so just the right amount.

I used a coffee sponge, but this would be equally as good without the addition of coffee. I used a Lakeland recipe and adapted it from there. You can see the original recipe here. You can easily swap out the filling for something you would prefer. I quite like the original swiss rolls with just jam and cream. Simplicity is sometimes perfection. But as I’m sure you all know by now… I’m a massive chocolate fan! So this is what I’ve ended up with 🙂 Get practicing yours now as they’re a great pudding alternative at Christmas if, like me, you’re not a Christmas pudding fan.

Ingredients
For the sponge
80g whole hazelnuts
85g butter, unsalted
115g caster sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
115g self-raising flour, sifted
1 heaped tbsp coffee granules dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water
200g mascarpone
150g nutella

For the buttercream
55g butter, unsalted
55g icing sugar, sifted
110g nutella
1 tbsp whole milk

Tools
Swiss roll tin (I used one that was 33 x 24 x 2.5cm)
Palette knife

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C and toast the hazelnuts for around 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cooled, roughly chop them.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs and mix until well combined.

Add in your sifted flour, and the dissolved coffee and fold in together.

Line your swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper, making sure you keep the square edges of the tin.

Pour the mixture in to your lined swiss roll tin using a palette knife to spread in to the corners.

Bake for 8-12 minutes until nicely risen and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for around 10 minutes. Remove the greaseproof paper and place on a wire rack to completely cool.

Now time to make the filling… Mix together your nutella and mascarpone.

Spread mixture over the cooled sponge and top with some of the remaining nuts. Leave some aside as you will need them for decoration.

Roll up the swiss roll sponge. You might have a few cracks but don’t worry!

On to the buttercream… beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add in the nutella and the milk so that it’s a nice texture and easy to work with.

Spread the buttercream all over the top of the sponge with a palette knife and then sprinkle with the remaining nuts.

Top tip – This cuts much easier if you leave it to chill in the fridge for a while before slicing.

Enjoy! See you next time for Tudor Week! X