Peanut Butter Jam Swiss Roll

I recently purchased a new swiss roll tin to replace my el cheapo one that warps under high temperature, which is not ideal as I bake my swiss rolls at 200°C. I tried it out yesterday and was thrilled that the cake turned out the way I expected, soft and fluffy, and well-risen with an even flat surface. I made a basic vanilla sponge, and filled it with strawberry jam and peanut butter cream. I could have rolled it better, but it wasn't as "round" as I wanted it to be, probably because I tried to fill it with too much of that delicious cream! Cold, light and creamy, peanut-buttery and melts in your mouth. Addictive!

Vanilla sponge filled with sweet-salty-buttery peanut butter cream and strawberry jam

The recipe for the cake is really basic, but I'll just show it here anyway:

Ingredients:

4 eggs

85g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g cake flour, sifted

60g melted butter

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease and line a 23cm x 33cm swiss roll tin with baking paper.
2. Using a hand mixer, whisk/beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl over a pot of simmering water until it reaches about 40°C (use the back of your fingers to test the temperature). This step is to "activate" the eggs, especially if the eggs are cold, so that it beats better. Remove bowl from the pot and continue to whisk until it becomes thick, creamy, fluffy and doubled in volume, ie. when it reaches ribbon stage. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
3. Sift flour over the batter in 3 batches, folding it carefully with a large metal spoon or spatula until well incorporated.
4. Pour the warm melted butter around the edges of the bowl (so as not to deflate the mixture) and fold in carefully until well incorporated.
5. Pour mixture into the tin, and tilt the tin back and forth to spread the mixture evenly. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cake is cooked and the edges have started to come off the sides of the tin. The cake should make a soft hissing noise when you gently press the top of the cake with your finger. Do not overbake, as the cake will be dry and will tend to crack when you roll it.
6. Remove cake from oven and from the tin, and cool on a wire rack.
7. Remove baking paper from the bottom of the cake. Place cooled cake on a new sheet of baking paper, top-side down, spread the filling on it, and roll it up using the paper. Roll it up in aluminium foil securely to hold its shape, and refrigerate for about 2-3 hours until firm. Slice and serve.

Filling:

About 6 tbsp Rose's traditional strawberry jam (which I love as it has chunky strawberry pieces)

Peanut butter cream: Use about 1 cup cold thickened / whipping cream, and whip to almost firm peaks, add in 1-2 tbsp icing sugar and continue to whip till firm. Fold in 2-3 tbsp peanut butter and mix until smooth. And the best part is in licking the spoon! Mmm...yummmm....!