A Swiss roll or jelly roll is a type of sponge cake roll. The thin cake is made of eggs, flour and sugar and baked in a very shallow rectangular baking tray, called a sheet pan. The cake is removed from the pan and spread with jam or buttercream, rolled up, and served in circular slices.
The origins of the term "Swiss roll" are unclear. The cake originated in Central Europe, but not in Switzerland. It appears to have been invented in the nineteenth century, along with Battenberg, doughnuts and Victoria sponge. It is a traditional German, Hungarian and probably Austrian type of cake. The shape of the Swiss roll has inspired usage of the term as a descriptive term in other fields, such as in optics.
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The origin of this pastry is likely from the U.K., since Hong Kong was a British colony from the 19th to late 20th century. The cake is never packaged, as it is sold fresh daily in the Chinese bakeries. Overall, this cake has been sold next to other Chinese pastries well before the popularising of western-style bakeries such as Maxim. There are several popular variations.
It can be served with different things and is a dessert.
Most U.S. Chinatown bakeries sell the basic Hong Kong Swiss Roll version. It essentially looks and tastes identical to the one sold in Hong Kong.
In India Swiss rolls are called Jam Rolls. Tiny village Kanjirapally in the south Indian state of Kerala is the best known place for Jam Rolls. A special type of swiss roll with pineapple jelly filling was developed by Kunju's cake shop started in 1931. They use only organic raw materials and rolls are baked in wood-fired traditional oven.
In Indonesia, the Swiss Roll Cake is called Bolu Gulung. Most bakeries sell Swiss Rolls daily, and they are filled with butter cream, cheese or fruit jam. It is also very common for the Swiss Rolls to be sold by the slice, but some shops sell by both slice and roll.
Varieties produced in Malaysia include coconut (kaya), pandan, blueberry, strawberry, and vanilla.
In Portugal desserts called tortas are commonly found on restaurant menus. Such desserts are not tarts, nor are they similar to German torte. They are simplly Swiss rolls with jam filling.
In Sweden, the Swiss roll is called rulltårta (roll-cake). It is commonly served with coffee. The filling often consists of butter cream and strawberry jam. The base of a chocolate version, called drömrulltårta (dream roll-cake) is made mostly of potato flour, instead of the typical wheat flour, and is filled with butter cream.
More elaborate versions of the Swiss roll can be found in bakeries, with, for example, whipped cream and a whole banana rolled in the middle, or with a thin marzipan coating that resembles a birch log.
Despite its name, the Swiss roll does not originate in Switzerland and is not widely eaten there. Swiss rolls are called Biskuitroulade or Roulade in Swiss German, gâteau roulé or roulade in French and biscotto arrotolato in Italian.
In the U.K. the Swiss roll is popular for tea time or as a dessert. A variety of Swiss rolls are available on sale in supermarkets in the United Kingdom, such as the chocolate Swiss roll, lemon Swiss roll or the jam Swiss roll; these Swiss rolls will have different colours. The jam Swiss roll will be filled with jam and also possibly cream as a filling, and sugar covers it on the outside. The chocolate Swiss roll is made in Great Britain in a similar way to the United States. Jam Roly-Poly is a similar dessert made with suet pudding rather than cake, filled with jam and served hot with custard.
The most common method of making a Swiss roll is to use a basic sponge cake recipe. Chocolate Swiss rolls called Ho Hos are made in the same way, but cocoa powder is substituted for some of the flour, and the cake is filled with either whipped cream or with butter cream, and sometimes flavoured with vanilla, chocolate, or a chocolate-flavoured liqueur. A chocolate Swiss roll is sometimes called a chocolate log. Swiss rolls in the United States are often called "Jelly Rolls".
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