Lemons are a wonderful way to make any cake special. They balance out the sweetness perfectly and are a refreshing way to end a meal. With a lemon swiss roll, you won’t spend a lot of money to impress your friends and family or even yourself. Lemons are basically the little black dress of the baking world. Use one of these and you are guaranteed to have visual appeal at any gathering. I like to make anything from zesty icing to refreshing loaf cakes with lemons. If you cannot find a fresh lemon, you can substitute lemon juice in a pinch. Both will be delicious. What’s more, if you can’t find either option, you can use 1 tsp of lemon extract in the cake and 1/2 tsp in the filling. In fact, you can make this any flavor you like.
I encourage you to try this lemon swiss roll. Take your time to really whip up those eggs. If they are already at room temperature, it will take less time. But be prepared to beat them for 5 – 10 minutes for the best results. It’s worth the wait. You are making a cold genoise sponge and the light and fluffy texture of this cake is all in how much time you invest in mixing those eggs and sugar.
If the cake cracks while rolling, don’t worry. This happens a lot in the beginning as you learn to make swiss rolls. In fact, it will happen even after you made 100 of them. Usually when you are filming a recipe for your friends. It’s easily fixed with a little bit of powdered sugar or by simply turning it the other way. No one cares really if it tastes wonderful.
What makes this recipe so special is that it’s naturally a lower calorie and lower fat dessert. This is because it’s considered a fatless sponge. Although you have fat from the eggs, you aren’t adding oil, butter or margarine to the batter. This is so the cake will have a better chance of rolling up without those cracks we just spoke of moments prior, and what is really unique about this cake is the fact it freezes beautifully for future use.
Lemon Swiss Roll
Ingredients
- 4 large (200g) eggs
- ½ cup (100g) sugar
- ⅓ cup (100g) flour
- 2 tbs (30mL) juice and zest of a lemon
- ½ tsp (2g) baking soda
- ¼ tsp (1.25g) salt
Buttercream
- 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (56g) softened butter
- 1-2 tbs (15-30mL) juice and zest of a lemon
For the topping
- 2 tbs (16g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C.)
- Grease and line the bottom of a 9×13 (23x33cm) cake or jelly roll pan with parchment or wax paper.
- Sift together baking soda, salt and flour. Set aside.
- Dust a clean, lint free towel generously with powdered sugar. You can also use wax or parchment paper, but they will hold onto moisture as the cake cools and make it sticky.
- Zest and juice one lemon into a small container. You should get approximately 3 tbs (45mL.)
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until the eggs become pale yellow, triple in volume and ribbons from the beater.
- Sift dry ingredients into egg mixture, folding gently. Fold in 2 tbs of the lemon juice and zest.
- Pour batter into cake pan, spreading out as evenly as possible.
- Bake 8 – 10 minutes or until cake springs bake and the sides just start to pull away from the pan. Center of cake should reach 205F or 96C.
- Turn out on sugared towel. Remove paper baking gently. Roll up from short end while still warm. Allow to cool completely on rack.
Filling
- In a bowl, beat softened butter until creamy. Beat in powdered sugar a little at a time on low speed until smooth. Add in remaining lemon juice and zest.
- Unroll cake, spread out buttercream. Gently roll back up cake without the towel. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours to firm up frosting for easier cutting.
- Bring out 1/2 hour before serving. If desired, sprinkle top with more sugar for decoration. Store leftovers in fridge.
This looks delicious! Do you use salted butter in the buttercream? Or unsalted?
Hello Joy! You can use either salted or unsalted butter and get great results. I personally always use salted butter as it lasts longer and it cuts out the sweetness a bit better without worrying about the grittiness from the salt not fully dissolving when adding it. I hope this helps.
Hi, if I want to use this recipe for a mocha swiss roll, can I just lessen the amount of lemon juice? Thank you
Hi Jo, I think I spoke to you on youtube already, but if not, yes you could totally do that. I would recommend the following changes to the cake. Add 2 tablespoons (10g) cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon (coffee), 1 teaspoon (5mL) of vanilla and omit the lemon altogether. For the buttercream, omit the lemon juice and then add 2 teaspoons of cocoa and 1 teaspoon of coffee. You may need to adjust to taste, adding a ratio of 2 parts cocoa powder to 1 part coffee. That’s the traditional “mocha” flavoring for most desserts, by the way. Instant coffee works also best in mocha recipes if you can find some. Hope this helps!