This Gluten Free Lemon Swiss Roll is the perfect afternoon tea treat and I promise it’s much easier to make than you think. I was excited to hear the Queens Platinum Jubilee Dessert has been announced and lemon swiss roll is part of the Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle. The recipe is however neither gluten nor dairy free. So, if you’re interested in a free from version (with possibly less faff as this is a MAMMOUTH of a recipe) then let me know in the comments and I’ll get my skates on to develop one in time.
Swiss rolls can be made out of a basic vanilla sponge or a Genoise sponge, I favour the latter as it is lighter, feels and looks more luxurious and behaves better when it comes to the rolling.
A Basic Gluten and Dairy Free Genoise Sponge Recipe
I refer to this Genoise sponge in a lot of my recipes, it’s the perfect base sponge for my Best Ever Gluten Free Trifle! or this Best Gluten Free Tiramisu Dessert, birthday cakes, swiss rolls, gateaux….It NEVER fails and is so light and fluffy, no one will suspect it’s free from gluten or milk.
- 60 g gluten free plain flour
- 60 g gluten free self raising flour
- 130 g caster sugar
- 4 eggs separated
You will also preferably have a cake mixer (it is hard work on the elbows to make a Genoise), a swiss roll cake tin or medium baking tray, greaseproof paper and a clean tea towel – all will be revealed!
Can I make this swiss roll dairy free?
Yes you can make this swiss roll dairy free. In fact, a traditional Genoise sponge is already dairy free as no fat is used in the making of the sponge. The swiss roll then becomes dairy free or not depending on the fillings you chose to add.
What is the difference between a roulade and a Swiss roll?
Simply put, a Swiss Roll is always a thin sponge based cake that is covered in a sweet filling and rolled. A Roulade is rolled but doesn’t use sponge and can in fact be savoury. Examples of a roulade are meringue, puff pastry, suet pastry or even meat or vegetables.
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What’s the best tin to use to make this sponge?
No you do not need a special tin to make a swiss roll. I use a supermarket bought medium-sized non stick baking sheet measuring 22x32cm*. The sides are approximately 2cm deep which is ample for a swiss roll sponge. I have also added an affiliate link to a purpose made swiss roll tin* if you’d rather.
How thick should a Swiss Roll sponge be?
Ideally you want it to be less than 2cm thick so that you can get a good tight curl effect and you’re not heavy on the sponge. In situations where my sponge has risen unevenly I trim the bottom (inside) off after 5mins of cooling. That said, genoise sponge is quite amenable and will squash down if you ask it nicely!
Do you roll a Swiss roll hot or cold?
In the photo below you can see my swiss roll sponge all tucked up and looking ready for bed! I rolled this 5mins after removing from the oven and the tea towel you see it wrapped in was damp to start with. Due to the fact that the sponge has been rolled, it takes a little longer to cool down. I would recommend NOT allowing it to cool completely as you still want an element of flexibility when you unroll and re-roll.
Why is my Swiss roll cracking?
Your swiss roll may be cracking for one of two reasons. The first may be due to the fact that you baked it that little bit too long and the sponge is too dry to get a good supple sponge. The second reason may be that you let the rolled sponge cool for too long and unrolling it has compromise its structure. If this happens to you then fear not I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve…
How do you fix a cracked Swiss roll?
There are a couple of things you can do to save a cracked swiss roll. One, you can dredge the final swiss roll in enough icing sugar to make a star angel in! Two, you could decide to decorate your swiss roll with any left over butter cream or drizzle melted chocolate over it to disguise any imperfections. One last suggestion would be to slice the roll in advance of anyone seeing it. Finally, let’s not be too hard on ourselves if this happens, it happens to me, and I’m sure Mary Berry has had it happen to her too.
How to roll a Swiss Roll
Step-by-step guide on how to roll a swiss roll:
- Remove from oven and cool for 5 mins before gently removing from tin and placing on a damp tea towel. I run my tea towel under a hot tap and wring out while the sponge is baking.
- The sponge will still be on it’s baking paper so remove this and place the sponge bottom side up onto the damp tea towel. The top golden side will be touching the damp cloth. Fold the end of tea towel over the short side of your sponge, gently begin to roll your sponge up away from you in a firm (but not too tight) roll.
- You will end up with a rather odd looking rolled up tea towel on your cooling rack with your Genoise sponge tucked up nice and warm inside!
- Leave the sponge rolled for at least 10 minutes.
- By now your sponge will have cooled to body temperature. Gently unroll and dollop spoonful’s of your lemon curd over the curled sponge. Gently smooth over the sponge with a pallet knife.
- Now here comes the fun part. Your sponge will already know where it’s going, so gently re-roll the sponge. Be careful to not roll too tight causing your delicious lemon curd to ooze out of the sides.
- Place on a board or plate with the overlapped end downwards and dust with icing sugar.
Easy Dairy Free Butter Cream Recipe
This recipe does not have butter cream but just in case you wanted to add some I’ve left the recipe for you here.
TOP TIP: when add butter cream to a swiss roll make sure the sponge has cooled enough to prevent the butter cream from melting. This does mean your cooler sponge can potentially get cracks in it as it’s much better to be rolled when warm.
Swiss Roll Butter Cream
250g icing sugar
150g unsalted butter (use dairy free block of ‘butter’ if necessary)
1 tsp lemon extract
2 tsp boiling water
Simply add all the ingredients to a bowl and beat until pale and creamy.
I would recommend spreading the butter cream onto the Swiss Roll first and then smoothing the lemon curd on top, the reason for this is that I always find butter cream impossible to spread over jams or curds and you end up with a mess.
How to make your own Lemon Curd for this Swiss Roll
I mentioned at the beginning that the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee dessert has been announced; a show stopping Lemon and Swiss Roll Amaretti Trifle of which the humble Lemon Swiss Roll is the integral part for the trifle sponge base.
The competition was run by royal grocer Fortnum and Mason, in partnership with the Big Jubilee Lunch Charity, to create a pudding that had a memorable story behind it, tasted delicious, and was fit for the 96-year-old Queen.
BBC News
To make your own Homemade Lemon Curd is simple. I have made a Simple Homemade Vegan Lemon Curd but of course this is a bit redundant in the case of this recipe as it’s packed with eggs!
To make my own lemon curd for this Lemon Swiss Roll I followed the simple recipe here by BBC Good Food. All you need is 2 lemons, 100g caster sugar, 50g butter(I used my plant butter) and 2 eggs.
Of course, If I had a jar of ready made lemon curd I would most certainly have used that, but as I’m the only person in the house who eats lemon curd that’s not going to happen.
Other Gluten Free Lemon Baking Ideas
Gluten Free Lemon Swiss Roll Recipe
If you make it and like the recipe I would be eternally grateful if you popped back and commented leaving a star rating as this will tell search engines that this recipe is worth checking out and others will get to find it in searches.
Gluten Free Lemon Swiss Roll
Equipment
- swiss roll silicone baking sheet alternative
Ingredients
To make the Genoise sponge
- 60 g gluten free plain flour
- 60 g gluten free self raising flour
- 130 g caster sugar
- 4 egg(s) separated
- 150 g lemon curd for homemade recipe see notes
Instructions
- First things first, sieve both the flours together – a couple of times if you can be bothered! I've tried making this sponge with and without the sieving process and believe me it does make a difference.
- Add the egg whites to a mixer or large bowl and using the whisk attachment beat into firm peaks.
- Add the caster sugar a table spoonful at a time and continue to beat until the whites become stiff and have a beautiful glossy sheen to them. TOP TIP: You know it's ready if you take a pinch a bit and rub your fingers together, if you can feel the sugar grains between your fingers you need to continue beating.
- Next add the egg yolks and whisk on slow, just enough to combine the two.
- Fold in the sifted flours quickly with a silicone spatula. Make sure you do this gently to prevent knocking too much air out of the mixture.
- Add to your well oiled and lined baking tin.
- Bake on 180°C | 160°C fan | 350°F | Gas 4 for 18-20 minutes – keep a close eye to make sure the sponge does not catch, you know this will be ready when you get a perfect spongy bounce to the touch….the cooked smell is unmistakable!
- Remove from oven and cool for 5 mins before gently removing from tin and placing on a damp tea towel top side down (I run my tea towel under a hot tap and wring out while the sponge is baking.
- Gently peel off the baking paper. Now be brave and fold the end of tea towel over the short side of your sponge and gently begin to roll your sponge up away from you in a firm (but not too tight) roll. Your tea towel will roll up inside the sponge.
- You will end up with a rather odd looking fat rolled up steaming tea towel on your cooling rack with your Genoise sponge tucked up nice and warm inside!
- Leave the sponge rolled for at least 10 mins – this means the sponge cools and creates its own memory of being rolled up!
To fill your Swiss Roll
- By now your sponge will have cooled to body temperature. Gently unroll and dollop spoonful's of lemon curd over the bottom side (inner curl) of the sponge and smooth over the sponge with a pallet knife.
- Now here comes the fun part. Your sponge will already know where it's going so gently re-roll the sponge being careful to not roll too tight causing your lemon curd to squeeze out of the sides.
- Place on a board or plate with the overlapped end downwards and dust with icing sugar.
- Breath a sigh of relief and make a well earned cup to tea to celebrate!
Notes
Nutrition
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*disclaimer: I use affiliate codes on my website, the vast majority are to Amazon. If you click on any of the links or images in the post and make a purchase my family will benefit from a small % of that purchase at no extra cost to you, in fact, for full transparency, in 2020 I made my first £25, and recently in 2022 I reached my next £25 (Amazon don’t transfer the money until you reach £25). As you can see, it won’t make me a millionaire but it will treat me to a few coffees, Lord knows I need the caffeine!
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