Gluten Free Berries and Cream Swiss Roll

We had a great Saturday today, complete with this marvelously-summery gluten free Swiss roll, and a whole spread of other homemade dishes. It was 4th of July today, but instead of celebrating as we have done in years past, we took note of how our country, and all of us in it (especially us white folks) can be better. If you truly love this country, it is paramount that your love pushes it in a direction of change, progress, justice, and peace. There is no peace without justice, so our daily pledge and work will be to dismantle systems that are inherently cruel and lethal to groups of people who we call neighbors and fellow country-people. Anyone within the bound of this nation, built on stolen land and carved into so many vastly-different cultural pockets, deserves the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and at the present moment, those idealistic words ring hollow and untrue for so many.

This 4th of July we made a cake that espouses our family’s values, and, while we know we are what we eat, making, eating, and sharing photos of a cake that says Black Lives Matter is small change compared to the real work that must be done. Every inch matters though, which is why we will keep sharing the movement through food, bake sales, and conversations that need a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down because it must. go. down. or we will never be rid of this sickness. But we also will do more every day, and make it our job to always use our privilege to break down the structure that endows us with it so that that very same privilege ceases to exist one day soon.

To everyone, happy Saturday. May it be one full of learning, listening, and settling into the discomfort that white people have so long chosen to ignore because it distracts us from the comfort of blind white privilege. If you’re looking for resources to start doing this self-education, here’s a great link that a wonderful new friend, who I met at a recent protest, shared with us. I recommend making a checklist of media you want to watch, podcasts you want to listen to, etc. and holding yourself accountable to check off at least one or more resources a day. I’m behind on my commit, so will need to do some catching up this week. And remember, sharing is caring, so be sure to share the lessons you’re learning in your own self-education with as many others (especially family members!) as you can. To cap off the day, here is something that speaks to 4th of July in ways many of us don’t directly understand. It’s important to try, though. If you’re looking for more resources, we have additional ones in our Juneteenth post with these strawberry hibiscus cupcakes, or in our pre-Juneteenth post with these red velvet cupcakes.

A note if you’re also making a stencil with a message for your cake: we typed up the Black Lives Matter first, printed it out, then used a utility knife/exacto knife to carefully cut out each letter. For this cake, I used powdered, sifted, freeze dried raspberries to get a vibrant red for the letters (though it took a little fixing with tweezers even after I used the stencil). Worth the effort, though!

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Berries and Cream Swiss Roll

A classic summer dessert – complete with whipped cream and a berry reduction

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Cooling time45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: cherry, gluten free, strawberries and cream, strawberry, summer, swiss roll, whipped cream

Servings: 10 people

Calories: 250kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cookie sheet or jelly roll pan
• Small sauce pan
• Parchment paper

Ingredients

For the berry reduction:

• 1/2 Cup chopped, hulled strawberrie
• 1 Cup pitted, halved cherries
• 1/3 Cup strawberry jam
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

For the roll cake:

• 6 large eggs separate white and yolks into two large bowls
• 2/3 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum add 1/4 tsp now)
• 1/4 Cup arrowroot starch
• 1/2 Cup blanched almond meal/flour
• Powdered sugar for rolling

For the whipped cream:

• 2 Cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions

• First, make the berry reduction! Combine the prepared cherries and strawberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the strawberry jam and cook for a few minutes until berries are softer and have released some of their juice. Add the balsamic vinegar and continue to simmer on medium-low heat for at least 10 minutes or until compote has thickened and berries are very soft. Once the compote/reduction becomes thicker and is spreadable (with chunks) remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Refrigerate until completely cool.
• While the compote is cooling, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Grease a cookie sheet (15x10x1 inches) and line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and be sure the corners are pushed in; set aside. Separate your eggs into two large bowls (ensure that the whites are in a clean, dry bowl and that no yolk gets into the whites). Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on high until soft peaks form. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, then set aside. Using the same mixer, beat the egg yolks with the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar, vanilla, and salt until lighter and thick – about 2-3 minutes. Add in the flour, starch, and almond flour and stir in with a spatula. Then, add 1/3 of the egg white mixture and stir in until smooth. Fold in the remaining egg whites 1/3 at a time until completely smooth. Pour batter into the prepared pan and carefully spread the mixture to the edges until even. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until dry to the touch. Let it cool for a few minutes before rolling the cake.
• The key is to roll a Swiss roll cake nearly immediately so that it cools in the final shape. Lay a damp kitchen or tea towel on the counter and lift the entire cake (using the parchment paper) onto the towel (do not remove the parchment paper). Sprinkle powdered sugar over the unrolled cake before rolling. Use the damp kitchen towel, along with the parchment paper already under the cake, to roll the cake short end to short end, so that the parchment paper and towel are rolled up in the cake. Let it sit rolled up until completely cooled. Be sure to roll the cake tightly.
• While the cake is cooling, make the whipped cream. Using your electric mixer, beat the heavy cream on high until soft peaks form. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
• Once the cake is cooled, carefully unroll and remove the towel. Spread the whipped cream first, making sure to not have too thick of a layer (or your cake will squish out the excess cream). Then spread the cooled berry compote over the cream layer evenly.  Once the filling is on, carefully roll the cake back up, short end to short end, being sure to roll tightly but not squishing out the filling. If you’re serving later, I recommend wrapping the cake back up in the parchment paper and freezing for 2+ hours (or overnight), and then removing from the freezer 45 minutes before serving to slice it (it will slice very neatly if it’s still slightly frozen). Then serve!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your Swiss roll!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber