Spoon University Logo
DSC 0182edited potentialfeature
DSC 0182edited potentialfeature
Recipes

How to Make Peanut Butter Swiss Rolls That Are Better Than Hostess’

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at JHU chapter.

Swiss Rolls. How can someone roll crumbly cake layers to create the perfect spiral without cream exploding everywhere? And how can one make a good Swiss Roll without it tasting like a glorified Hostess product? (No shade towards Twinkies.)

This recipe is the answer. What better combination than chocolate and peanut butter? The technique that may leave your hands sticky, but I promise you will end up with a professional looking Swiss Roll spiral when slicing.

Cake for the Swiss Roll

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 20 minutesCook time: 20 minutesTotal time: 40 minutesServings: servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

  2. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Grease a large rimmed baking sheet with baking spray, and then line the baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper.

  3. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    In a large bowl, sift the granulated sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

  4. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk.

  5. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    In a small saucepan, combine the butter and vanilla with the 1/2 cup of water and bring the contents to a simmer. Then drizzle the mixture onto the dry ingredients.

  6. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Add the egg and milk mixture to the combined dry and butter and vanilla mixture, and whisk until smooth.

  7. Pour the batter onto the prepared greased sheet and spread out into an even layer (this is crucial!) and bake for 20 minutes.

  8. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Once the cake has baked, transfer the sheet to a rack and let cool.

    #SpoonTip: The cake should seem wet (almost under baked) and sticky. This allows for easier rolling.

Peanut Butter Cream Filling

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 10 minutesCook time: minutesTotal time: 10 minutesServings: servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the butter with the confectioners’ sugar at medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light.

  2. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Beat in the 1/2 cup of the peanut butter into the mixture, then mix in the milk and the vanilla.

Ganache

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 2 minutesCook time: 5 minutesTotal time: 10 minutesServings: servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate (chopped/morsels), butter, corn syrup, and salt.

  2. In a small sauce pan, pour in the cream and bring it to a simmer on the stove, then pour over chocolate mixture and whisk until cool.

Assembling the Swiss Rolls

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: minutesTotal time:2 hours Servings: servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Line another large baking sheet with parchment paper and grease with baking spray. Take the cooled cake and invert it onto the prepared sheet.

  2. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Peel the parchment paper off of the cake, and cut the cake into 4 equal rectangles/squares. Spread the peanut butter filling on the cake pieces, leaving about a 1/4 inch boarder.

  3. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Roll up the cakes length wise to form 4 longs, then place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

    #SpoonTip: The cake WILL be sticky! It might rip in places and it may seem almost caramelized – this is completely normal and actually will be beneficial when rolling the cake to form the rolls.

  4. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    After the rolls have been refrigerated, cut the logs into thirds with a sharp knife.

  5. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Dip the individual rolls into the Ganache using a fork or a spoon (let the excess goodness drip off to form perfect rolls).

  6. Photo by Mireille Heidbreder

    Place the covered rolls onto another greased pan or pan lined with parchment paper, and let freeze for about an hour until ready to serve.

Mireille is a junior studying Film & Media Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Although a passionate videographer and baker, you will most likely find Mireille on a horse, but never without chocolate.