Swedish Kokosrulad (coconut roll cake)
Not too sweet, soft texture, moist middle and very delicately flavoured, aside from the taste (one of my absolute favourites), I love that this cake keeps well in the fridge and I find it delightful served chilled. Due to this, it’s a great option to make ahead of time and conveniently store ready for later devouring.
The sponge relies on getting the eggs and sugar whisked up to ribbon stage, which takes a good 10 minutes on high speed - a stand mixer helps a lot here as you can get on with other tasks while it is labouring away. Otherwise, a handheld electric whisk will do the job equally well, but whatever you do, don’t get impatient and attempt to shorten this task. It really makes a difference to the lightness of the final sponge.
My recipe below is derived and modified from an original in the excellent guide to Swedish baking, Fika - The Swedish Way, published by Norstedts.
PORTION SIZE
Makes 12-14 moderate slicesINGREDIENTS & TOOLS
Cake
120g desiccated coconut
60g (3 tbsp) potato starch or potato flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
3 large eggs (about 160g out of shells)
180g caster sugar
Caster sugar, for sprinkling
Custard buttercream
75g unsalted softened butter
100g caster sugar
150g ready-made custard or homemade crème pâtissière, at room temperature
OPTIONAL For the crème pâtissière
25g plain flour
25g cornflour
300ml whole milk
1 ½ tsp vanilla paste or seeds from 1 vanilla pod
2 large eggs
50g caster sugar
Requires a 30cmx40cm shallow roasting tin, 3-4cm deep
METHOD
OPTIONAL – For crème pâtissière
Weigh the two flours into a small bowl and weigh in about 50ml of the cold milk, working it all into a paste with the back of a spoon or a small whisk. Make sure there are no lumps; set aside.
Weigh the rest of the milk and the vanilla into a small saucepan and place over a low-medium heat until scalded.
Weigh the eggs and sugar into a medium bowl (having the ingredients form some depth in a smaller bowl helps with the whisking) and use an electric whisk on high to mix until pale and fluffy – expect about 4-5 minutes to reach the volume. You are aiming for the ribbon stage, which it is very pale and fluffy, about 5 times the original volume, and the mixture leaves a trail (a ribbon) when the whisk is lifted.
Add the flour-milk paste and whisk to combine. Pour over the hot milk and whisk again. Pour everything back into the pan and cook over a low-medium heat until thickened.
I alternate between letting it sit on the heat to thicken, and stirring, switching between a balloon whisk and a spatula to work out the foamy bubbles on the top and the thicker sections as they form on the bottom. I find this whole process can take 10-15 minutes – don’t be tempted to crank the heat up.
You can choose how much to thicken it, but it is ready once it easily coats the back of a spoon and leaves an open trail if you run a finger across it. You can take it thicker if you wish, until it is decidedly thick like the consistency of extra thick double cream, which I think is better for this recipe.
Pour into a glass bowl and cover with the clingfilm touching the top. Chill fully.
For the roulade
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan, 220°C regular. Line the bottom of the roasting tin with reusable or greaseproof paper.
Weigh the eggs and sugar into a large bowl or the stand mixer. Whisk for at least 10 minutes on high speed – it really does take this long to get the right volume. You are aiming for the ribbon stage, which it is very pale and fluffy and about 5 times the original volume.
If you are using a stand mixer, you are free to continue with other tasks.
Weigh the desiccated coconut, potato starch and baking powder into a bowl and use a balloon whisk to combine these dry ingredients together evenly. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg-sugar mixture in a few goes. The mixture should be very light and fluffy, almost like a meringue.
Pour the cake mixture into the tin, level the top and use a cranked spatula to encourage it into a rectangle but do not push it all the way to the edge of the paper – it will continue to spread a little during baking and you don’t want it too thin as it is delicate once baked and can easily tear. Tap once to release air bubbles. Bake in the middle of the oven for 5-7 minutes. It is done when golden on the top, probably with some huge bubbles, and springy to touch.
Bring out the oven and complete all the next steps immediately, with the cake still warm.
First, use a spatula to loosen the edges and make sure you can lift the reusable paper all the way round the edge.
Next sprinkle the top with caster sugar, then lay a sheet of greaseproof paper and then a sturdy clean tea towel over the top of the tin. For extra precaution, put two elastic bands around all this at each short end. In one quick and decisive motion, flip over so that the sugared sponge top drops onto the greaseproof. Hold the edges tightly – you don’t want this to slide out of the side.
Carefully peel off the reusable paper that was on the bottom, then roll up loosely with the greaseproof paper inside. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
*************** WAIT 1 HOUR **************
Finish the custard buttercream by beating the sugar and caster sugar together until fluffy, then add the custard/crème pat in two or three sessions and beat to combine.
Once everything is cooled, gently unfurl the rolled cake and spread the buttercream right to the edges, then roll up fairly tightly, aiming for no gaps. Cut into slices 2-3cm wide.
SERVE!
STORAGE
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge; stored well for about 3-4 days.
I also really like this chilled, and served cold from the fridge.
An excellent candidate for freezing and fika, simply slice up and store in airtight bags in the freezer for up to 3 months. A slice only needs about 15 minutes to defrost.