Milk Tart Swiss Roll
A traditional South African dessert with a twist. This is a delicate vanilla sponge that's filled with a sweet milk custard that infused with cinnamon and finished off with a coating of powdered sugar and cinnamon.
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Servings: 10
Ingredients
Milk Tart Filling
- 2 ½ cups milk full cream
- ½ cup cream
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tbsp cornstarch/flour
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla essence
- ½ cup sugar caster or regular
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1/2-1 tsp ground cinnamon
Vanilla Sponge
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup butter melted, or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla essence
- ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp powdered/icing sugar for dusting
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon for dusting
Instructions
Milk Tart Filling
- Line a medium saucepan with butter - this'll prevent the milk mixture from burning around the edges of the saucepan. Add the milk and cream, and bring to a light simmer.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl add the sugar, eggs, corn flour, all purpose flour, vanilla paste, sugar, salt and cinnamon together and mix well.
- Temper the egg mixture by gradually pouring some of the warm milk mixture in to the egg mixture, stirring vigorously. Bring the milk mixture back to the heat and allow to simmer until thickened whilst stirring. Note: the mixture must cook on a low heat until VERY THICK. If it's not thick then the filling will be too runny and it won't stay in the swiss roll.
- Pour the filling into a medium bowl, cover with clingwrap and allow too fully cool and thicken even more (about 4 hours).
Vanilla Sponge
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ / 180℃. Line a 10x15 inch / 25x38cm rimmed baking sheet with butter/oil/cooking spray and baking paper.
- In a large bowl, using an electric whisk, whisk the caster sugar and eggs together until it's doubled in volume. About 5 minutes.
- Add melted butter, vanilla paste, flour, baking powder and salt together until fully combined.
- Pour the batter into the baking tray and spread all the way to the edges, ensuring the batter in evenly spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes (no longer). Tip: Do not overbake the sponge, it should be a a light golden color - if you over bake it, then it'll crack when you roll it.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Mix the powdered sugar and cinnamon together and, using a sift, dust the surface with the powdered sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place another layer of baking paper on top of the sponge, pinch the ends of the tray with the baking paper and flip. You want the powdered sugar-cinnamon mixture to now be at the bottom so that when you roll up the Swiss roll, the powdered side will be on the outside. Be sure to only add the filling once the sponge is lukewarm and the filling has FULLY cooled down.
- Tip: if you want to ensure that your Swiss roll retains its shape, then I'd recommend you roll up the sponge with the baking paper in between (before filling) and place the rolled up sponge in the fridge until the filling has fully cooled down.
- Remove the filling from the fridge and loosen it up with an electric whisk. Evenly spread the filling onto the sponge with about 3cm from the edges. Starting by the short end of the sponge, gently lift and securely roll the sponge to the point where the seam is at the bottom. Some of the filling will naturally be pressed towards the edges of the Swiss roll.
- After you’ve rolled up the Swiss roll, wrap it in baking paper and place the Swiss roll in the fridge for 1-2 hours. This helps it keep it's shape. After that, you're ready to dig in and devour. Tip: Place the Swiss roll in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 3 days.