Christmas Swiss Roll with Sweet Egg Custard Sauce

This Christmas Swiss Roll with Sweet Egg Custard Sauce is a delightful Portuguese holiday dessert that brings together the best of traditional Christmas baking with a uniquely Portuguese twist. Unlike the classic chocolate Yule log that graces many holiday tables, this elegant roll cake features a light, airy sponge cake filled and topped with what the Portuguese call “ovos pobres”, literally “poor man’s eggs.” This custard-like filling gets its name because it uses fewer egg yolks than traditional Portuguese egg sweets, creating a lighter, more delicate custard that’s both economical and absolutely delicious.

The beauty of this dessert lies in its perfect balance of textures and flavours. The tender sponge cake provides a gentle canvas for the silky sweet egg sauce, which has the consistency of a light custard but with the rich, caramelized sweetness that Portuguese confections are famous for. The technique of rolling the warm cake requires a bit of finesse, but the results are absolutely worth it, creating a stunning spiral presentation that’s sure to impress your holiday guests.

What makes this recipe particularly special is that its another Portuguese sweet that uses cheap ingredients to make something delicious and beautiful, nothing like a swirly roll cake with a deliciously oozing egg sweet filing… it screams delicious hehehe, but it’s all about technique, let’s check the recipe!

Christmas Swiss Roll with Sweet Egg Custard Sauce

Servings: 4-8
Time: 2hr 30mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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This Portuguese Christmas Roll Cake with Custard Filling is one of my favorite Christmas recipes, i love me a good swiss roll and with a sweet egg custard its just one of those Christmas decadent deserts hehehe.

Ingredients

Self-Rising Flour – 150g
Sugar – 150g
Eggs – 6 (L)
Butter – For Greasing
Cooking Chocolate – For Sprinkling (Or Dark Chocolate)
Eggs – 6 (L)
Sugar – 375g
Water – 225ml

Directions

In a small saucepan, start by preparing the egg yolk jam, add water and sugar, cook for about 18 minutes until a light syrup forms. You don’t want to caramelize it, just create a sugar syrup. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, then slowly add the sugar syrup while whisking quickly with an electric mixer until you have a creamy mixture.
Return the mixture to the small saucepan over medium/low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly to cook the egg yolks and thicken the mixture. When it is creamy, remove from the heat and let it cool down.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and prepare a shallow, wide rectangular pie pan (around 30 cm x 40 cm). Line all sides with parchment paper and grease well with melted butter.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and whisk well until smooth, you really need them super well combined.
Sift the flour into the mixture and mix with a spoon, folding it in without whisking.
Pour the mixture into the pan and tap the pan a little on the table to remove any air bubbles from the mixture. Bake for about 10 minutes until cooked. Note that you cannot overcook the cake, otherwise it will become stiff, and you will not be able to roll it.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan onto a towel or cloth, spread the egg yolk custard on top and, with the help of the cloth, roll it up to form a roll. Transfer it to a serving platter.
Finally, pour the rest of the egg yolk custard on top and sprinkle with grated cooking chocolate, and that’s it! Bon appétit and Merry Christmas.

Notes: You might notice that the cake has no fat in it! But trust me this is the correct recipe, this type of traditional swiss rolls in Portugal (tortas), normally rely on a genoise or sponge cake method. In this type of cake, the primary leavening and structure come from the whipped eggs. The eggs are whisked extensively with sugar until they are very light, airy, and voluminous. This aeration creates a stable foam that, when combined gently with flour, forms a light and pliable batter that bakes into a flexible cake, perfect for rolling.

The key to a perfect roll is timing, the cake should be warm but not hot when you roll it. If it’s too cool, it will crack; if too hot, the filling will melt.

When making the syrup, you want a light consistency – not caramelized. It should coat a spoon lightly but still be pourable.

The final custard should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but still spreadable. If it becomes too thick, you can thin it with a tablespoon of warm water.

This cake is best served the day it’s made, but can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. The custard may firm up slightly when chilled.

You can prepare the sweet egg custard a day ahead and store it covered in the refrigerator. Gently rewarm before using if it becomes too thick.

This recipe for Christmas Swiss Roll with Sweet Egg Custard Sauce was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Torta Recheada de Ovos Pobres foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.