summer awaits // coconut kiwi swiss roll

It wasn’t my intention to proceed into the realm of summer themed bakes just yet seeing that we still have two weeks of spring left, but kiwis are in season after all, and surely coconut and then rum follows after.

The cream is a coconut rum cream made by adding coconut milk powder to regular cream which made for an intense, but clean, coconut flavour, to which rum is such a natural companion. As for the rest – fluffy sponge and sweet cubes of kiwi – no words necessary.

Sweltering temperatures, glasses of icy cold water, warm rays of sun beating down on bare legs, the cool breeze tousling your hair, sunglasses out, ice cream melting faster than you can lick it, sitting down to eat at cafes with the air conditioning at full blast, lattes swapped for frappes, trips to the seaside, white sand under your feet and 7pm sunsets…

Summer’s almost here.

Coconut Kiwi Swiss Roll

For the sponge:

1 1/2 egg yolks

2 egg whites

17 + 15 grams sugar

30 ml water

20 ml vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

40 grams cake flour

1/2 teaspoon cornflour

For the cream:

150 ml cream

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons coconut milk powder

1/2 tablespoon rum

For assembly:

2 kiwis, skin peeled and diced into small chunks

Make the sponge: Preheat oven to 170C. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper.

Whisk the egg yolks and 17 grams sugar until pale and light. Whisk in the water, oil and vanilla. Sift in the cake flour and mix until incorporated.

Whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add in the 15 grams of sugar and whisk until the mixture is glossy and stiff peaks are about to form. Add the cornflour and continue whisking until stiff.

Fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture. Scrape batter into baking pan and bake for roughly 14 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with a new sheet of parchment paper. Invert pan onto a wire rack and unmold cake. Peel parchment paper away from the bottom of the cake and place it back on top of the cake just to allow excess heat to escape. Leave cake to cool.

Make the cream: Place the cream, sugar, coconut milk powder and rum in a bowl and whisk until it reaches medium-stiff peaks.

Assemble the swiss roll: Spread roughly half the cream onto half of the completely cooled sponge, avoiding the edges. Arrange a quarter of so of the diced kiwis on top, roll the cake up tightly. Refrigerate cake for about half an hour for it to set. Transfer the remaining cream to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.

Retrieve cake from fridge and divide it into 5 generous slices. Pipe on blobs of whipped cream and arrange the diced kiwis on top.