Make Craft Game

I decided to make the design out of the batter instead of using a different mix. It just felt like it would make sense. Since that was the case, I ended up making the batch a 1 ½ batch instead (the recipe was adjusted to the higher amount). The method felt very familiar to a standard cake. I did end up doing this recipe twice, and the first time, the cake felt like it didn’t have enough lift. For the second time, I added a bit of vegetable shortening to help give some structure.

I started by beating the vegetable shortening, eggs, vanilla paste, lemon, and sugar in a large bowl. I wanted the mixture to really whip up and gain some air (which feels like an oxymoron since gaining air means getting… nothing. Well, nothing visible).

In a separate bowl, I sifted together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. This is a cake I will advocate for using the sifting method. The lemon honey Swiss roll really wants to be light, and I’m using quite a few methods to get there. With my two mixtures together, it was time to fold.

Adding the flour in batches helps control the batter and keep my arm from being a total wreck. I started by adding one-third of the flour mixture to the eggs. The flour needed to disappear completely before I felt okay adding more. Using the folding method seemed the most apt for this process. It helps keep it in the air. Once the flour was fully incorporated, I folded in the milk and lemon zest as well.

Since this is a lemon honey Swiss roll, I feel like bees just naturally fall into the design. Is it cliché? Yes. But I like it, and that’s what matters. The black did come into play for the bees to create the outlines. It’s hard to create an outline on something that is somewhat difficult to see. So, the black outline makes it a bit easier.

And filling it with yellow in particular places really brought out the bees. I also added a few yellow dots to help add color as “background” bees. The next component of the design is the hex background. I wanted the background to look like a beehive, so I decided to go with a hexagonal pattern. I probably should have gotten a stencil, but I decided to just freehand it. My confidence randomly rises for the strangest things. And it turned out visible but not so consistent.

The last part of the design was adding some green. I felt the yellow and black were just a little too stark. I think adding some green leaves really elevated the design. There were definitely some messes, though. I used a toothpick to clean up as much as I could. Then it was time for the design to chill.

As the design finished chilling, it was time to add the cake layer. I tried to add the layer in a slow and methodical manner to get full and even coverage. Also to ensure I didn’t smudge the design. Once the batter was set in place, it was time to go to the oven.

This is a cake where the window between underdone, perfect, and overdone is very short. But I did have one thing to prep while the sponge was in the oven. I placed out a sheet of silicone and gave it a dusting of powdered sugar.

When the sponge came out of the oven, I let it rest for about 1 minute before turning it out onto a parchment sheet. I flipped it once again to have the design in the proper position. Then I placed my hands along the shorter edge and rolled it up. The longer side is better for the roll as it gives a better swirl. And it immediately showed signs of cracking….

Normally, rolling the sponge while hot helps to avoid cracking later. But that’s only if you get the bake right. One of the most notorious things about Swiss roll-type cakes is overbaking. Overbaking leads to cracking, which is where I found myself. But, in the spirit of the challenge, I continued ahead.

The next component to make was the lemon and honey filling. After all, I needed to add the honey somewhere, otherwise it wouldn’t be a lemon honey Swiss roll. For this filling, I started working over the stove. First, I set up some gelatin to bloom.

I then added lemon juice, honey, vanilla paste, and salt to a small saucepan.  My main goal was to create a syrup-like mixture that has one consistency. I tried to keep the mixture on a medium to low heat to prevent the honey from caramelizing. It has happened before. I do not want it to happen again (unless it’s on purpose).

I removed the mixture from the heat and added it to the gelatin. A few stirs got the gelatin to fully dissolve. Then I set aside the mixture to cool. I was aiming for the syrup to be about 80 degrees Fahrenheit when I needed it next. In a large mixing bowl, I whisked up a cup of heavy whipped cream to make a very full amount of whipped cream. The result was light and fluffy.

With the cream whipped and the syrup cooled, I folded the syrup into the cream to create a mousse-like filling. And now that all the components were complete, it was time for assembly.

I started by unrolling the sponge. Slow movements seemed like the best approach to help coax the roll into being malleable while also being set into a roll. With the sponge unrolled, I spread the filling across the non-decorated side as evenly as possible. I also tried to keep an ½ inch border around the sponge just to help the filling have somewhere to go.