Swiss (Roll) Bliss

The swiss roll is no more swiss than an english muffin is english. In Austria, its called biskuitroulade. In France, the gâteau roulé and in Italy, biscotto arrotolato. In Spain, it bears the name brazo de gitano, meaning gypsy's arm, while closer to home in the Philippines, the pianono. In Switzerland, oddly enough, it isn't widely consumed.

The origins of the term swiss roll is unclear. But this much we know, the provenance of this light, fluffy cake hails from Central Europe and features as a traditional German, Hungarian and probably Austrian type of cake.

Most versions of the swiss roll are filled with either jam, buttercream or, as is most commonly found in asia, whipping cream. In Chile however, the swiss roll is slathered with a generous portion of manjar, a South American variant of dulce de leche.

I filled mine with homemade lemon curd.