Taro Swiss Roll

 

I absolutely love taro root and almost everything made out of it, so when I see a beautiful taro root in the grocery store, it's just impossible for me to pass it up. It's really unfortunate that most taro roots sold here are bad and moldy. Most ones in the grocery store are chopped off in parts, and you should never ever buy those because that means those chopped off parts were moldy. This also makes me nervous about eating non-homemade taro products because god knows what kind of taros were used. So you should always buy taro roots whole and clean. 

Taro root is versatile and can be made into cakes, breads and buns. Little fact for those who are no familiar with taro roots, they irritate your skin. The first I handled a taro root myself I used my bare hands and by the end of it, both my hands were red, itchy and painful! So always wear gloves when you handle raw taro roots!

So I decided to try Carol's Swiss roll recipes today. I like to try new things because that's what makes baking exciting for me. I have never made rolls before and have always liked Swiss rolls in general. When I was a student I used to pick one up from SF's Chinese bakery once in a while.

 Taro Swiss Roll

(recipe adapted from Carol)

Taro filling:

Taro 600g

sugar 80g

unsalted butter 3g 

heavy cream 20g

pinch of salt

1. peel the taro and cut into 1 inch squares (600g total)
2. steam the taros for about 25 minutes or until cooked and easily break off
3. mash the cooked taro (save the other 100g for the cake)
4. add the rest of the ingredient and mix well
5. let cool and set aside

My taro filling this time was perfect thanks to the perfectly ripen taro I bought.

Cake

5 large yolks

sugar 30g

liquid oil (I used grapeseed oil) 40g

mashed taro 100g

cake flour 90g (sifted)

milk 25g

pinch of salt

5 large egg whites

lemon juice 5 cc

sugar 60g

Preheat oven at 340F/170C

1. mix together yolks and sugar until pale yellow
2. add the liquid oil in several additions until completely incorporated
3. add mashed taro and salt and mix well
4. add half of cake flour and half of milk, mix very lightly, once incorporated, add the other half of flour and milk, mix well
5. whisk the egg whites until you see big bubbles, add in lemon juice and half of sugar
6. continue to whisk for a minute and add the rest of sugar, whisk until stiff peak
7. take 1/3 of whisked egg white and mix well with the yolk mixture
8. pour the entire yolk mixture back to the rest of the egg white. mix lightly and mix well.
9. line your jelly roll pan with parchment paper and pour the batter on it (try to get rid of big air bubbles)
10. bake for 12-15 minutes
11. peel off the parchment paper on the side and let cool
12. on the width side, draw horizontal lines with a knife, but don't go all the way as to cut off the cake.
13. spread an even layer of the taro filling
14. roll up the bake and refrigerate it for 2-3 hours before serving.

Photos are provided by Carol's blog.