Swiss Roll

I first made this aged 15 in my GCE Home Economics class and didn't attempt it again until my 14 year old son was disappointed with a shop-bought version so I said I'd make one!

1. 1

   Grease and line a (33cm x 23cm / 13"x9") swiss roll tin with baking paper.
   Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180 C / 350 F.
   In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together with the caster sugar until the mixture has lightened considerably in colour and is thick enough for the whisk to leave a trail in the mixture.
   Make sure the flour is sifter twice - the aim is to get as much air into the mixture as possible to ensure a light and fluffy end result.
   Add the flour to the egg mixture and very gently fold in the flour with a metal spoon until it is thoroughly mixed in. Add a cooled tablespoon of water to the mixture and gently mix.
   Pour the mixture into the lined tin and ensure the mixture is evenly distributed.
   Bake on the middle shelf for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown.
   Whilst it's baking, lay a clean cotton tea towel on the kitchen worktop, then place a length of baking paper on top and cover this with caster sugar.
   When it's cooked take the Swiss roll tin out of the oven and invert the swiss roll so that the top side is now face down on the baking paper.
   Remove the baking paper from the cake and cut off the cake edges, otherwise it will crack when rolled.
   While it's still hot, fold over the end of the shortest side and use the tea towel to help roll the whole thing up into a swiss roll shape. Leave it to cool in this position.
   when cool, you could fill it with jam but my son prefers a generous amount of whipping cream (slightly sweetened) and chopped fresh fruit such as strawberries or melon.
   As there is no fat in this cake, it doesn't keep well so it should be eaten within 24 hours otherwise it'll go stale. I must say, we've never found this a problem!