BOO! The cute &  adorable Japanese deco Swiss Roll Cake recipe was hijacked this month to create a gousligh Beetlejuice movie themed cake for Halloween.

I am always super excited to present my big main Halloween post each year! And this year, with my goolish Halloween recipe, I got to knock down two skeletons with one big candy (ha ha). This post combines both the October 2016 challenges for Food ‘n Flix and the Daring Kitchen. The movie for Food ‘n Flix was Beetlejuice. The Daring Kitchen challenge was a decorated swiss roll cake. Hence, my evil mind gave birth to the scary themed Beetlejuice Swiss Roll Cake! Do you dare to take a bite?

swiss cake roll

swiss cake roll slice

Beetlejuice the movie

Beetlejuice is a 1988 comedy fantasy film directed by the amazing Tim Burton. The plot in a nut shell: a deceased young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) are stuck as ghosts their former home. The home is purchased by a modern and annoying couple and their teenage goth daughter (Winona Ryder). The ghosts desperately want to get rid of the new owners. They fail in doing so while befriending the daughter who can see the ghosts. The dead couple employ the obnoxious ghost named Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) from the Netherworld to help them in their task. Not a good move, he does not work well with others. Will all the residents find a peaceful ground to live happily together and will they get rid of beetlejuice? Whatch the movie to find out.

swiss cake roll spun sugar

If you have not seen this movie already you have been living under a rock. I saw it at the avant premier when I was 14. My BFF of the time had won tickets. It was downtown Montreal and it was the first time my parents let me go alone in the city. But I remember my dad picked us up by car after. By today’s standard the film is super kitch but super fun. There are no real horro moments but there are ‘OMG so gross’ moments. I think the most terrifying part of the movie was seeing the horror of the 80s fashion again. So happy I got to see this film again!

Not a whole lot of food in this movie, these are the edibles, or sort of, I noted: orange juice, coffee, Cantonese, Sechuan, wine, herbal tea, beetles, chicken bone in throat, Zagnut bars, artichokes, salads, bread, rutabaga, shrimp cocktail, Coke, rum, and bananas (Harry Belafonte – “Banana Boat Song – Day O).

Decorated swiss roll cake technique

We were introduced to the Japanese decorated “kawaii” swiss roll cake technique, a popularized trend by the  food blogger Junko. Kawaii is defined by the quality of cuteness in the context of Japanese culture. The decorated swill roll concept is based on the French pastry technique called  joconde sponge. But the difference here is that one takes a small amount of sponge cake batter to pipe the decorative pattern, which ensures that the pattern and the cake are the same texture so that the cake rolls up with no problem.

swiss cake roll pipping and pouring the batter

The 6 egg sponge cake is very elastic and forgiving for the rolling. The simple syrup also helps by keeping the cake moist and pliable. Care must be taken to not overcook the cake at all or the cake may crack when you roll it. So better to undercook just a bit. My design is free-hand but if you plan on making a precise pattern,  make a stencil for piping your pattern on. Keep in mind the image will be mirrored so if you are including writing make sure the words on the stencil are backwards.

UPDATE: whether with a decoration or plain, this has become my go to Swiss roll cake, it is so easy. I even used it to make my Boozy Peaches and Cream Trifle.

swiss cake roll cooling and spun sugar

swiss cake roll top

October 2016: this Daring Kitchen’s challenge comes to us fromKorena from Korena in the Kitchen. And I am combining this challenge with Food ‘n Flix which is hosted by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen . The cake and filling recipes come from Marjorie, the syrup comes from Korena, and the spun sugar from Natasha.

Be sure to check out my past Halloween posts as well, they are goulish fun!

swiss cake roll side

Beetlejuice Swiss Roll Cake

BOO! The cute & adorable Japanese deco Swiss Roll Cake recipe was hijacked this month to create a gousligh Beetlejuice movie themed cake for Halloween.
Course Dessert
Servings 1 cake

Ingredients
  

For the cake

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 teasppons matcha plus black, purple and green gel food coloring

For the syrup

  • 1 tablespoon caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons boiling water
  • 1 tablespoon liqueur of your choice optional

For the filling

  • 8 ounces white chocolate cups
  • 1 cup heavy cream

For the green spun sugar

  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 12 g water
  • 12 g corn syrup
  • Green gel food coloring

Instructions
 

For the cake

  • Sift the flour, the baking powder and salt in a small bowl, reserve. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs. With mixer on, slowly add the sugar a bit at a time, and beat for 1 more minute all together. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until well combined. Beat in the vanilla and water until incorporated.
  • If using a stencil, place it on the left side of the baking sheet. Place a piece of parchment paper cut to the size of a half baking sheet.
  • Separate batter amounts for your design. About 1/4 cup is good for small designs. Mix each amount of batter with gel food coloring to the desired color. In my case I made a batch of purple and a batch of black. I flavored my main batter with 2 teasppons of matcha powder and a few drops of green coloring.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Pour decorative colored batters in piping bags and fill your pattern accordingly.
  • TIPS: do any outlines first and fillings seconds. FREEZE between each color applications for 15 minutes to prevent your batters from bleeding together.
  • Once all your design is piped and frozen a bit, remove the stencil from under the parchment paper, then pour and gently spread your main batter evenly over the entire sheet pan.
  • Bake for about 8 to 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be very careful not to overbake.
  • Lay a second sheet of parchment paper on a large cutting board. Right away when the cake is out of the oven, invert the cake onto the piece of parchment paper and gently remove the top parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and turn the cake again over with the cutting board for help so that the decorations are facing the counter.
  • Roll the cake up with the side away from the decoration and leave to cool.

For the filling

  • Bring the cream to a boil or heat in the microwave. In a bowl, pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Set aside for 10 minutes, then stir until smooth and the chocolate is all melted. Cool the mixture in the fridge for a bit, then whisk with an electric mixer on medium until filling is light and fluffy.

For the syrup

  • In a small bowl, combine the caster sugar and boiling water. Mix until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the liqueur if desired, or equal amount of water. When the cake is completely cool, unroll and brush the simple syrup over the inside of the cake with a pastry brush and let it soak in. Trim edges clean.
  • Spread the filling over the entire inside of the cake. Roll it up again and leave to set in the fridge for a few hours.

For the green spun sugar

  • Place a sheet of parchment paper on your counter and a rolling pin on top. Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a saucepan and brush down the sides with water to prevent crystal formations. Keep boiling until you reach 155 degrees C. Let the mixture cool for a couple of minutes.
  • Dip a fork in the sugar and flick it across the paper. If strings of sugar form you are at the right temperature. Work quickly to spin all the liquid. Gather up with your fingers into your desired shape and place on top of cake.

Notes

For the spun sugar: only prepare your sugar sculpture when close to serving as the humidty in the air will melt it down with time.