Swiss Rolls

The swiss roll originated in Central Europe, but surprisingly not in Switzerland. The earliest recipe for rolled cake spread with jelly was in the Northern Farmer a journal published in Utica, NY in December 1852. The recipe was called “To Make Jelly Cake” but it reads: “Bake quick and while hot spread with jelly. Roll carefully, and wrap it in a cloth. When cold cut in slices for the table.” The name Jelly Cake comes from another cake recipe that was made up of 5 to 6 thin layers of cake with jelly between each layer. Jelly Cake is an old English recipe. For many years there wasn’t clear distinction between the name Jelly Cake and Jelly Roll to describe a rolled cake spread with jelly in America. During 1852 to 1877 it was called Jelly Cake, Roll Jelly Cake, Swiss Roll, and Rolled Jelly Cake. In North America, it eventually became popular as “Jelly Roll”.