This roll is made of a soft and fluffy lemony sponge cake filled with a limoncello mascarpone whipped cream. Light and tangy, this dessert is perfect for spring or summer!

When it comes to Swiss rolls, you will find recipes that separate the eggs and whip the egg whites separately, and those that beat all the eggs together. Separating the eggs gives you a wonderful rise and fluffiness without any leavening agents. If you don’t want to bother with the extra step of separating the eggs, you can add baking soda instead and get similar results.

Sponge cake recipe:

4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cups flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda, only if not separating eggs
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp. sugar for sprinkling over the towel

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a jellyroll pan by lining it with parchment paper.

Method 1: Separate the eggs and whip the egg yolks with 1/2 of the sugar, the lemon zest and the vanilla until thick and pale. Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar and the salt until peaks hold. Add the beaten egg whites, just a little at first to lighten the batter, then all of it and fold gently into the egg yolk mixture.
Sift the flour and cornstarch over the mixture and fold in. Be careful not to deflate the batter.

Method 2: Beat the eggs with the sugar for at least 3 minutes until thick and pale. Together with the baking soda, sift the flour and cornstarch over the egg mixture, add the salt, vanilla, and lemon zest and fold in until well mixed.

Spread the batter evenly onto the prepared pan and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden and the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Be careful not to overbake as the cake can become dry very quickly, and will crack when rolled up.
While the cake bakes, prepare a tea towel, moisten it lightly with water and sprinkle about 2 tbsp. of sugar all over. The moisture prevents the sponge from drying out, and the sugar prevents the cake from sticking to the towel.
When finished baking, turn the cake onto the prepared towel, peel of the parchment paper and roll it up right away with the towel from the shorter side. Let cool before unrolling.
When the cake has cooled down, unroll and fill with the cream, and roll back up right away.

Limoncello mascarpone filling

1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp. limoncello (or more, to taste)
3 tbsp. lemon juice (or to taste)
1/2 cup icing sugar (can be substituted with 1/4 cup sugar, but icing sugar stabilizes the cream a little more, as it contains a little starch)

Whip the mascarpone with the sugar until well combined. Whip the cream and fold into the mascarpone mixture. Fold the limoncello and lemon juice into the cream.