You'll find that no matter what type of cake you are making you'll need to beat the eggs and sugar together so that they will thicken up prior to baking.  If you want a light finish then you'll want to be beating the mixture for 15-20 minutes.  When adding the dry ingredients they should be added in very lightly as this will prevent the air bubbles breaking up.  That's why a metal spoon is advised for this, it's also important that you "fold" the mixture rather than stir it.

Swiss Roll Recipe

3 eggs
4 oz of castor sugar
4 ox of flour (sieved)
1 teaspoon of hot water
Warm jam

In order to prepare the cake tin (about 9 x 12 inches) , you'll need to grease the tin and then put greaseproof paper into the tin and then grease the paper too.  Make sure that the greaseproof paper is bigger than the tin.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl over some hot water so that it is thick enough for an impression of the whisk to be left.

Sift in the flour then fold it lightly into the egg mixture along with the hot water.  Make sure you use a metal spoon.

Pour the mixture into the tin and then tilt is a bit from side to side so that it's spread evenly.

Place the tin into a hot oven that's been preheated to 425F for about 7-9 minutes so that it's golden-brown and firm.  Then turn it out onto some paper with sugar on it.

Cut off the edges so that it's nice and neat and spread over some warm jam.  With a knife, cut half-way into the sponge that  makes a long cut that is within 1 inch from the ends.  Then roll it up and place it on a wire rack to cool.

No matter what sort of cook you are, everyone should be able to do the above recipe.  It's a great one to try out with kids as it's a lot of fun and the end result is yummy.  Cooking and baking also teaches kids  the needed skills in the kitchen instead of relying on buying ready made meals from the supermarket.