This is one of my dearest recipes in my home and work menu. Easy to make, refreshing, best sweet treat in summer or winter; with a hot cup of coffee or a cold glass of juice. What I love more about this recipe is that you are free to play around with it; put inside whatever you like whether it’s fresh fruits, any kind of jam, different flavored cream filling or any kind of candy (the rest is up to you) !
- Make the cream filling : 175 ml whipping cream/175 gram mascarpone cheese/ any kind of flavoring you like : vanilla extract or different liquors. Whip the cream in hard peaks, add mascarpone cheese and the essence you are using
- Instead of water you can use coffee to give the cake roll a stronger flavor
- Use a pinch of salt while beating the egg whites, this will help the egg whites hold their shape
Method :
Preheat your oven to 177°C and line the bottom of a 25×38/30×45 cm rectangular baking pan with parchment paper that extends up the sides 2-3 cm
Add the water or coffee to chocolate bowl and melt chocolate with water or coffee in a small saucepan over hot water(not boiling) until it is melted. Set aside
Put yolks in a medium bowl, add sugar and mix them with electric mixer until yolks are pale and ribonny
Gently stir the chocolate into the yolk mixture
Take a clean big bowl and put there the egg whites. Beat them with a pinch of salt with electric mixer (clean, wash it first before using) until they hold stiff peaks
Stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into the chocolate-yolk mixture to lighten it
Fold the remaining whites into the cake batter in three additions
Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until cake layer feels dry (but very soft) to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (it will still seem a little underbaked)
Set aside for a couple of minutes so it will chill
It depends on your layer’s thickness. I’m doing a thin layer of cake roll and in this case you can skip the step that I will describe below. If you are doing a thicker layer then you need to follow it
For a thicker layer : Transfer the cake layer upside down into a kitchen towel and peel of the parchment paper (don’t worry about the bottom of cake looking to dark, it’s not burned, it’s simply dark chocolate)
Put another kitchen towel in the peeled layer and let aside for 10 minutes
Put pressure on it with your hands, gently of course
Transfer the cake layer into a clean parchment paper as it will be easier to roll the cake with it plus you can store it in the fridge covered by it
Add cream to the cake layer (you decide the thickness of cream)
Make sure to put more cream in long sides of the cake roll, and less in short sides
Start rolling the cake roll carefully from the short end to the short end putting a bit of pressure while doing this
Wrap the chocolate cake roll with the parchment paper you were using to roll and refrigerate if not serving in the moment
Photography by Eranda Janku, unless otherwise stated
