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Heavenly Chocolate Roll
A 1975 New York Times article featured this recipe as a perfect dessert for Father’s Day. The cake is paired with a simple whipped cream filling but I prefer a mascarpone-based filling as the whipped cream deflates into the cake spiral if not eaten immediately. This cake, while a bit tricky to assemble, is simply heavenly!
A little bit of food history: This type of cake – called a Swiss roll, jelly roll, or roll cake – originated in Central Europe in the 19th century. A thin layer of sponge cake is usually filled with cream, jam, or icing and then rolled into a log.
Recipe below.
A little bit of food history: This type of cake – called a Swiss roll, jelly roll, or roll cake – originated in Central Europe in the 19th century. A thin layer of sponge cake is usually filled with cream, jam, or icing and then rolled into a log.
Recipe below.
More Details
Heavenly Chocolate Roll
Preparation time 2 hours (including cake cooling time)
Bake time 15 minutes
Makes 8 servings (or one giant serving just for me!)
Ingredients
For the cake
- 170 grams (6 ounces or 1 cup) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 tablespoons strong, cold coffee
- 6 eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 150 grams (¾ cup) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the filling
- 100 grams (3.5 ounces) mascarpone, at room temperature
- 180 milliliters (¾ cup) cold heavy cream
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 30 grams (¼ cup) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting (about 25 grams or 3 tablespoons)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).
- Measure all the ingredients.
- Line a jelly or Swiss roll pan (size: 25.4x38cm / 10x15in) with parchment, allowing for a slight overhang of paper. Butter the parchment. [Note: I used a quarter sheet baking pan which was 23x33cm / 9×13in in size and resulted in a slightly fatter cake layer. If you can, use a Swiss roll pan to get the best result.]
- To make the cake, combine the chocolate and coffee in a bowl and place over a bain-marie or a pot of simmering water until melted. Stir together until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick, for 3-5 minutes.
- Stir the cooled melted chocolate into the yolk mixture until combined.
- In a separate, clean bowl, whip egg whites and salt until stiff (but not dry) peaks form.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate-yolk mixture using a rubber spatula. Make sure the batter is well blended but be careful not to overmix or it will deflate.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and even out top with a spatula or palette knife.
- Bake for 15 minutes or or until cake feels dry and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.. Don’t over bake or the cake may crack when rolled.
** The next three steps are critical to follow so that you don't end up with cake shards as the cake layer is very delicate and prone to cracking. **
- Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and cover the top of the cake with two layers of damp paper towels for 10 minutes. Leave the cake in the pan. The cake will deflate as it cools.
- Gently remove the towels – they may have a bit of cake stuck to them (don't worry!). Sift cocoa powder (1 tablespoon) over the top of the cake. Cover the cake with a piece of new parchment paper and gently invert the pan and cake onto the parchment. Peel off the parchment paper that lined the pan and is now on the top of the cake. Sift cocoa powder (1 tablespoon) over the top of the cake, which was previously the underside. Using the new parchment paper on the bottom of the cake as an aid, roll the cake and parchment together into a "loose" log (if it is too tight, the cake may break when unrolling it later on). Rolling from the long side results in a slender, thinner roll that can be cut into about 15 small slices. Rolling from the short side produces a shorter, fatter roll and about 8 big slices (note: I rolled mine from the short side). Cooling it in a roll allows it to hold its shape when it’s filled and re-rolled.
- Let the cake rest, seam side down, until it has cooled completely.
- When the cake has cooled, prepare the filling. Combine the mascarpone, cream, confectioners’ sugar, salt and vanilla and whip until smooth and thick.
- Very carefully unroll the cake and spread the top with filling. You will likely have a little bit of extra filling leftover. Re-roll the cake gently (without the parchment this time!) with the filling inside and rest it, seam side down, on a serving platter.
- Cover in plastic wrap and chill the cake for 1 hour to let it set.
- When ready to serve, dust the cake with cocoa powder (1 tablespoon). The cake tastes best on the day that it is made.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cake’s consistency changes in the refrigerator but it still tastes delicious.
This recipe was adapted from a 1975 article in The New York Times entitled, For his sweet tooth. The recipe by Jean Hewitt is called Heavenly Chocolate Roll. This cake is simply heavenly!!
Published: 21 June 2020
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