Enjoy a spot of festive baking with this mouth-watering easy to make, Chocolate Roulade. Rich, indulgent sponge wrapped around a generous layer of fluffy chocolate whipped cream. This dessert will have all of your guest asking for seconds.
Ingredients
· 150g Lily O’Brien’s Dark Chocolate Drops for Baking
· 5 medium eggs
· 150g caster sugar
· 1 tsp vanilla essence
· 2 tbsp cocoa powder
· 1 tsp icing sugar
Chocolate Cream Filling Ingredients
· 60g Lily O’Brien’s Dark Chocolate Drops for Baking
· 240ml double cream
Method
· Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan and place your shelf in the middle section of the oven.
· Line a large rectangular baking tin (measuring around 32x24cm) with baking paper.
· For the sponge, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave, heat in 30 second bursts until almost melted and stir until smooth. Set to one side to cool a little.
· Separate the egg whites from the yolks in a large bowl (save the yolks for later in a separate bowl) and whip until stiff and frothy.
· To the bowl with the saved egg yolks, add the sugar and vanilla and whip until the yolks turn a pale colour and become silky in texture.
· Place the melted chocolate into the egg yolk mixture and fold to combine everything.
· Add a third of the frothy egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture and fold to combine. Add the remaining egg white mixture and sift in the cocoa powder and gently fold everything together until just combined.
· Pour the finished mixture into the lined baking tin and spread to the edges with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then shake the tin to level the mixture.
· Bake for 20 minutes until the sponge has risen and springs back when touched.
· Allow to cool for 3-4 minutes in the tin then sift the warm sponge with a little icing sugar, placing a piece of cling film on top.
· Add a board over the top of the tin then flip the sponge over, carefully making sure the sponge becomes free from the tin. Remove the tin then slide the sponge off the board and onto the work surface, then
· gently peel the baking paper off. While still warm, use the cling film to gently roll the sponge into a log shape, place on a wire rack and allow it to cool in the rolled position.
· For the chocolate cream, heat the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts until almost melted and stir until smooth.
· Whip the cream until it’s starting to thicken, but not completely firm then add a tablespoon of whipped cream to the chocolate and mix to combine. Repeat with another spoon of cream until the chocolate mix has thickened, then combine the chocolate mixture to the rest of the cream and mix until you have a thick chocolate cream.
· To assemble, carefully unroll the cooled sponge and spoon the chocolate cream on top of the sponge and spread out to the edges with a spatula or the back of a spoon, leaving a small gap around the edges.
· Use the cling film to gently roll the sponge and cream together, then wrapping the cling film around the log, place in the fridge to set for 1 hour.
· Before serving, remove the cling film and sift over a little more icing sugar and cut into slices.
