One of my favourite episodes of Great British Bake Off involved the bakers making some delicious looking delights for dessert week! They were challenged to make a roulade for the signature bake where we witnessed many delicious sounding flavours such as piña colada, yum!
The technical was a very complicated looking marjolaine and the showstopper; mini mousse cakes. Tom made the mistake of piping his mousse and we said goodbye to him at the end of week 7.
For my dessert week GBBO bake along I decided to make the signature bake and make a chocolate log style roulade filled with freshly whipped cream.
For this you will need the following ingredients:
175g/6oz good-quality dark chocolate, broken into squares
6 free-range eggs, separated
175g/6oz caster sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
300ml/10fl oz double cream
icing sugar, to dust
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°CFan/320°F/Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a 33cm x 23cm/13in x 9in Swiss roll tin then line the base and sides of the tin with a large sheet of foil lined greaseproof paper, pushing it into the corners. (You can purchase the foil lined baking paper in supermarkets such as Sainsburys & Asda)
2) Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. (Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water) or melt for 30 second intervals in a microwave.
3) Place the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk until stiff but not dry. If you turn the bowl upside down, the whites should be stiff enough not to fall out.
4) Put the egg yolks in a separate bowl with the sugar and whisk on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until thick and creamy and the mixture leaves a thick ribbon-like trail when the beaters are lifted.
5) Pour the cooled chocolate into the egg yolk mixture and gently fold together until well combined.
6) Gently stir two large spoonfuls of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen the mix, then fold in the remaining egg whites using a large metal spoon (you don’t want to squash out the air you have just beaten in). Sift the cocoa over the top and lightly fold it in.
7) Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and gently move the tin around and use a spatula to push into the corners until the mixture is level.
8) Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes until risen and the top feels firm and slightly crisp. Remove from the oven, leave in the tin (expect the roulade to fall and crack a little) and set aside until cold.
9) Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Lay a large piece of greaseproof paper on the work surface and dust it lightly with icing sugar. Turn the roulade out on to the paper so its lining paper is on top, then carefully peel off the paper.
10) Spread the roulade with the whipped cream, leaving a border of about 2cm/¾in all the way around the edges. With one of the shortest edges facing you, make a cut along it with a sharp knife, going about half way through the sponge. This will help to start the rolling up. Now roll this cut edge over tightly to start with and use the paper to help continue the tight rolling, by pulling it away from you as you roll. Don’t worry if the roulade cracks – that is quite normal and I think it gives a beautiful rustic Yule log look to the finished roulade.
11) Finish with the join underneath then lift the roulade onto a serving plate or board and dust with icing sugar and decorate if you desire. I made sugar holly leaves and sprayed them with a bronze edible spray and it gave the leaves a beautiful rose gold look!
This is a perfect Autumn dessert and I’ve made this many times for Christmas dessert decorated with meringue mushrooms, it just has that festive Yule log look!
I’m intrigued by what the next episode of GBBO will bring with Tudor Week! Sounds interesting!
Happy Baking! x x
