Mary Berry's Chocolate Roulade

I finally got to make this chocolate roulade, a little belated but who cares! I've loved it since I saw it on GBBO this year and immediately wanted to master it. However I thought I would save it for a special time, and as it looks quite festive Christmas was the obvious choice.

As I was away I kept it to make for our belated Christmas dinner at home with some family after we arrived back as we still have ALL of the Christmas food left over! We had eight for dinner so it seemed a perfect choice.

The morning of this dinner started badly, I've mislaid the adjustable tin I got for my birthday and I really wanted to use it for this bake. I spent an hour looking for it with no success, it's no annoying when you KNOW something is in your house but - you - just - can't - find - it!! After an hour I gave up and used a deep baking tray...luckily it worked perfectly, I wasn't happy about the idea of going out to buy a ready made dessert last minute.

So I finally managed to get started. I tried to remember what I learned from the GBBO and studying the book furiously. I've never made a cake that needs to be rolled before so I really wasn't sure how it was meant to look at various stages.

Luckily, and somehow miraculously it all kind of went ...perfect! I was also very excited to use my brand new mixer, and got to do a classic mixer shot photo (yes it is a little sad I'm exited about that :D!)

I found rolling it strangely easy too...much easier than I expected and would really recommend anyone who is worried about it to definitely give it a try!

Ingredients:

1. 175g dark chocolate (39% cocoa solids), finely chopped
2. 6 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
3. 175g caster sugar
4. 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 
5.  For the filling and finishing
6. 300ml pourable double cream
7. Icing sugar, for dusting
8. You will need
9. 1 x 33 x 23cm swiss roll tin, greased with butter
10. Non-stick baking paper

Method:

Line the base and sides of the buttered tin with non-stick baking paper. If you make a small diagonal snip in each corner of the paper, it will help fit the paper snugly into the corners of the tin.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of steaming hot but not boiling water (don't let the base of the bowl touch the hot water). Leave to melt, stirring occasionally.

Remove the bowl from the pan of water and stir until the chocolate is smooth, then leave to cool for about 15 minutes or until just warm. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in one large mixing bowl and the yolks in another; set the yolks aside. Whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until they stand in stiff peaks. If you turn the bowl upside down, the whites should be stiff enough not to fall out.

Put the sugar into the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk using the electric mixer (no need to wash it) on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until very thick and pale in colour, and the mixture leaves a ribbonlike trail on itself when the whisk is lifted out.

- I whisked the these in a seperate bowl and changing with the stand mixer is a bit of work for just one bowl so I used my scary old brown mixer. -

Pour the cooled chocolate into the yolk and sugar mixture and gently fold in with a wooden spoon to blend evenly. Add 2 large spoonfuls of the whisked egg whites to the chocolate mixture and stir in gently to loosen the mix, then fold in the remaining egg whites using a large metal spoon. Take care not to knock out the air you have just whisked in.

Sift the cocoa powder over the top and lightly but thoroughly fold it in with the metal spoon. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and gently move the tin around on the worktop so the mixture finds its own level. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until risen and the top feels firm and slightly crisp when pressed gently with a finger. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin; the sponge will fall and crack a little as it cools.

Lay a large piece of non-stick baking paper on the worktop and dust it lightly with icing sugar. Turn the sponge out onto the paper, then carefully peel off the lining paper. Whip the cream for the filling until it just holds its shape.

- As you can see I absolutely COVERED my surface with icing sugar causing my kitchen...and myself to get completely engulfed in it! It also did fill up a few of the cracks which is a shame as I did want a couple more to be visible.  -

Spread the whipped cream over the sponge, leaving a clear edge of about 2cm on all sides. Using a sharp knife, make a shallow cut along one of the short edges.

Roll this cut edge over tightly to start. Use the sugar-dusted paper to help continue the tight rolling by pulling it away from you as you roll. Finish with the join underneath, then lift the roulade onto a serving plate or board using a large wide spatula or 2 fish slices.

- I'm really happy with how mine rolled, making the first shallow cut to help with the roll really helped. I really needed the baking paper to help roll it up which worked perfectly. Everyone commented on how light the roulade was and even though we were all stuffed, there was none left over. Success! -

Nom!

Recipe adapted from Mary's Berry's BBC Recipe.

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