Black Forest Roulade with Chantilly Cream

Goodness. It has been exactly two months since I last posted on this blog. Blame a hectic summer, kids underfoot with an unprecedented 4 month break from school (!), a wedding to attend and a couple of holiday trips. I'm sorry to say I almost forgot how to blog in the meantime. Apologies to those of you who have been having sleepless nights wondering which part of the earth I fell off of (har har).

Well I last left you with a sweet punch of Tiramisu, and I'm back again with yet another one! A Sweet Punch, this time chosen by the very sweet Maria, high priestess of the delectable blog Marias Menu. She challenged everyone to make a Black Forest Roulade which essentially is the chocolate version of a swiss roll. The thin cake is rolled up with a layer of whipped cream and fruit. The fruit of choice was cherries mixed with kirsch, both of which I am not a fan of, so I ended up just filling my roulade with chantilly cream (which is just cream whipped with vanilla and sugar).

I used to make what we called swiss rolls (vanilla cakes rolled with jam) as a teenager, and so this was a nice blast from the past. I did have difficulty rolling the cake though, the cake was very soft and tended to either stick to the parchment paper or break off in pieces. Next time, I would attempt greasing both sides of the parchment paper and using a lot more powdered sugar when rolling the cake. I still enjoyed the challenge, and the end product was a very rich, chocolate-y experience! Thanks Maria! Check out the others renditions of this same dish at the Sweet Punch website.

Black Forest Roulade (from Austrailan Women's Weekly)

Dark chocolate - 200gm, chopped coarsely (I used a mixture of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips)
Hot water - 1/4 cup (60 ml)
Instant coffee powder - 1 tsp
Eggs - 4, separated (room temp)
Caster sugar - 1/2 cup (110 gms)
Caster sugar - 1 tbsp, extra

Chantilly Cream
Whipping cream - 3/4 - 1 cup
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Caster sugar - 1 Tbsp - adjust to taste

Position oven shelves; preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease swiss roll pan; line base with baking paper. Combine chocolate, water and coffee in large heat proof bowl; sit bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Using wooden spoon, stir until chocolate melts then immediately remove bowl from fire. 

Beat egg yolks and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy; this will take about 5 minutes. Using large metal spoon, fold egg mixture into warm chocolate mixture. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Using metal spoon, gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture, in two batches. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven about 10 mins.

Meanwhile, place a large sheet of baking paper on board; sprinkle with extra sugar. Turn cake onto sugared baking paper; carefully remove lining paper, cover cake loosely with a tea towel. Cool cake to room temp.
 
To prepare Chantilly Cream:
Whisk cream till it holds peaks. Add vanilla essence and sugar (adjust for sweetness), whip again.
 
Spread cake evenly with cream. Roll cake from a long side, using paper to lift and guide the roll; place on serving plate. Dust with cocoa powder. Cover roll; refrigerate 30 minutes before serving. You can also dress up the roulade with fruit or by piping some cream on top.
 
Notes & Tips from the Women's Weekly Magazine:

• This cake is a cross between a mousse and a fallen souffle. It's ideal to make it on the day of serving.
• To successfully make this cake, it is vital that the egg yolk/sugar mixture is beaten until thick and that the egg whites are beaten only until soft peaks form. Overbeating will dry out the egg whites and make it difficult to fold them into the chocolate mixture.
• To test if the cake is cooked, touch it with your fingertips: it should feel slightly firm and springy.

Storage:

•  As per the AWW notes, the filled roulade will keep for up to 8 hours in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• As per the AWW notes, unrolled and unfilled roulade can be stored, covered with a piece of baking paper then a damp tea-towel, overnight in the refrigerator.