Thursday 26 September 2013

Fudgy Chocolate Chestnut Roulade


















My ten year old son Joey and I made this Roulade. We were a great team in the kitchen. He measured out the ingredients, while I read out the recipe. He cracked the eggs and I did the folding. We were like a couple of synchronised swimmers, until the child started arguing over who got to lick the bowl and who got to lick the spoon. But that was just me... Joey was quite mature about it.



Fudgy Chocolate Chestnut Roulade
slightly adapted from Janelle Bloom's My Favourite Food for All Seasons

For the Cake:
5 eggs, room temperature
125g golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g dark chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon self-raising flour
unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

For the Chestnut Cream Filling:
300ml whipping cream
3/4 cup icing sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened chestnut puree

Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 170 degree C fan-forced. Spray a 25cm x 37cm shallow Swiss roll pan with cooking oil spray and line with baking paper. Set aside

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla on high speed for about 6 minutes, until doubled in volume. Sift the self-raising flour evenly over the surface of the egg mixture, pour in the warm melted chocolate and gently fold everything together. Gently pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread out evenly to the edges. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the centre is firm to the touch and springs back when gently pressed.

When cooked, remove from the oven and immediately place a sheet of baking paper over the hot cake, and then cover with a tea towel and turn it over onto a work surface. Remove the pan. Keep the baking paper on and cover the other side of the cake with another tea towel. This will help keep the cake supple when we starting rolling and prevent cracking. Leave to cool completely.

Make the Chestnut Cream Filling:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the chestnut puree and icing sugar together until combined. Scrape into a small bowl.

Attach the whisk attachment to the mixer and whip the cream until thick.

Fold the sweetened chestnut puree into the whipped cream.

Assemble the Roulade:
Remove the top tea towel and carefully pull off the baking paper.

Spread the chestnut cream evenly over the surface of the cake. With a short side closest you, roll the cake up, using the paper underneath to help you. Place on a platter and chill for at least 6 hours before sprinkling with cocoa powder and slicing with a serrated knife.


14 comments:

  1. This is the first picture I woke up to. Wow, looks absolutely delicious.

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    1. Thanks Patty. There are worse ways to start the day other than waking up to pictures of chocolate cake, yes?

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  2. Aww cooking with someone you loves, it's always a nice time! Your roulade is really tempting right now, I don't have all of the ingredients but if I had, I would do it right away, Yum, yum, yummmm! :)

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    1. I usually prefer to cook alone, but making cake with your son is precious.

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  3. I am so impressed - this is gorgeous!

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    1. Thanks Marie. It's a really easy cake to make, but looks impressive.

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  4. Oh, goodness you are totally speaking my language on this one. And what a good mama to share your kitchen spoils with your son! Need/want that chestnut puree.!

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    1. Hey Maria. I can't wait to see what you get up to with a can of chestnut puree is you're able to get your hands on some.

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    2. I have to tell you, I went ahead and ordered some chestnut puree from Amazon. I would have had to make a trip into Seattle to get it and I was feeling lazy.. ;) I'm going to make this and your lentil chestnut soup this week! Giddy about it. I'm also thinking of making some marrons glace as I just can't bring myself to spend $40 on a lb. of them. Have you ever tried that? I hear it's a 4 day adventure/ordeal..

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    3. You go Maria! Good for you. I have a serious Amazon addiction! I order quite a lot of food items online and like nothing better than receiving a box full of goodies at my front door.

      I've never made marrons glace, but I've eaten my fair share of them (!) I believe there's a lot of soaking, boiling and sugar-coating involved. My dad has an old, spreading chestnut tree smack-bang in the middle of his front garden. We get TONS of nuts each year. If you go ahead and make them, let me know how you go, I might give it a try. I'm sure, like any project of this type (requiring commitment, dedication, skill, patience) it'll be more than worth it.

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  5. This look divine, I love chestnuts and am always looking for new ways to use them, definitely one I am going to try ;)

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    1. Thanks Emma. My dad has a huge chestnut tree and it's an annual event to try and use them up - chestnut everything for weeks.

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  6. Looks like the perfect holiday dessert - I am going to save this for the coming months. Thank you!

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    1. Hey Jessica. This will be perfect for your season.

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