Chocolate Cake Roll

Chocolate cake just got a trendy makeover ❤️

One of the best things in life is chocolate cake, am I right?  And chocolate cake in roll form, with a thick and fluffy chocolate cream – NOW we’re talking.

This Chocolate Cake Roll boasts a soft melt-in-your-mouth texture and a luscious cocoa cream filling, best of all, it is SO much easier to make than you’d think.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve felt intimated by making cake rolls or swiss rolls. But what better way to overcome a kitchen fear, than to try, try and try again? Last year for my birthday, I asked for a swiss roll pan and ever since then, I’ve been baking up a cake roll storm.

So if you’re on the hunt for an impressive cake for morning or afternoon tea, try your hand at this Chocolate Cake Roll. It has no butter and only uses common baking ingredients.  And while I love making vanilla cream sponge rolls, this chocolate version is my new fave. I just ate TWO slices this morning.

Over the past year, in addition to eating more than my fair share of cake, I’ve also learnt a few tricks when it comes to cake rolls. And while I like my cake rolls not to crack tooo much, I actually don’t mind a few imperfections, it’s still a thing of beauty.

So here’s a few things I’ve learnt to help you create a beautiful Chocolate Cake Roll.

Tips for making cake rolls

1 Beat those eggs
I find the most important factor relating to how well my sponge comes out is if I have beaten those eggs to the correct consistency. It is hard to give an exact time for this as it does depend on your mixer etc. But for me, it is always longer than I think. So if your not sure, keep going. One trick I use is to see if you can draw a figure 8 on the batter using a trail of cake batter, and if it still sits on the surface when you’re finished, it’s good to go

2. Do not over bake OR under bake
I read a lot of advice on cake rolls that stressed the important of not over baking your cake roll. Overbaking makes the cake dry and prone to cracking. However, this made me fearful of overbaking, therefore causing me to underbake my cake roll. This also ends up with cracking, as the cake is soggy in parts and won’t hold its shape properly. I find exactly 10 minutes at 160 C (320 F) is perfect for me. But every oven is different, so you may need to figure out what works best for you.

3 Roll the cake when it is warm
Don’t wait to roll the cake. Get it out of the oven, flip it over onto your clean tea towel dusted with icing or powdered sugar and generously dust the other side. Then roll her up.

3 Wait for the cake to cool completely
I know this is hard but speaking from experience, once you have rolled the cake. Don’t touch it, not even to peek, until it is completely cool. This will help it keep it shape once it comes to filling.

4 Don’t unroll it completely flat
Be very gentle and unroll the cake just enough to spread your filling. You don’t need to let it out completely flat. Let it keep its curved shape, particularly at the end where you started the roll.

5 Don’t expect perfection
I think the best piece of advice when it comes to cake rolls is to not worry too much about cracking – the cake will still tastes amazing!

Let's Bake

Chocolate Cake Roll

Yield Serves 8

1x2x3x

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Prep: 45 minutesCook: 10 minutesTotal: 55 minutes

Learn how to make a delicious Chocolate Cake Roll. Tender chocolate sponge cake filled with fluffy chocolate whipped cream.

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Ingredients

Chocolate cake roll

• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 70 grams (1/2 cup) plain flour
• 20 grams (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon corn flour or cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 120 grams (1/2 cup) icing or powdered sugar (for dusting only)

Chocolate cream filling

• 240 ml (1 cup) thickened or heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons icing or powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Prepare a 9 x 13 inch swiss roll pan by greasing well with butter, right up the sides and in the corners and then line with a piece of baking or parchment paper, ensuring two sides overhang a little (just to make it easy to get the cake out).
2. Place your eggs in a large mixing bowl and start whisking on a medium speed. When the eggs start to become frothy, add the sugar, one spoonful at a time. Then turn the mixer up to medium-high until the eggs are pale and voluminous – this can take a while so be patient.
3. This is a very important step and it’s very easy to stop the eggs before they are ready. Test it by lifting the whisk and drawing a figure 8 with the dripping egg mixture. If the trail stays on the surface long enough for you to finish drawing it is ready. If not, keep whisking. Then add the vanilla and whisk for 20 seconds or so.
4. In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and corn flour. Sift again. When the eggs are ready, add the dry ingredients. Whisk for 30 seconds or so, then add the water. Once the flour is incorporated, stop mixing. It’s important not to over mix. Immediately, pour the mixture into your prepared pan and place in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. While the cake is baking, prepare a clean, dry tea towel by generously sifting over half of the icing or powdered sugar. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, flip it over onto the prepared tea towel, then very gently remove the baking paper. Sift over the rest of the icing sugar on the other side. Then gently roll up the cake, from the short side, keeping the tea towel wrapped around the cake. Place the cake on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before filling.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add your cream and whisk until whipped and soft peaks form. Sift in the cocoa powder and icing sugar and stir until smooth. Very gently, unroll your cake and spread with whipped cream right to the edges. Then, gently re-roll the cake back up. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 slice of cake Calories: 268

Nutrition information is a guide only.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: DessertCuisine: American

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