I’ve wanted to make a cake roll with cream filling since about my freshman year in college, ever since my boyfriend-at-the-time raved about the one his mom made, but I have always been too scared. But something kept holding me back -I was afraid to put all of the time and effort into something that seemed so labor intensive and bound to break anyway. How on earth, if I managed to whip the egg whites correctly and not burn the thin layer of cake, would I get it out of the pan, spread with filling, actually roll it in a way that it didn’t break and stayed rolled, and then actually transport it (even if it just across the room to the table) to the desired place and/or persons for consumption?
Yummy… as told by iPhone, so not particularly beautiful, but delicious all the same.
Well, as you can see, I decided to just get over my fear of failure and try the cake anyway. It doesn’t have that many ingredients and most of my friends were busy, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose… Maybe that’s not facing my fear, maybe that’s just no longer having anything to lose… I think that will have to be a self-reflection for another blog post though.
In the same way, I need to just get over my fear of failure and realize that, even if I am unemployed 5 weeks from now and have to live on one of my parents’ couches, I won’t be ruined forever… though it may actually kill me slowly from the inside…. 0=)
Anyway, the cake was great. I would definitely consider it worth making again. I brought it over to my friend’s house a couple days later so I had someone with whom to share it -eating a cake alone just seemed like a bad idea. He liked the chocolate flavor and the texture, but he apparently doesn’t like the combination of chocolate orange *GASP,* so I said I would make it again sometime without the orange. I, however,love chocolate and orange. It reminds me of getting those Terry’s Chocolate Oranges for Christmas every year at the bottom of my stocking. I loved having to slam it against the ground to make all of the individual slices separate, though sometimes I think I was a teensy afraid I would break it and then have nothing but smashed chocolate instead of the pretty chocolate “slices” (I seriously doubt I will ever be strong enough to actually do that though) . After slamming the chocolate orange and unwrapping it from it’s foil, I would proceed to eat a few slices at a time every few days, hours minutes. Yum…
Anyway, this chocolate cake reminds me of those oranges. And of those delicious candied orange peels dipped in dark chocolate there were probably the most popular thing I have ever made in my entire life.
Sharing my cake with a friend who apparently couldn’t even stay awake to try it! But he did have some for breakfast the next day, I was told.
Lighter-Than-Air Chocolate Roll
From Epicurious
Serves 10
Cake layer:
- 6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
- 3 tablespoons water
- 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
For filling:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
- 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
- Garnish: unsweetened cocoa powder and confectioners sugar
Make cake layer:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil a 15- by 10- by 1-inch shallow baking pan and line bottom lengthwise with a large piece of wax or parchment paper, letting paper hang over ends by 2 inches.
Melt chocolate with water in a small heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring. Cool to lukewarm.
Beat yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 5 minutes in a standing mixer or about 8 minutes with a hand-held mixer. Fold in melted chocolate until blended. Beat whites with cleaned beaters until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually add remaining 1/3 cup sugar and beat until whites just hold stiff peaks. Fold one third of whites into melted-chocolate mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake in middle of oven until puffed and top is dry to the touch, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack. Cover top with 2 layers of damp paper towels and let stand 5 minutes, then remove towels and cool completely. Loosen edges with a sharp knife.
Sift cocoa powder over top of cake layer and overlap 2 layers of wax paper lengthwise over cake. Place a baking sheet over paper and invert cake onto it, gently peeling off wax paper lining. (Don’t worry if cake layer breaks; it will hold together when rolled.)
Make filling:
Beat cream with confectioners sugar and Grand Marnier with cleaned beaters until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold in zest.
Fill and roll cake:
Spread filling evenly over cake. Put a long platter next to a long side of cake. Using wax paper as an aid, roll up cake jelly roll–style, beginning with a long side. Carefully transfer, seam side down, to platter, using wax paper to help slide cake. (Cake will crack but will still hold together.)
Dust cake generously with cocoa powder and confectioners sugar.
Sweet Spatulas 