It’s the holiday season once again and I cannot keep my excitement to share with you my holiday treats. It’s definitely going to be Christmas soon and there’s no stopping that! Well, I’m all for the holiday season, so bring it on. One thing I like about the holiday season is the holiday baking activity I had lined up for myself. I love baking almost everyday, but holiday baking always gave me a different kind of excitement. I guess it’s the festive spirit of people around me that made my baking activity even more fun. Cookies and cakes are my favorite item to bake during the holidays as they are fantastic giveaway and great items to bring when going to a party or hosting a party. I especially like making Swiss roll cakes because they never failed to impress people, and it taste really great. Have you seen my 4 Amazing Swiss Roll Cake posts that I posted few weeks ago? I’ve made quite a few Swiss roll cakes before, and the more make it, the more that I fall in love with it over and over again. I used to be scared to make Swiss roll cake but I was able to over come it, it’s as difficult as it looks like. 

I’ve made a Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake last year and how I love it! This is why I decided to make another one for the holiday, one can never get enough of chocolates anyway, at least that’s how it is for me. I used Whipped Chocolate Ganache as filling for the roll, you can also use just Whipped Cream which is also a great combination with the decadent chocolate cake. This cake is very light and soft and the chocolate ganache filling is so decadent and sinfully delicious. I can already see that I’ll be making this cake even after the holiday season. After all, chocolate is all time favorite for life!  Let me show you how I made it. Let’s get started! 

Chocolate roll is tricky to make than Vanilla Swiss Roll.  So what makes the Chocolate Swiss Roll trickier to make? The use of cocoa powder. Yes, cocoa powder is the culprit that makes Chocolate Swiss Roll tricky. I did not even know this until I find this recipe that I am sharing with you. There’s always a science behind baking that most of us don’t know. I myself often got so involved with getting all the ingredients right that I do not bother to research why these ingredients makes sense to be together, or why they work well together. For this post, we are going to discuss the use of cocoa powder and its effect in this cake.

1. Cocoa powder makes the cake NOT stretchable or as flexible as like the Vanilla Swiss Roll Cake: tip 1: You have to carefully watch your baking time. If you over bake it just a little, since the cake is thin, it will dry out the cake making it to crack when you roll it. If you under bake it on the other hand, the cake could get sticky and moist which will make it stick to the paper when you roll. Of course you have to follow the baking temperature and time, but aside from that , your cake is done if when you touch the center , it springs back and it doesn’t move or jiggle when you try to shake it.
2. Cocoa powder can make the cake sticky, which makes the cake sticks to the paper when you roll it. The thin crust that you see on the cake doesn’t easily stick to the cake, again that’s because of the cocoa powder. So, as much as possible avoid touching the outer layer of the cake with your hands. Use the parchment paper to guide you to roll the cake, and of course, do not undertake to avoid having sticky surface. 

Some people may not care much about this because you can easily cover the cake with frosting to hide the cracks. But if you are going to make it anyway, why not make it right? For me, eating the cake is only half the fun, the best part is the process and being able to create an end product that I can be proud of, now that’s what made me feel so accomplished.  Just for this one recipe, it’s worth to follow the instructions and tips for a successful Chocolate Swiss Roll 🙂 Let’s get started!

Let’s Check How I Made This Cake  

Sit back and see how I made this cake. This is a 5 minutes fast forward video on how I made this cake.  Sorry the video is not as smooth as I wanted it to be, this is my first time making it and I still have to figure out how to make it better. The lights are bouncing, some parts are a little bit shakey and the stiching is not perfect. My video skills is still a work in progress, but you`ll somehow get the idea on how this cake was made. Thanks!

Ingredients:

• 15g corn oil – Approximately 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
• 5g natural cocoa powder – Approximately 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp
• 15g castor sugar – Approximately 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp
• 30g water – Approximately 3 tbsp
• pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 30g egg yolks – Approximately 2 Large eggs
• 35g cake flour – Approximately 5 tbsp
• 80 g egg whites – Approximately 2 Large eggs + 1 tsp
• 20 g castor sugar – Approximately 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Filling Options:

• 2 batch of Chocolate Ganache 
• 1/2 cup Whipped Cream

Reminders:

• Egg size could vary from place to place, so weighing the ingredients guarantees more success. I tried to convert it to cups/spoons, but if you have a kitchen scale, use it to measure all the ingredients.
• You can make your own caster sugar by processing the granulated white sugar to make it finer. I used my mini food chopper and just process it for 1-2 minutes until the texture is fine. Caster sugar dissolves faster when used to whisk egg whites. I also tried using granulated sugar, and it turned out just fine.

 Place your mouse on the photo to display description

Note:  If you do not have this pan size, use something closer to the size, but not too big or too small from the suggested size. Using a big pan will result to a thin cake, and too small pan will result to a thick cake.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 335F. Measure and prep ingredients as detailed above. Grease 10″ x 7″ pan with butter. Line pan with 11″ x 11″ parchment paper.
2. Heat oil till hot but not smoking (if you put your hand near the oil, you should feel searing heat). Transfer in a bowl and add to cocoa powder while whisking. Add 15g caster sugar and continue stirring. Add water and stir. Add salt, vanilla extract and egg yolks (one at a time). Whisk till sugar dissolves.
3. Sift half of cake flour into mixture. Mix with whisk till even. Sift remaining cake flour into mixture. Mix with whisk till even.
4. Whisk egg whites on medium-slow speed till thick foam forms. Gradually add 30g caster sugar whilst continuing to whisk. Keep whisking till egg whites are at soft peak stage. Reduce speed to slow and continue to whisk till firm peak stage (when whisk is lifted, egg whites form peak that’s hooked)
5. Loosen egg yolk mixture from bottom of mixing bowl with whisk. Add egg whites in 2 batches. Mix with whisk after each addition till batter looks even. Scrape down and fold with spatula till batter is truly even.
6. Pour batter into cake pan. Spread with spatula as evenly as possible, pushing batter into corners of pan. Jiggle vigorously till batter is level. Tap pan against work area twice.
7. Bake cake on middle shelf till middle of cake is springy when pressed, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Remove the cake from the pan and transfer onto wire rack. Leave till cool.
8. Cover top with parchment paper and flip to peel parchment paper at the bottom of the cake. Leave till completely cooled. At this point, you have the bottom of the cake facing-up.
9. Prepare the Chocolate Ganache. Let cool in the fridge for 30 minutes then add 1/2 cup whipped cream. Beat using a hand mixer, about 2 -3 minutes.

Serves 3-4

To assemble swiss roll:

• Spread evenly with Chocolate Ganache. You can also use plain Whipped Cream.
• Using the parchment paper as a guide, roll tightly to avoid gaps. Use you palm to smoothen the top while you roll the cake. Do not remove parchment paper till cake is transferred to serving plate (so that cake may be moved easily without touching the crust).
• Decorate as desired. I covered the cake with the remaining chocolate ganache and sprinkled some shaved chocolate on top.

To cut swiss roll neatly:

Chill till filling is set. Cut with serrated knife, wiping knife clean with paper towels after each cut. Transfer to serving plate. Discard parchment paper.

To store overnight:

Chocolate spread swiss roll should be chilled or eaten once it’s made. Otherwise, oil separates from the spread and seeps into the cake, making the cake soggy.  For unrolled cake, refrigerate and place pan in plastic bag, making sure bag doesn’t touch swiss roll.

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