Chocolate Roulade

Looking for an extra special dessert for the holidays? I’ve got you covered.

This gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate roulade is a real winner, and you can keep it simple or jazz it up.

For the simple version, follow the recipe for the chocolate roulade, fill it with Marshmallow Fluff, roll it and garnish with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  It’ll be good to go and impressive despite its simplicity.

If you have some extra time to get creative, cover the roulade with a rich and lustrous chocolate glaze.  Before the glaze sets, embellish with cranberries and green leaves.  Add a touch of whimsy with some edible mushrooms, using marshmallows for the mushroom caps and Rolos for the stems.   To get the full effect, dust the mushrooms with some cocoa, and sprinkle some powdered sugar on pine cones and pine needles to place around the cake platter. Get ready for kudos when you serve your chocolate glazed chocolate roulade.

Before you begin—preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray with Pam a 10x 15-inch jelly roll pan.  Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, then spray the parchment paper with Pam.

Place the cocoa, coffee granules, and cinnamon into a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks for about 5 minutes until they are light and lemon colored.  Add ½ of the sugar and the vanilla to the yolks and beat once again until light and fluffy, about another 5 minutes

On low speed, add the cocoa, coffee, cinnamon mixture and beat only until incorporated into the yolk mixture.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add the salt and cream of tartar and beat on medium high speed until the whites hold a soft shape.  Add the remainder of the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until the whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks.  Make sure not to overbeat the whites.

Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then place into the prepared pan and smooth and level the surface.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

While the roulade is baking, prepare a long sheet of wax paper (about 20 inches long) by sprinkling some cocoa and granulated sugar on it (this will prevent the roulade from sticking to the wax paper when you roll it).

When the cake is baked, remove it from the oven, allow it to rest a minute or two, then flip it onto the prepared wax paper and gently roll the cake with the wax paper from short end to short end.  Allow the cake roll to cool.

Then you can either fill it and glaze it, or place in the fridge for a day or two.

When you are ready to fill the roulade, have ready about 1 ½ cups of the marshmallow fluff. Carefully unroll the cake roll from the wax paper.  Spread some of the marshmallow fluff on the curled side of the short end nearest you, then spread the rest of the filling evenly over the rest of the cake, leaving a 1-inch border on the far side.  Roll the cake, tucking the curled edge under, and continue rolling, placing the seamed side down onto the platter of your choice.

To glaze:

Melt chocolate, margarine, and maple syrup in top of double boiler.

When the glaze is at a temperature of 90-92 degrees, it is ready to pour over the roulade.

Place the roulade on a platter. Place strips of wax paper under the roulade for the glaze to drip on.  You can remove the wax paper when the glaze is set. Pour the glaze down the center of the roulade (you may not need all of the glaze).  With just 2 or 3 strokes of the icing spatula, spread the glaze all over the top of the roulade so that it runs down over all of the sides.   Do not re-spread or re-smooth once the glaze starts to set or the glaze will show spatula marks and dull streaks.

Decorate with cranberries, green leaves, and rosemary (to mimic pine needles). The glaze will set in 10 to 20 minutes.

To make the mushrooms in the photo, snip a marshmallow in half crosswise, then place mushroom half on top of a Rolo candy.  Sprinkle the mushroom with cocoa powder.

Serves 10 to 12

December 2017