I have been a big fan of roll cakes for years. I wanted to make one myself for so long but always felt intimidated.
As I am building a new passion for sweets this last month, I decided to give it a try this weekend.
In the original recipe, a cream of tartar was used to help to whip the egg white and make it keep its form. I didn't have the cream of tartar at home so I replaced the cream of tartar with lemon juice (1/2 teaspoon for each 1 egg white).
Usage of whipped cream for filling or decoration is totally optional and can be substituted with jam or chocolate spread sauce, .. etc (let your imagination and taste guide you). As it was my first time baking it, so I tried the three fillings and decorated them with extra whipped cream, strawberries, and drizzles of chocolate sauce 😋.
For the tools, I didn't get a proper size baking sheet at home, so I bought this beautiful baking sheet. It is 38 X 28 cm (~15 X 11-inch) so I had to increase the ingredients a little bit to match the results from the original recipe that used a 15 X 10-inch baking sheet.
So my final ingredient list became:
Chocolate sponge
1/3 cup (75 grams) water (some of them will evaporate on heating)
1/3 cup (30 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I love the extra vanilla taste 😃)
2 large (115 grams) eggs, at room temperature
3 large (180 grams) eggs, separated, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/3 cup (50 grams) cake flour
Whipped cream
2 cups (480 grams) heavy cream
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar (more or less as you like, I ended up with about 150 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (can be replaced by coffee for a different taste, check this video for more details: How to Make Whipped Cream and Whipped Cream Frosting!)
Directions:
- All ingredients must be at room temperature before starting, except for the heavy cream. Flour should always be sifted to avoid any clumps in the cake mixture. The bowl used for whipping the egg white should be extra clean of any fat traces, hence clean the bowl and the whisks with lemon juice or vinegar, then whip them with a dry tissue/cloth.
- Preheat your oven to 215ºC and prepare the bottom of your baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- In a ban, boil the water then add the cocoa powder and let them cool to room temperature before you stir in the vanilla extract.
- In a bowl:
- Whip the 2 full eggs, the 3 egg yolks, and half of the sugar till the mixture is pale yellow and thick (3-5 minutes).
- Fold the cocoa mixture into the full egg mixture
- Then sift in the flour while folding the mixture till fully incorporated.
- In a clean bowl:
- Whip 3 eggs white at low speed to break the bound between their particles.
- Once they start to be foamy, start adding the sugar and increase the speed gradually.
- Continue whipping to stiff peaks (4-5 minutes). (A sign of reaching the stiff peak is having a firm tip on the whisk or having the courage to turn the bowl on your head without risking flipping the mixture on your head 😂)
- Temper the two mixtures by good mixing a small part of the egg white mixture into the full egg mixture. Fold the egg white mixture into the tempered mixture on two or three patches. (Make sure that mixture is fully incorporated and that you see no white or yellow strings in it)
- Spread the cake mixture on the baking sheet. Try to flatten it using a spatula or spoon. (2-3 drops of the sheet on the kitchen table does the same)
- Bake it till the edges of the cake start to come together away from the sheet sides. (Usually 10-12 mins, but it took about 14 mins for me)
- Once the cake is out of the oven, sift it with powder sugar and roll it using parchment paper and leave it aside.
- In a clean bowl, whip the heavy cream at high speed while gradually adding the sugar. When the cream starts to hold its shape, add the vanilla/ coffee and continue whipping.
- When the cake has completely cooled, gently spread it out and fill it with whipped cream, jam, or chocolate spread sauce and roll it back again.