Chocolate Patterned Roulade - 2 Year Anniversary Post

 

Happy Birthday to Becca's Baking Blog!  Today you are 2 years old!  Congratulations!

Well, okay, so the birthday was actually on Saturday 29th March (which is the anniversary of the first recipe to be posted) but busy university and school placement related work kept me from actually having anything ready for then.  I am never one to object to a little belated celebration though.  It makes everything feel like it lasts longer.

So!  Yes!  2 years!  Who would have thought?  Not me, if I'm honest.  I have this worry that I am quite a fickle person as many things have failed to hold my interest over extended periods of time.  I really wondered if this blog would end up going the same way but so far that is, evidently, not the case.  I love baking more than ever and have certainly come a long way since I started!  I've gotten to try out so many new things and improve on the small set of skills I had when I began.  

But it is not just the love of baking that keeps me going.  It's all of you out there that read the blog.  I know I don't have the massive audience that some blogs do but the fact that I have anyone reading my blog at all makes me very happy and gives me motivation to keep going.  As do the lovely comments people take time to leave me.  I love comments and I do try to respond in a timely manner.  So don't be shy!  But anyway, thank you everyone!  I hope I continue to keep you entertained and provide you with delicious recipes that you can bake too.

Right, enough mushiness, let's get to the cake!  It had to be a cake, didn't it?  It is a birthday after all.  But what sort of cake?  I found this to be somewhat of a dilemma because I have come to the realisation that I am not a huge cake person.  I like cake but I don't find it as appealing to eat as, say, biscuits. Yet I knew was going to want to be able to eat this one!  It's for my baby!  I have to want to eat it.  And enjoy it.  But I like things simple.  I like vanilla fairy cakes with some water icing and sprinkles.  I like small amounts of cake.  Small cakes in general really.   So what to do?

The idea of doing a roulade (or Swiss Roll as I actually call it but roulade is what it says in all the books and means I can find it in the index) was one I had quite early in the thought process.  It filled a lot of the requirements I have for a cake: a decent cake to filling ratio, can be cut into thin slices, is not too big.  It is also something I had not made before, which would be a nice little bonus for the anniversary post.  The problem was, it didn't feel fancy enough.  Roulades are fairly simple really.  A roll of cake with some sort of filling.  I could maybe cover it in chocolate but that would still be quite plain.  So I did what I do whenever I need some inspiration.  I turned to Pinterest.  And there I happened upon fancy roulades with patterns baked into the sponge.  Well there it was!  A brilliant idea.  Why had I not thought of it as it is something I have seen before and wanted to try ever since they did it on the Great British Bake Off a few years ago?

Ah well.  I had my touch of fancy.  And as you can see from the photos, the pattern I chose was to cover the roll in 'Happy Birthday'.  As for flavours, I decided to go chocolate, with a white chocolate filling for a nice contrast.  And the GBBO came to the rescue again, since the recipe for the sponge comes from one of their books.  It was nice and simple, though obviously I had to make some adjustments to incorporate the decoration. 

For a first go at a roulade, I think it came out pretty good.  Admittedly, the pattern did not turn out quite as perfect as I would have liked.  I lost some of the writing on part of the sponge (though I got to hide that on the inside) and it got a little cracked in places.  At least I realised that I needed to write everything backwards in order for it come out right way around after baking.  Now that would have been embarrassing.  All in all though, baking a pattern in wasn't too hard so I will definitely have to try and work it into more cakes in the future.  And I thought I got a reasonable spiral going on inside the roll so that was also a plus.

It is very scrummy.  The cake is so so soft and blends so nicely with the filling.  The white chocolate flavour is quite subtle but definitely there and the cake itself is very chocolately, as one would hope with the amount of actual chocolate that went into it.  It was definitely a worthwhile birthday bake.  I should make more roulades I think (maybe I will for my birthday?).

So here's to the blog!  May it (and I) continue to grow for many years to come!

 

Recipe 1849902682- Makes 1 x roulade 

Decorative Paste - adapted from Ya a la Venta

• 1 egg white
• 40g/1.5oz plain flour
• 30g/1oz butter
• 30g/1oz caster sugar  

1. Cut out a rectangle of baking parchment that is the same size as the Swiss Roll tin (33cmx23cm / 13inchesx9inches) and then place on a surface you can move (such as another tray or a chopping board).
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.
3. Fit a piping bag with a small, round nozzle and fill with the paste.
4. Draw your pattern on the paper.  If it helps, you can place a template beneath the paper to trace.  Note: If you are doing writing, you must do it backwards, both the letters and the words so that it comes out the right way once baked.
5. Put the paste decorated paper in the freezer for 15 minutes before using. 

Sponge - adapted from Great British Bake Off: How to Bake: The Perfect Victoria Sponge and Other Baking Secrets

• 100g/3.5oz milk chocolate
• 75g/2.5oz dark chocolate
• 6 eggs
• 175g/6oz caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and grease and line the base and sides of a 33cmx23cm / 13inchesx9inches Swiss Roll tin with baking parchment.
2. Put the chocolates in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water, without letting the water touch the bowl.  Allow to melt, stirring occasionally.
3. When fully melted, mix until smooth and then set aside to cool until it is just warm.
4. Separate the eggs so that the yolks are in one large bowl and the whites in another.
5. Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks (using an electric whisk makes it easier).
6. Add the sugar to the yolks and beat together until thick and very pale in colour (again, the electric whisk will make it easier).
7. Add the melted chocolate to the yolks and sugar and fold in until fully incorporated.
8. Add 2 large spoonfuls of the whisked egg whites to the mix and fold in completely to loosen the mixture.
9. Add the rest of the egg whites and fold in very gently so as not to knock the air out.  Keep folding until there are no flecks of white visible.
10. Sift in the cocoa powder and then gently fold that in also.
11. Remove the sheet of decorated paper from the freezer and place on the base of the prepared tin, paste side up. (If you want, you can grease the paper on the tray base with butter before placing the decorated sheet on top to help it stay in place, especially during the next step.)
12. Pour the mixture into the tin and then gently tip it about to encourage the mixture to fill all parts of the tin.
13. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until risen and firm to the touch.  Do not worry if it cracks because that will happen as it cools anyway.
14. Leave to cool completely in the tin.  It will fall and crack as it does so.

Filling: 

• 140g/5oz butter
• 280g/10oz icing sugar
• 200g/7oz white chocolate
• 2 tsp milk 

1. Put the white chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water, without letting the water touch the bowl.  Allow to melt, stirring occasionally.
2. Once almost melted, remove from the heat and stir until the last melts and the chocolate is smooth.  Set aside to allow it to cool slightly.
3. Sift the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and add the butter and milk.
4. Beat together until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
5. Add the melted chocolate and mix in until fully incorporated.

Assembly:

1. Once the sponge has cooled, place a chopping board or wire rack over the top of the tray and invert it to remove it from the tray.
2. Remove the baking parchment.  Be careful when removing the parchment that held the paste so you don't accidentally pull parts off.
3. Once removed, use a second board or mat covered with a layer of baking parchment and invert the sponge again so that the decorated side in on the bottom.
4. Spread the filling on top of the sponge, leaving 2cm/1inch uncovered on all sides.
5. Use a sharp knife to make a shallow cut in the sponge at the edge of the filling on one of the short sides.
6. Roll the cut edge over tightly then use the baking parchment to help continue rolling up the sponge.  Make sure it is a tight roll and don't worry if you get a couple of cracks. Finish with the join underneath.  Transfer to a serving plate using a large spatula, cake mover or two fish slices.