There is an abundance of Chocolate flour cakes around us. But nothing beats a Roll cake that is: layered with creamy frosting, chilled, and rolled to have a distinctive spiral pattern in them. Sounds scrumptious, doesn’t it? I have seen so many variants of the said Roll cake. Including the artistic floral Roll Cakes: that basically looks like a “flower garden” on a cake. Even though these Roll cakes may look a bit intimidating to a not-a-pro-baker, I personally think they are pretty easy to make. Also, this type of cake will bake in under 10 minutes. That is a bonus compared to many other cakes.

Today I am going to show you how to make one my of childhood favorites: my go-to Chocolate Swiss Roll. This is a soft, light sponge sheet cake that is lathered with smooth, chocolaty frosting which have been chilled in the refrigerator. Chilling the cake will allow all the layers to settle in as well as absorb all the flavors thoroughly into the cake. This is a treat that you do not want to miss.

I have broken down the directions for this Swiss Roll into 3 steps. First step, prepare the Sheet Cake. A simple but vital step to remember while making this cake is to cream the Egg yolks really well. You have to beat the Eggs yolk and sugar mixture until it turns into a smooth, creamy mixture. To make sure that you have reached the desired texture – check it by lifting the batter and it should fold back itself like a ribbon.

Once the Sheet Cake is out of the oven, it is time to use some powdered sugar. Dusting the Sheet Cake well enough with the powdered sugar will prevent the cake from sticking to the kitchen towel and reduces any cracking while handling.

While the Sheet Cake is cooling down, you can go to Step 2 . Which is whipping up the frosting to spread on to the Sponge Sheet Cake.

When you spread the chocolate frosting onto the Sheet Cake, try to make it an even, smooth layer. This way when you roll the cake back up, you wont have too much icing spilling towards the end of the roll. Even if some spills out; do not worry, just wipe it clean and have a smooth closing to the roll.

Third step is pretty much optional. If you are like me; who usually order a Double Chocolate Ice cream with Chocolate Sprinkles on them; my friend: I have you covered. Please proceed to step number 3.

Step 3 is basically covering the Swiss Roll with a Chocolate Ganache. If you are not into going overboard with Chocolate, you can totally omit the Chocolate Ganache bit; and the Swiss Roll will still be very delicious.

Chocolate Swiss Roll / Yule Log

Serves 6 – 8 | Prep-time 45 mins | Cook-time 6-8 mins

Ingredients :

Sponge Sheet Cake

• 5 Eggs – Divided.
• 1/4 cup Unbleached Flour.
• 2 tablespoons Cornstarch.
• 2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder.
• 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar – Divided.
• 1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract.
• 1/4 teaspoon Lemon Juice.
• pinch of Salt.
• 2 – 4 tablespoons of Icing Sugar for dusting.

Chocolate Frosting

• 1/2 cup of Margarine.
• 3 Cups of Sifted, Confectioner’s Sugar.
• 1/2 cup of Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips.
• 3-4 tablespoons of Almond Milk; or Regular milk (at room temperature).
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract.

Chocolate Ganache

• 1 tablespoon of Margarine.
• 1 cup of Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips.
• 1/2 cup of Almond Milk; or Regular milk.

Sponge Sheet Cake Directions :

• Preheat the oven to 450 F° or 230 C°.
• Grease 17.25×11.5×1 inch large Sheet Pan with butter or non-stick baking spray, and line parchment sheet to the bottom.
• Separate 3 eggs by taking egg-whites and yolk into two separate bowls. The rest of the 2 eggs can be mixed in with the previous separated egg yolks.
• Sift the dry ingredients; Flour, Cornstarch, Cocoa powder and Salt together and keep aside.
• In a large bowl: mix in the 5 Eggs (2 whole eggs and 3 yolks) with 2/3 of the measured Sugar and Vanilla extract and beat until the batter turns into a thick, creamy texture.
• In a separate bowl: with a clean whisk, beat the 3 Egg-whites until they become soft peak. Add in the remainder of the 1/3 of the Sugar and Lemon juice and beat until the Eggs turn to stiff peak.
• Now with a spatula: fold in the dry flour ingredients into the egg yolk mixture and mix them until well incorporated.
• Finally: fold in the egg whites into the batter and gently combine them well.
• Transfer the batter to the baking sheet and try to level it to an even layer.
• Bake for 6-8 minutes; until a wooden skewer / toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean.

Chocolate Frosting Directions:

• Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a microwave.
• Cream the Margarine until smooth in medium to high speed using a mixer.
• Gradually add in the powdered sugar and beat in low speed.
• Add the melted chocolate to the margarine-mix, and beat in medium to high speed.
• Add vanilla extract and the milk and mix to a cream.

Chocolate Ganache Directions:

• Take the Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips in a mixing bowl.
• In a sauce pan: mix in the Almond Milk and Margarine and simmer it until the mixture is warm.
• Pour the warm Milk mixture into the Chocolate Chips and let it sit for 2 minutes.
• Whisk them well until all the Chocolate is melted and the Ganache is smooth.

Cake Assembling Directions:

• Once the Sheet Cake is out of the oven, let it cool down in a wire rack for 2-3 minutes.
• Dust the top of the Cake with icing sugar.
• Place a clean kitchen towel on top of the Cake and flip the cake on to the other side. Dust the other side of the Cake- that is facing you with icing sugar.
• Start rolling the Sponge Sheet Cake into a roll, along with the kitchen towel and let it rest until it cool down completely.
• Now take the cooled Rolled Cake. Gently unravel it from the kitchen towel.
• Spread the Chocolate frosting on the entire sheet of Cake in an even layer.
• Roll the Cake back up, this time without the kitchen towel. Cover it with a cling wrap or parchment sheet and store it in the refrigerator to chill for 1-2 hrs.
• Place the chilled Roll Cake on a wire rack and cover/decorate with Ganache. (Optional step)

Notes:

• While separating the eggs; make sure, to not leave any egg-yolk traces in the egg-whites. Otherwise we wont reach a light, foamy texture when whipping the egg-white.
• In a Stand Mixer: beating the eggs yolks to creamy texture will take around 6-8 minutes at medium speed. With a hand held beater it will take around 10 minutes at high speed.
• I have used Margarine in this recipe. Butter can be substituted.
• I have used Unbleached flour in this recipe as a personal choice, but all purpose, regular flour too will do the job.
• I have used Light Brown sugar in this recipe which is sweeter than the regular sugar. Regular sugar will work fine.
• I have made a Vegan Chocolate Ganache using Almond milk as I am on a dairy free diet. But a regular heavy cream can be substituted to make the traditional Chocolate Ganache.