Chocolate
Swiss Roll- a tribute a special friend
Back
in the 1950’s at the age of six after a dance class, my friend Annette and I
were presented with a glass of homemade lemonade & a freshly baked Swiss
Roll, in her grandmothers kitchen, her grandmother, picked up a knife and kept
suggesting serving size, when the knife reached dead center, we both squealed
with delight, and proceeded to eat half the Swiss roll each.
From
then on, every playdate, (and there were many of them over the years) was punctuated
with a Swiss roll.
Every
time I saw, ate, or made a Swiss roll over the years I would remember my
childhood, my friend, and our shared childhood Swiss roll greed!
In
January I asked Annette what she wanted for her birthday, A Swiss roll was her
reply, so I made her a chocolate Swiss roll, because it wasn’t gluten free, I
didn’t taste it but it looked the part! She told me I had done good. (Although I
am not sure if it was her grandmother’s standard !!)
This
is my recipe it light fluffy with a little drop of decadence!
it’s
not as hard one thinks, so go on treat yourself or your family and think about
two cheeky six year old girls with pigtails, a green school uniform ,sticky
fingers and full tummies !
Annette
Fisher Norris January 1950- August 2022 this is in your memory – with love and friendship always.
Ingredients
For The Sponge
·
3 medium free-range eggs
·
100 g (3.5 oz) white caster
sugar
·
100 g (3.5 oz) white
self-raising flour
·
2 tbsp very good quality cocoa powder (Dutch
is the best)
For Ganache
Filling
- 8 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate chopped or use good quality
buttons
- 8 oz heavy whipping cream
· 1 pinch (1 pinch) salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (good quality)
To Dust
· 1 tbsp cocoa powder (Dutch)
·
1 tbsp icing sugar
Method
Line the Swiss roll
tray with baking paper and preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
Put the eggs and caster
sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk until thick, pale
and considerably increased in volume.
Sift in your flour and
coco together, and add it gently folding it in with a silicone spatula, do not beat it or you
will remove the air.
When it is incorporated
well place in the lined Swiss roll tray, gently tap down to ensure it is even and place in the
middle of the oven.
Bake for 8-9 minutes
until just firm
Meanwhile.
Lay a clean tea towel covered with a sheet of baking paper the same size as the
Swiss roll tin on your work surface
Remove the Swiss roll
from the oven
Turn the cake onto the
baking paper and tea towel , and gently remove the baking paper that is on top
of the baked cake and using the tea towel as a guide roll the
Swiss roll up, then leave to cool rolled.
Make your whipped
ganache
Making
whipped ganache is simple! Simply heat your cream not to boiling
but almost and pour it over your chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Add your vanilla and salt
Mix
on medium in a stand or with a hand mixer until all the ingredients are
incorporated, then turn the mixer up to high for 2-3 minutes, until ganache is
light and fluffy.
To fill the Swiss roll,
Carefully
unroll the cooled sponge,
Remove
the baking paper
Spread
your ganache inside the Swiss roll evenly.
Then
carefully roll it up again.
Transfer
onto the serving plate
Dust with the sifted
coco and icing sugar
This makes a teatime
treat, or as a decadent desert for a dinner party serve with a raspberry coulis
and whipped cream
This cake can last up
to 2 days, any leftovers (if you don’t have two cheeky schoolgirls on hand) can
be stored in an airtight tin or Tupperware in the fridge.
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