Chocolate Swiss Roll

Recipe in video

Hey foodies!

This week, I'm bringing you another Halloween recipe! So you have plenty of time to get ready. :o)

And for those who aren't fans of this holiday, you can of course use this recipe but change the colors and theme.

Here is my chocolate Swiss roll!

You'll see, the recipe is very simple.

Here is the list of ingredients:

Chocolate ganache

- 1 gelatine sheet

- 50gr dark chocolate

- 50gr milk chocolate

- 30gr praline

- 240gr heavy cream

Cigarette paste

- 10gr softened butter

- 10gr icing sugar

- 10gr egg white

- 10gr flour

- Black gel food colouring

Sponge cake

- 4 eggs

- 100gr sugar

- Orange gel food colouring

- 100gr flour

Chocolate ganache

For this recipe, we'll start by making the chocolate ganache so it has time to cool down and set in the fridge. :o)

Start by softening 1 gelatine sheet in cold water.

Then, in a large bowl, pour 50gr of milk chocolate with 50gr of dark chocolate. Add 30gr of praline.

I mixed dark chocolate and milk chocolate to get a rich flavour without being too bitter.

Heat the chocolate/praline mixture in the microwave for 1 minute 30 at 600Watt.

Every 30 seconds or so, mix with a whisk to even out the heat. Then put back in the microwave.

After 1 minute 30, your mixture will be almost fully melted.

Squeeze out the gelatine sheet and place it on the chocolate.

Then heat 240gr of heavy cream in a saucepan. As soon as it boils, remove from the heat immediately.

Pour the cream in 3 additions over the chocolate. Mix well between each addition.

It is very important to pour the cream in 3 additions to create an emulsion. If you don't, you risk splitting your ganache.

Once the ganache is ready and smooth, cover it with cling film directly on the surface and place it in the fridge for at least 2h.

You can easily make your ganache the night before if you want to save time. :o)

Cigarette paste

Now let's tackle the cigarette paste!

This texture will allow us to make decorations in our sponge cake that will hold up well, even during baking.

Start by mixing 10gr of icing sugar with 10gr of softened butter.

Once the mixture forms a sort of crumble, add 10gr of egg white and mix again.

Finally, add 10gr of flour and mix until you get a smooth, homogeneous paste.

Add the food colouring of your choice — here I used black gel colouring which is very intense. Then mix again.

You will need a small piping bag, with round tips of 1 mm and 2 mm as well as the coupler.

Here is how to use a coupler:

Place the large part of the coupler inside your piping bag. Cut the tip of the piping bag with scissors just below the small groove of the coupler.

Place your 2 mm tip and screw on the second part of the coupler.

And you're done! :o)

Pour your cigarette paste into your piping bag. Use a scraper to push the paste down into the piping bag.

Place the bag in the fridge for 5 minutes so the cigarette paste starts to set.

Get yourself a sponge cake mat and the printable template you'll find HERE.

Place the sponge cake mat on a perforated baking tray.

Then place the design inside your mould. Your design will appear mirrored — that's perfectly normal.

Place a sheet of baking paper over your design. Cut it to fit the bottom of your mould exactly.

Then have fun tracing the outlines of your design with your piping bag. I switched between the 2 mm tip for the larger details like the bat and the letters, and the 1 mm tip for the spider webs and spiders.

Changing tips is super easy! Simply unscrew the small end cap, remove your tip and place the other tip before screwing the end cap back on. :o)

Remove your paper sheet and place the mat in the freezer with your decoration, while you make the sponge cake.

Sponge cake

Preheat your oven to 180°C, fan-assisted.

Separate 4 eggs by placing the yolks and whites into two separate bowls.

Then in a bowl, pour 100gr of sugar with the 4 egg whites (120gr).

Whisk the sugar and egg whites at medium speed until you get a beautiful, firm meringue.

This can take a few minutes so be patient. The colder your eggs, the longer it will take to whip up. (I always keep my eggs at room temperature.)

Then add the 4 egg yolks (80gr) to your meringue.

Also add the food colouring of your choice. Here I used orange gel colouring.

Whisk at minimum speed for about 10 seconds. It's fine if everything isn't fully mixed yet.

But if you whisk too fast or too long, your meringue will collapse and become completely liquid...

Sift 100gr of flour into your batter using a sieve. Then gently fold it in with a spatula until the flour is fully incorporated.

Be careful not to deflate your batter. It's the same motion as macaronage. :o)

Your batter is ready when it is smooth and uniform in colour.

Take your sponge cake mat out of the freezer.

Pour the mixture into your sponge cake mat and spread the batter evenly using an offset spatula.

Be careful not to scrape your decoration! Keep your spatula gently on top of the batter surface.

Once the batter is evenly spread, bake your sponge cake in the preheated oven at 180°C fan-assisted for 10 minutes.

While the sponge cake is baking, prepare the following:

- A sheet of baking paper

- Icing sugar

- A small sieve

- A damp cloth

Dust your baking paper with icing sugar. This way the sponge cake will come off more easily afterwards.

Our sponge cake is now baked.

Flip your mat over onto the baking paper dusted with icing sugar.

Then remove the sponge cake mat carefully so as not to tear your sponge cake.

Remove the baking paper that baked with the sponge cake and replace it with a new one. This way you'll avoid damaging your decoration later on.

Then spread the damp cloth on your work surface, next to your sponge cake.

Place your baking paper/sponge cake on the damp cloth (there will be a sheet of baking paper underneath the sponge cake and one on top).

Roll your sponge cake as neatly as possible.

Wrap your sponge cake in the damp cloth and let it cool down completely.

This will take about a good hour.

Once the sponge cake has fully cooled, take your ganache out of the fridge.

You'll notice its texture has changed. It has become thicker and slightly gelatinous.

Whip it to obtain a whipped ganache.

Don't whip it too fast and keep an eye on it throughout so it doesn't split.

When it forms a peak (see my third photo below) it's ready.

Unroll your sponge cake and spread the whipped ganache evenly over the entire surface.

Use an offset spatula to get an even thickness throughout.

Then roll your sponge cake as neatly as possible. :o)

As my decoration wasn't as sharp as I wanted, I touched it up with a small brush and black food colouring. No one will ever know! ;o)

Once the Swiss roll is ready, let it chill again in the fridge for 20 minutes.

This way, your ganache will firm up slightly and set.

You can then trim the sides of your Swiss roll to get a very clean finish.

But if you're in a hurry or your kids don't need it to be super neat, you can enjoy it much sooner. :o)

And there you have it — my chocolate praline Swiss roll.

It didn't last long at our place! :o) The ganache is light and airy and keeps the sponge cake nice and moist and soft.

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday, foodies!

Happy Sunday!

Karin

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.