Halloween chocolate roulade with praline Ganache

We start with the Ganache so that it has enough time to set in the fridge. Soak 1 leaf of Gelatine in cold water.

Put 50 g of Milk chocolate, 50 g of Dark chocolate and 30 g of praline into a large Bowl. The combination of the two chocolates gives a rich but not too bitter flavour.

Heat the mixture for 1 minute 30 seconds at 600 watts in the microwave, stirring with the Whisk every 30 seconds. Squeeze out the Gelatine and place it on the almost melted chocolate.

Heat 240 g of full cream in a pot and take it off the heat as soon as it comes to the boil.

Pour the cream over the chocolate in 3 portions and stir well between each addition. This is the only way to create a stable emulsion, otherwise the Ganache can split.

Cover the Ganache with cling film and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You can also prepare it the day before.

Mix 10 g of icing sugar with 10 g of soft butter until you get a kind of crumble. Then add 10 g of egg white and stir everything again. Thanks to its texture, this paste holds the decoration even during baking.

Add 10 g of flour and stir until you get a smooth paste. Color it with black gel color, as it is especially intense.

Place the large part of the adapter into a small piping bag and cut off the tip just below the small indentation. Fit the 2 mm round piping nozzle and screw on the second part of the adapter.

Fill the cigarette paste into the piping bag and push it forward with a dough scraper. Put the bag in the fridge for 5 minutes so the paste firms up a little.

Place the Roulade mat on a perforated baking tray and the printed template underneath. The drawing is mirror-reversed, which is correct. Lay a sheet of baking paper cut to size over the top.

Follow the outlines with the Piping bag: use the 2 mm Piping nozzle for the bat and letters, and the 1 mm Piping nozzle for the spiderwebs and spiders. Remove the template and place the mat in the freezer while you prepare the sponge.

Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan. Separate 4 eggs and put the yolks and whites into two separate bowls.

Beat the 4 egg whites (approx. 120 g) with 100 g sugar at medium speed to a nice, firm meringue mixture. Be a little patient: cold eggs take longer, which is why we use them at room temperature.

Add the 4 egg yolks (approx. 80 g) and orange Gel color and mix for only about 10 seconds on the lowest setting. Not everything needs to be combined yet: mixing too long makes the meringue collapse.

Sieve 100 g flour over the mixture and fold it in gently with a Dough scraper, much like with Macarons. The batter is ready when it is smooth and evenly orange.

Take the mat out of the freezer, pour the batter onto it and smooth it out with an Angled spatula, without pressing on the design. Bake the sponge for 10 minutes at 180 °C fan.

Sprinkle a sheet of baking paper with icing sugar and turn the sponge out onto it. Carefully peel off the mat so nothing tears, and replace the baking paper that was baked on with a fresh one, this keeps the decoration intact.

Place the sponge between two sheets of baking paper on a damp cloth and roll it up as nicely as possible. Wrap it in the cloth and let it cool completely for about a good hour.

Take the Ganache out of the fridge: it is now thicker and slightly gel-like. Do not whip it too fast with the Whisk and keep an eye on it so it does not split. It is ready as soon as it forms a peak.

Unroll the sponge, spread the Ganache evenly with an Angled spatula and roll it up again. Touch up any small irregularities in the motif with a fine brush and black Gel color. Let the roulade rest in the fridge for 20 minutes and trim the ends cleanly.