Alright, I’ve been fair. I’ve
waited out the New Year a full week without posting a single gluttonous recipe.
It isn’t that I haven’t been making an effort to eat healthfully in 2013; it’s
just that I have these crazy good desserts that I made for the holidays, and
I’ve been sitting on them since I made them, and I might explode if I can’t
share them with you soon. As in right now. Please forgive me and my copious
amounts of butter, sugar, and chocolate.
The first decadent recipe I have
is a Chocolate Peppermint Cake Roll. It was originally inspired and mostly came
from the beautiful blog, Baker’s Royale.
But Andes mints contain icky ingredients and the cake seemed like much too much
of a fuss for me to bother with that morning (when I also had three other
recipes to make), so I threw caution to the wind and just went for it – a daunting choice for a minimally experienced baker,
but sometimes in life you have to make daunting choices.
What resulted from my haphazard
interpretation of the stunning original cake roll was, to put it mildly…phenomenal.
I’m super picky about my chocolate-mint pairings – it has to be just right or I can’t do it. This was
slightly heavier on the mint than I usually prefer, though any mint-chocolate
purist (re: anyone who just flat out likes the combination – no ifs, ands or
buts like me) would go to town on this thing. I know this, because they did.
The cake is light yet still decidedly chocolately, balancing out the somewhat
dense and refreshing peppermint buttercream it’s rolled around.
Oh, and if your roll breaks?
Smear some extra frosting inside, toss a little bit of extra ganache on top,
and forget about it. No crying over cracked cake, especially one that in the
end will still taste just as wonderful.
This cake is good as it is,
sliced elegantly and served on a platter. However, I want to leave you with one
last tip: take a slice (or three) and smoosh it up into a
microwave-safe bowl; nuke it for 1 minute; grab a spoon; and dig in with a
napkin in hand. The microwave transforms a fancy cake roll into the culinary
embodiment of a hot mess – it’s warm, it’s gooey, and it sure as heck doesn’t look
pretty. But you know what? It’s glorious, so much more-so than it is neatly
sliced and room temperature or chilled, and once you take that first bite, you
won’t want it any other way.
Two Years Ago: How
to Make an Unfried Tortilla Bowl
Chocolate Peppermint Cake Roll
This recipe rolls a light chocolate sponge cake around a slightly dense
but refreshing white chocolate peppermint buttercream, then finishes it all off
with an easy ganache.
Yield: 10-12 servings
Prep Time: 40 minutes1
Bake Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 15 minutes
The Cake Ingredients
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons brewed coffee2
6 large eggs, separated
⅔ cup sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
3 tablespoons brewed coffee2
6 large eggs, separated
⅔ cup sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
The Buttercream
Ingredients
½ cup white chocolate chunks3
2 candy canes
12 tablespoons very
soft butter
5 tablespoons heavy cream
2 cups powdered sugar
The Ganache
Ingredients
4 fluid ounces heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
The Method
Preheat the oven to 350˚
Fahrenheit and grease a jellyroll pan. Line the pan then with wax or parchment
paper that overhands the short sides of the pan by one inch.
Place the chocolate and coffee in
a double boiler (or a glass bowl set over a small saucepan with a small amount
of water in it) over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until ¾ of the
way melted. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until it has fully
melted and is smooth, then set aside to cool.
While the chocolate cools, beat
the 6 egg whites in a chilled mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Transfer to
another bowl and set aside. Place the egg yolks in the mixing bowl, switch
attachments to a paddle, and beat until pale and creamy. Gradually add in the
sugar while beating, continuing until the mixture pales and becomes ribbony.
Carefully stir the cooled chocolate into the yolk mixture.
Fold ¼ of the prepared egg whites
into the chocolate-yolk mixture, then add the remaining whites in three
additions, folding gently each time to prevent as much deflation as possible.
Pour the batter into the prepared jellyroll pan, smooth the top, and place into
the preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes. When the cake layer feels dry
but very soft and a toothpick comes out clean from the center, it is ready –
even if it seems a little bit underdone still.
Transfer the cake to a cooling
rack and drape with a lightly damp towel or two layers of lightly damp paper
towels, 10 minutes. Remove the towels and run a knife around the edges of the
pan to help release the cake. Sift ½ tablespoon cocoa powder to cover the top
of the pan and drape it again with a thin towel that is a little bit longer
than the cake itself. Place a large, flat pan or tray over the towel and invert
the cake. Carefully peel the wax or parchment paper from the top of the cake
and sift the remaining cocoa powder over top of the newly exposed top of the
cake. Using the towel underneath the cake to help you, lift and roll the cake
from short end to short end with the towel inside. Set aside in this way to
cool completely.
Pulse the white chocolate and
candy canes for the buttercream in a food chopper or processor until well mixed
and very finely chopped. Add to a bowl with the remaining ingredients and whip
together thoroughly.
Very carefully and with fingers
crossed, unroll the cake. Spread the buttercream on top and re-roll, this time
without the towel. If it breaks, just do the best you can and mold it as needed
once it’s all rolled up. Transfer to a serving platter.
Finally, prepare the ganache:
place the remaining 4 ounces chocolate chips into a medium-large bowl and bring
the heavy cream to just a boil in a
saucepan set over low heat. Remove the cream from the heat and count to ten
before pouring over the chocolate chips. Count to ten again, then slowly stir the
two ingredients together until you’re left with a smooth ganache. Allow to cool
just slightly, then pour over the cake roll. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Sources, adapted: Baker’s
Royale, Smitten
Kitchen
Notes:
1I took horrible notes on this recipe, and did not write how
long it took to make. I apologize; this is a mere estimate.
2You can also use water if you prefer.
3I used half of a Milka white chocolate bar – the
ingredients are reputable and the taste is spot on.
I know some of you may be having
heart palpitations looking at the length of this recipe but please don’t let it
deter you. There are some steps
involved and it does take some patience and time, but there’s nothing hard
about it. You can do it, I promise!
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