This Chocolate Cake Roll  is fairly simple to make, and is a fun way to serve dessert.

I needed a final #Choctoberfest recipe, and I thought I’d try my hand at making a cake roll. It’s not the best-looking cake roll, because I went a little overboard with the whipped cream. But it tastes amazingly light and airy.

And of course, chocolatey. This is #Choctoberfest, after all.

You can see there, I used far too much whipped cream. I made more than was necessary for the cake roll, and I didn’t want to waste it (or go to the trouble of freezing it). Part of the cake was torn, but with some careful rolling, I managed to salvage it.

And once it’s covered in ganache, any number of imperfections are covered up and hidden away.

Tips and Tricks

• Don’t overfill your baking sheet. Yes, this cake is baked in a thin layer, using a baking sheet or jelly-roll pan, as opposed to a cake pan. You will have leftover batter (unless you’re like me and don’t think about overflow)
• Use parchment paper in addition to greasing/flouring the baking sheet. This is almost akin to making a bundt cake and praying to the cake gods that the cake will come out of the pan in one perfectly intact piece. Using the parchment paper will help the cake come out of the pan with zero trouble.
• Be gentle when rolling the cake up in a towel to cool off. This is why I think my cake tore a bit on one end. The cake will be hot when you turn it out of the pan, and because it’s just come out of the oven and is still cooking, it’s going to be a bit fragile. Roll it up gently in the towel, then place on a wire rack to cool completely before trying (gently) to unroll it.
• Don’t overfill the cake. If you do like I did and overfill the cake roll, you won’t get the tight spirals that make cake rolls look so pretty.

But even if you do happen to overfill your cake roll, and it turns out a little flatter and more oval-shaped, it’s still going to taste delicious, and your family will still hover around you while you’re taking pictures of your cake roll, asking when they can have a slice.

Yield: 8-12 slices

Chocolate Cake Roll

Print

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1/3 C flour
• 1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1/2 C sugar

For the filling:

• 1 1/2 C heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp. Frangelico liqueur
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

For the ganache:

• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 C heavy cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 15x10x1-inch baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the vanilla on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until thickened and light in color. While mixing, gradually add the 1/3 C sugar.
3. In another bowl using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1/2 C sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form (peaks stand up straight when lifting up the beaters).
4. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Add the flour/cocoa mixture all at once, and fold in just until combined. Spread the batter in the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched. Immediately flip the cake out onto a clean tea towel sprinkled with either powdered sugar or cocoa powder. Roll the cake up in the towel, starting at one of the short ends of the cake. Cool at least 1 hour on a wire rack.
6. In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer, combine the heavy cream and the Frangelico. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, then add the 3 Tbsp. sugar. Continue beating on high speed until the cream is thickened, 1-2 more minutes.
7. In a small saucepan, bring the cream just to a simmer over medium heat. Add the chocolate chips after removing from the heat, and allow to stand for 2 minutes. Stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted and the ganache is thickened. Set aside.
8. Carefully unroll the cooled cake, and spread the whipped cream over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Roll the cake back up from the short end, and place back on a wire rack set on a baking sheet.
9. Spread the ganache over the cake roll, covering it completely. Chill the cake roll in the refrigerator to allow the ganache to set up before serving.

Notes

You can substitute vanilla extract for the Frangelico if you prefer.

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