Devilish Chocolate Roulade

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Chocolate Roulade is a gluten-free dessert but that is really not the reason why I love this cake. It is just a wonderful cake (albeit gluten-free) enhanced by the mascarpone and chocolate mousse fillings which makes it texturally a truly dense and light cake at the same time and very very chocolatey. Somebody once described it as "chocolate in cake form" and who was I to argue then? The recipe came from my one of my very used cookbook that was given to me by my roommates as a birthday present. I think they bought it at a Sam's Club in Florida but that is besides the point. The cookbook itself offers quite a myriad of very good chocolate cake recipes which include but is not limited to Truffles, Black Forest cake,  Death by Chocolate cake,  Sacher Torte and of course, the Roulade. 

*Devilish Chocolate Roulade - Adapted

Cake

6 oz bittersweet/semisweet chocolate cake

4 large eggs, separated

½ cup superfine sugar

Filling

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

8 oz semisweet chocolate

3 tbsp brandy (or strong   brewed coffee as   substitute)

2 large eggs, separated

1 cup mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy cream

Garnish

Chocolate dipped strawberries

Cocoa powder for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9 inch jelly roll pan and line with 
    baking parchment or wax paper. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof 
    bowl. Let cool slightly.

2. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale and thick, then stir 
    in the melted chocolate evenly. 

3. In a clean grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, the 
    fold lightly and evenly into the egg and chocolate mixture.

4. Pour mixture into the pan and spread to the corners. Bake 15-20 
    minutes, until well risen and firm to the touch. Dust a sheet of wax 
    paper with cocoa. Turn the cake out on the paper, cover with a 
    clean dish towel (or just paper towel) and leave to cool.

5. Make the chocolate mousse filling by melting the chocolate with the 
    brandy in a heat proof bowl over hot water. Remove from the heat. 
    Beat the eggs yolks together, then beat into the chocolate mixture. 
    In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then fold 
    them lightly and evenly into the filling. 

6. To make the mascarpone filling, beat the heavy cream until stiff 
    peaks are formed. Fold into the mascarpone. 

7. Uncover the cake, and spread with the mascarpone filling. Spread the 
    chocolate mixture over the top, then carefully roll up the cake from 
    a long side to enclose the filling. Transfer to a serving plate, top with 
    the chocolate-dipped strawberries and dust with unsweetened cocoa 
    just prior to serving.

Notes:

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Use the wax paper as guide when rolling the cake. Leave the cake in the paper until ready to serve. You may have to tape it to keep it secure. Cake will crack. Don’t freak out. It will set once kept in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Keep an extra cup or two of the mascarpone filling to pipe rosettes on top of the cake when ready to serve. Top each rosette with a chocolate-dipped strawberry.  

* France, C., Chocolate Ecstasy, Annes Publishing Limited, London:1998