It tasted better than it looks, I promise.
You don’t even have to take my word for it; as affirmation I took a picture of Finn when he was finished
Since I have never before made a Swiss Roll, I chose to go with a classic chocolate recipe. After looking up a few recipes in my recipe book collection and online, I settled on adapting a recipe from The Pioneer Woman. It was tough to chose just one, but she won me over by describing this Swiss Roll as a homemade Ho-Ho. Few desserts in this world sound yummier to me; did I mention I love chocolate?
This recipe not only calls for 4 large eggs, it calls for whipping the eggs while heating them on a stovetop. Hmm…well, it sounds like I’m going to have to be more creative with my substitutions. Knowing that whipping the eggs is essentially what’s going to give this cake height, I chose to do a combination substitution. I used two tablespoons of Bob’s Redmill replacer for two of the eggs. For the remaining two eggs, I used a combination of Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar; for this method 1 teaspoon of each, is equivalent to one egg.
I folded my wet and dry ingredients together and then spread the thin batter onto a prepared Swiss Roll pan. Lining the pan in parchment paper ahead of time not only prevents sticking, it aides in actually rolling up your cake, tremendously helpful.
After baking at 425°F for just 6 minutes, the cake was springy to the touch and done. I removed it and then immediately rolled it into a log shape. Cooling the cake in its final form makes it that much easier to roll up once filled.
For the filling, I whipped up heavy cream, vanilla and sugar. Once the cake had completely cooled, I unrolled it, spread on an even layer of the filling and then gently re-rolled. The parchment paper trick made re-rolling a breeze. The cake cracked minimally in just a few places, but the overall look of the cake wasn’t affected. What did affect my cake was the lack of eggs. It was more dense and gooey with not enough lift. You can see in the photos how thin the cake is and how it collapsed a bit…a tad droopy and sad.
Last, but not least I whipped up a chocolate ganache to pour over the top of the roll.
There it is! My turd cake, otherwise known as a Chocolate Swiss Roll. This was a tough one to make pretty. I baked this a few weeks ago on my wedding anniversary and I did my best to jazz up the final photos by using some fresh hydrangea flowers I had for the occasion. Food Photography styling isn't my forte, and this nugget was tricky. Something else I'm looking forward to improving on, food styling.
So, the taste. I am personally not a fan of using baking soda and apple cider vinegar as an egg replacer and I'd be hesitant to ever try this again. Despite everything I've read, I swear to you, I could taste the vinegar. My three year old didn't seem to care. Yes, he is licking his plate below. He may hate my polenta veggie casseroles, but he sure is a fan of my baking. It's a nice ego boost and balance to the tears at the dinner table some nights.
One more image of my youngest so he doesn't feel left out. Here's Westley, anxiously awaiting his first birthday so he can partake in the baked good fun. He's this excited over pesto, I can't wait to see how much he loves cake.
Ingredients
CAKE:
. 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder-I filled half the 1/4 cup with Hershey's special dark and the other half with normal cocoa powder for an extra dark chocolate punch
. 1/3 cup All-purpose Flour
. 1/4 teaspoon Salt
. 2 tblsp Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer w/6 Tblsp of water
. 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar mixed with 2 tsp of baking soda
. 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
.4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
WHIPPED CREAM FILLING:
. 1 cup Heavy Cream
. 1/4 cup Sugar
. 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
. 4 ounces, weight Bittersweet Chocolate Chips Or Chopped Chocolate
. 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
. 1 Tablespoon Milk
Instructions
For the cake, preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and butter/grease to prevent sticking
In a large bowl, whisk to combine the cocoa powder, flour, and salt.
Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a saucepan and using the dutch boiler method place another boil on top, ensuring it isn't touching the water. Bring the water to a boil and combine your egg substitute and sugar in the bowl above. Whisk together with a hand mixer while warming. The original recipe called for the eggs to reach 120°F, given that I wasn't using real eggs, I just warmed to the touch-I am guessing around 100-110°F.
Mix in the melted butter.
Fold your wet ingredients into your dry, do not over mix.
Spread the batter onto the buttered parchment, leaving an inch from the edges. Bake the cake for 5–6 minutes, until springy to the touch.
Take the edge of the parchment roll and gently roll the cake up to cool in it's log shape.
For the whipped cream filling, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip until stiff peaks form. 4-5 minutes. You can use a hand held mixer for this as well, I just love my stand mixer.
Once the cake is completely cooled, unroll and evenly distribute the cream, leaving an inch border or so, all around. Again, using the parchment paper, re-roll and place onto a plate to await the ganache.
For the chocolate ganache, microwave the cream and chocolate about 30 second intervals until melted, stirring in-between. If you like a thinner consistency you can add 1-2 tablespoon(s) of milk at the end to make it easier to pour.
Pour the chocolate ganache evenly over the cake, then refrigerate for 15-20 minutes so that ganache is firm and set.
