It's Easter and I'm making a cake. Except the cake that I have chosen to make is both annoying and expensive. Expensive due to the chestnut puree-enhanced whipped cream filling, and annoying because of the number of bowls needed. Twice as annoying if you only have one bowl that fits your stand mixer and you forget to beat the egg whites before the yolks. And then there's the timing of everything. Oi.
If only it were not so delicious...
6oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp instant coffee
4 tbsp hot water
6 eggs, separated
6 tbsp sugar, divided
5 tbsp flour
pinch of cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
cocoa powder, for dusting
2 cups whipping cream
2 tbsp spiced rum
1 1/2 sweetened chestnut puree
candied chestnuts, optional for decorating
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Prepare 15 1/2" x 10 1/2 rimmed cookie pan by lightly greasing it and lining with parchment paper.
3. Melt chocolate in a double boiler.
4. Dissolve the cocoa and instant coffee in the hot water.
5. Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Sprinkle 3 tbsp of the sugar over the egg whites and add the vanilla extract. Continue beating the egg whites until stiff and glossy peaks form.
6. Transfer the egg whites into a separate bowl. (If you only have one bowl that fits your stand mixer.)
7. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining 3 tbsp of sugar until thick and pale yellow. (You can use the first bowl without washing it.) Beat in the melted chocolate and coffee mixture. Add flour and mix well.
8. Add a spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the rest.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 12-15 mins.
11. Dust a clean dish towel with cocoa powder.
10. Meanwhile, prepare the chestnut whipped cream filling. In a clean bowl, beat the whipped cream with the rum until stiff peaks form.
11. If the chestnut puree is too stiff, you may have to beat it and add water to make it easier to fold into the whipped cream. Beat in a spoonful of the whipped cream.
12. Gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
13. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, carefully flip it onto the cocoa-dusted dish towel. Peel off the parchment paper and roll the cake and the towel together into a Swiss roll. Allow the cake to cool until it is comfortably warm. It is extremely important to monitor this because if cools too much, the cake will crack when you unroll it to fill with the chestnut cream.
14. Unroll the cake and evenly spread 2/3 of the filling to an inch of the short ends and half an inch of the long ends.
15. Carefully roll up the cake again and place seam-side down on a serving plate.
16. Spread the remaining chestnut cream over the cake to cover it completely.
17. Decorate with candied chestnuts.
Enjoy!
