Strawberry Chocolate Cake Roll

 

I used to have an obssession with cake rolls and would do experiments on rolls once every other month. But it's been a while since I make one. This time I used a unique sponge cake recipe. Unlike all typical sponge cake recipes (egg dividing or whole eggs method), this recipe cooks the dough before you bake it.

Ingredients:

chocolate sponge cake (for a 9" rectangular tray):
unsalted butter 50g (4 tbsp)
milk 1/2 cup
all purpose flour 1/4 cup
cocao powder 1/4 cup
large eggs 5
a pinch of salt
sugar 1 cup

cream for the filling:
whipped cream 1 cup
powdered sugar 1/2 cup
liquor 1 tbsp (contreau or grand marnier)
vanilla extract 1 tsp optional

fruit compote:
seasonal fruit (strawberries this case) ~1 cup
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp liquor (contreau or grand marnier)

Steps:
Cake base

1. Preheat oven 392 degrees F and line baking tray with baking paper
2. Heat butter with milk in a sauce pan. Stir frequently until it starts boiling. Turn off heat.
3. Sift flour, cocoa powder and mix with (1). Stir with the wooden spoon until smooth and elastic.
4. Beat egg yolks and mix into the dough. stir until smooth and shiny. Make sure the dough is cool enough before you add the eggs.
5. Use an electric mixer to mix the egg whites. Add a pinch of salt. Mix in medium speed. Add sugar in 3 times until soft peaks formed.
   
   
6. Scoop 1/3 of egg whites into (3), mix with a spetula and pour the batter into the rest of the egg whites
7. Fold the batter into the egg whites gently until it becomes a shiny chocolate batter.
   
8. Pour (6) into the baking tray and smooth it out flat and even.
9. Baking for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Insert cake with a toothpick, if it comes out clean it's ready
10. Cover cooling rack with kitchen paper and dust with flour. Move cake to the cooling rack and cool it upside down with the baking sheet facing up. 

Fruit compote

1. Slice strawberries and keep 1/3 for later use
2. Shimmer the rest with sugar and liquor in medium heat until the texture thickens
3. Season with vanilla extract if desired
4. Turn off heat and set aside to cool down

Whipped Cream

1. Whip cream with sugar and liquor until peaks form. Stir in fruit compote once it's cold enough
2. Refrigerate it before use

Decorating

1. Flip over cake and use a spreading/long knife to leave marks on the cake. Don't cut through the cake. The marks should be more tight together in the beginning and further apart at the end of the cake
   
2. Spread cream all over the cake. Line fresh strawberries 1 inch from the edge of the cake.
3. Start rolling the cake from your side (the closer lines) and gently press before you roll again. Don't panic if the cream starts squeezing out, just need to wipe it out at the end. Use the baking sheet to help secure the cake as you roll it
4. Wrap the cake with clean wrap or the baking sheet. Refrigerate to stablize the shape