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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Chocolate Mocha Cake Roll


Howdy! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. We sure did here; although we have been trying to finish leftovers by getting a little creative with the remaining dishes (there is only so much you can do with leftover turkey, or stuffing, or gravy!). But hey, I cannot complain about extra good food.
Anyways, this weekend was my daughter’s babysitter’s birthday, and I wanted to make her something special. I got the idea to make her a cake roll. To add on to the challenge, I’ve never made cake rolls! Sounds easy, but the whole idea of making a very thin cake that you then have to roll WITHOUT breaking was truthfully a little daunting… But oh well, I thought “let’s give it a whirl!” So a whirl I gave (grammar???), and it turned out great (it rhymed!)
The cake turned out wonderfully light and fluffy, and separated from the baking sheet well. I did put lots of powdered sugar on the towel so that the cake did not stick to the towel, even after it cooled down. The filling is very simple to make, but has a great mocha flavor that adds an extra layer of flavor to the cake, complementing the chocolate cake very nicely.
The original recipe does have another step to make this cake roll into an actual Yule log, which I plan on making for Christmas this year (now that I am a little more confident about cake rolls). So for any of you interested in making the frosting, I have included the recipe below. If you do that final step, let me know how it turns out! I’ll add my comments next time I make this J
Happy birthday Karen!
Chocolate Mocha Cake Roll

Ingredients
CAKE:
5 eggs, separated
½ + ½ cup sugar, divided
½ cup cake flour
¼ cup baking cocoa
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cream of tartar
Confectioner’s sugar, for spreading on towel

MOCHA CREAM FILLING:
1 cup whipping cream
½ cup confectioners' sugar
1 ½ tsp instant coffee granules

Directions
1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside. Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with parchment paper; grease the paper.
2.    Place egg whites in a small mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3.    In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks on high until light and fluffy. Gradually add ½ cup sugar, beating until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add flour mixture to egg yolk mixture until blended.
4.    In the separate bowl, beat egg whites on medium until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Stir a fourth into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining egg whites until no streaks remain.
5.    Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-13 minutes or until cake springs back (do not over-bake). Cool for 5 minutes; invert onto a linen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Peel off parchment paper. Roll up in the towel, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.
6.    For the filling, in a separate mixing bowl, beat whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and coffee granules. Beat until stiff peaks form; chill. Unroll cooled cake; spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up again. Place on serving platter; chill.

Optional step:

MOCHA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon brewed coffee
2 tablespoons milk

In a mixing bowl, beat frosting ingredients until smooth. Frost cake. Using a fork, make lines resembling tree bark.

Original recipe for Chocolate Yule Log froTaste of Home

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