Chocolate Raspberry Swiss Roll

I wanted to try making a roulade on a evening when I invited my family over for dinner. I have always wanted to try one but they seemed like they'd be a lot of work for a questionable end result. I went down a rabbit hole and began looking at many different recipes. Some were meringue based, which I was not ready to try on my first attempt. I landed on this one because half of my family loves chocolate desserts, and I assumed that covering the roll with the ganache could help hide any imperfections. It turns out this was true. While you can't really see it, there is a huge crack in my cake that was perfectly disguised by the ganache and whipped cream. This is a time consuming dessert, but it tasted amazing. Between 7 of us there was only 1 slice left at the end of dessert. 

Recipe from Spend with Pennies

Cake:
4 eggs divided
1/2 cup sugar + 1/3 cup, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water

Filling:
1/2 cup freeze dried raspberries (1/2 ounce)
8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup powdered sugar divided
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Ganache:
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Topping:
6 ounces raspberries fresh

Begin by preparing the cake. Preheat oven to 350F (325F if using a dark pan). Spray a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl (not in your stand mixer), use an electric hand mixer to beat egg whites until soft peaks form. The peaks should fall when you lift the beaters. While still mixing, slowly add in 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks on medium speed for 3 minutes, add in 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla and beat 2 more minutes.

In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Alternately add flour mix and the 1/3 cup water to the egg yolk mixture in the stand mixer. Be sure to scrape down the side of the bowl from time to time. When thoroughly mixed, fold the chocolate batter into the egg whites a little at a time. Keep folding until completely combined, trying to keep the egg white as fluffy as you can in the process.

Spread batter into the prepared jelly roll pan and bake for 12-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and cake springs back when lightly touched.

While the cake is baking, prepare a dish towel coated thoroughly in powdered sugar.

When the cake is done baking, immediately invert it onto the towel. Remove the parchment paper and then starting at the narrow end, roll it up. Let it cool completely while it is rolled up.

While the cake cools, prepare the filling. Put your freeze dried raspberries in a blender or small food processor and pulse into a fine powder. The powder will amount to about 2 tablespoons. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Remove whipped cream into a separate bowl. In the same stand mixer bowl (no need to clean) fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 3/4 cup powdered sugar, raspberry powder, vanilla, and salt. Fold in 1 1/2 cups of the whipped cream until combined and place the remaining whipped cream in the fridge to use as a garnish on top (you may need to whip with a whisk if it loses stiffness).

Next, prepare the jelly roll. Carefully unroll the cake. Spread the raspberry filling evenly over the entire surface and then roll the cake back up the same way it was rolled before. Place cake roll on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Once the cake has chilled, prepare your ganache. Heat the 6 tablespoons whipping cream in the microwave for 45 seconds or until hot and then add the chocolate chips. Cover and let it sit for two minutes and then stir until smooth. Let the ganache come to room temperature (about 5-10 minutes) before pouring and spreading over the cake. I placed my cake on a cooling rack prior to covering with the ganache, so the ganache didn’t just pool on the serving dish.

Let the ganache cool on the cake for about 5 minutes. If you used a cooling rack, gently lift the cake on to your serving dish. Top the roll with the whipped cream (the leftover from the filling) and fresh raspberries. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slice and serve. Store leftover cake in the fridge.

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