Our family-famous “Chocolate Roll”

Over the years and on special occasions, my family has made a dessert that we simply call “Chocolate Roll.” My older sister is the queen of chocolate rolls and can whip them out with little effort. She even has a special “chocolate roll plate.” Her three kids have been known to repeatedly ask for a chocolate roll for their birthdays and she makes it for Christmas and Easter. The beauty of this simple recipe is that you can customize it however you want. My sister has made it with vanilla pudding, pistachio pudding and different flavors of ice cream. Although the spongelike texture of the cake is really closer to a Swiss Roll, I typically make this family-famous chocolate roll once a year at Christmas in the spirit of a yule log. In the past, I’ve filled it with mint chocolate chip or peppermint ice cream. This year, mostly because my KitchenAid ice cream attachment had been sitting lonely in the drawer for several months, I figured it was time to take it for a whirl and I made chocolate peppermint bark ice cream.

Following the instructions on my ice cream maker, I made a Philadelphia-style (no eggs) chocolate ice cream from TheKitchn. The recipe calls for three types of chocolate: 4 ounces of dark, 2 ounces of milk and 3 Tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder. I find that the taste and richness level of the ice cream really varies depending on what chocolate you use. I had Valrhona dark chocolate and mixed with some Theo milk chocolate. Last time I made it, I used a combo of Seattle’s Theo Chocolate (85% dark and milk chocolate). The result was a dense super chocolately flavor that rivaled Molly Moon’s ice cream in Seattle. Experiment to find your perfect chocolate taste. Just don’t use chocolate bars like Hershey’s because they include additives that will change the texture of the ice cream. For the cocoa powder, make sure to use a Dutch-process variety. One more thing to note is the use of sweetened condensed milk, which is the author’s secret ingredient for thickening and stabilizing the ice cream. This really is the perfect “smooth and scoopable”chocolate ice cream. Speaking of scoopable, I love my Tovolo glide-a-scoop container for storing the ice cream and for pro-scooping action. In the last two minutes or mixing the ice cream, I added crushed peppermint bark (gifted from my sister) and some extra mini candy canes. My ice cream was dense and chocolately but without the mint overpowering the chocolate.

Now that your ice cream is freezing, it’s time to make the actual chocolate roll. You can certainly use store-bought ice cream of your choice, or even buy a high-quality vanilla or chocolate and add your own chopped candy canes, Andes mints or whatever mix-ins you desire.

Chocolate Roll recipe

¾ cup flour                                                      

1 cup sugar

¼ cup cocoa                                                    

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon baking powder                 

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt                                               

3 eggs

1 cup whipped cream, sweetened with 1/8 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla

Optional fillings: 

• Ice cream (approximately 1 1/3 quarts; the below recipe makes 1.5 quarts. I used a little over one quart to fill the roll)

• Pudding (homemade custard if you’re ambitious or the large-size box of Jell-O pudding)

And for those wondering, yes, my sister did make a chocolate roll for her family on Christmas day. She filled it with vanilla instant pudding and advises to reduce the milk by a 1/2 cup to yield a thicker filling. Her other hint is to grease your baking sheet with butter for super easy release.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line pan (15½ x 10½ x 10”) with foil and grease. My pan is not the exact size. Don’t worry too much about that; it can be approximate.

Beat eggs 5 minutes. Gradually add sugar and water. Sift (don’t skip this step) flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and add slowly blending on low speed until smooth. Add vanilla. Pour into pan. Bake 12-15 minutes. Touch it to see if it springs back slightly. The cake will be thin. Dump cake out on large tea towel/flour sack towel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove foil and trim edges. Roll while warm and put in refrigerator. 

Chill cake in fridge overnight or at least 4 hours. Let the cake sit for up to 30 minutes on the counter before unrolling and preparing to fill. When ready to fill, unroll the cake and cover with a thick layer of pudding or softened ice cream. Top with nuts, shaved or grated chocolate, candy, etc. I like the toppings to tell you the story of what’s hiding inside.  

Notes:

1. The beauty of my homemade ice cream was that it wasn’t frozen too hard so it was easy to spread, but I had to work quickly. 

2. If your cake tears or breaks apart, don’t worry too much. Most likely you can “fix it” with the whip cream. I was in a hurry this time and mine ripped in a couple places. After I put the ice cream in, I just rolled it up, covered it with foil and formed it back together before placing in the freezer!)

After you roll the cake, frost it with the sweetened whipped cream and decorate as desired. (You can freeze cake and do the whipped cream step before serving if you prefer.) Store in fridge or freezer as appropriate. For the ice cream version, it’s best to freeze overnight.

There you go. Everything you need to know to turn this simple chocolate spongecake into a masterpiece. Be creative with the filling and the toppings. If you have leftover candy canes, smash ‘em up and use those. Or maybe you have some toffee or other favorite candy.

Wrap up your holiday celebrations with this chocolate roll. Add some colorful confetti or sprinkles and roll into the new year. Or put it on your to-make for the coming months.

Happy New Year!