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Chocolate roulade

recipe BARNEY DESMAZERY photograph WILL HEAP

SERVES 8 PREP 30 mins COOK 25 mins MORE EFFORT V

A TOUCH OF CARAMEL The caramel swirl in the filling works so well with chocolate and cream, but it isn’t essential – the chocolate and cream alone would still be delicious.

WHY

Perhaps surprisingly, a classic chocolate roulade isn’t actually very chocolatey at all – there’s just some cocoa powder in the basic sponge base. We’ve addressed that here with the filling, opting for luxury over a tight spiral, and what it lacks in neatness, it makes up for in taste and texture. A bit like an undercooked brownie, Eton mess or that last spoonful of trifle, its messy imperfections are what make it perfect.

WHAT TO BUY

For the meringue vegetable oil, for the tin 5 egg whites 1 tsp lemon juice 225g caster sugar 60g cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp cornflour For the chocolate filling 100g dark chocolate, plus extra to serve 100ml double cream For the cream filling 150ml double cream 25g caster sugar For the caramel swirl 100g caramel sauce (from a can or jar), stirred until smooth pinch of sea salt flakes

TO CHILL OR NOT TO CHILL? While the roulade can be chilled, it becomes a different dessert when cold. Served freshly rolled, it’s light and creamy, but it becomes more dense in the fridge, like a chocolate fudge cake or brownie.

FOR FLUFFY MERINGUE Lemon juice and a touch of cornflour in the meringue make it more fluffy and marshmallow-like.

ALL ABOUT THE BASE We’ve opted for a chocolate meringue base over sponge to make this more of a dessert than a cake.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE Use good-quality dark cocoa and chocolate that’s no less than 70% cocoa solids for the best flavour.

MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE

The meringue base means that this dessert can easily be adapted to be gluten-free – just ensure you use gluten-free cocoa powder and cornflour.

DARK CONTRAST As the meringue and caramel sauce are so sweet, we’ve not sweetened the dark chocolate filling. Tasted alone, the chocolate sauce would be bitter, but it works together with everything else.

A PINCH OF SALT With very sweet desserts like this, we like to add a pinch of salt to balance out the sugar. A little salt works especially well with caramel.

HOW TO MAKE IT

1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil the base and sides of a 23 x 32cm baking tray and line with baking parchment. Beat the egg whites, lemon juice and a pinch of salt together using a stand mixer or electric whisk until very stiff. Add 1 tbsp of the sugar and beat to stiff peaks, then add the rest of the sugar, a spoonful at a time, until the mixture is thick and shiny. Sift over the cocoa and cornflour, then gently fold these in with a spatula until completely combined. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared tin, then bake for 14-15 mins until just crisp to the touch. Leave to cool completely in the tin. 2 Meanwhile, make the fillings. For the chocolate filling, tip the chocolate and cream into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is shiny and smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature. For the cream filling, whisk the cream and sugar together to stiff peaks using an electric whisk. 3 Dust a large sheet of baking parchment with cocoa powder, then carefully flip the meringue onto it. Remove the tin and carefully peel away the parchment. With a short end facing you, score a line across the meringue, 2cm in from the edge. Spread over the chocolate filling followed by the cream, then drizzle with most of the caramel sauce. Sprinkle over the sea salt flakes and drag a palette or cutlery knife through the fillings to gently swirl them. Roll up the roulade into a tight log, starting at the scored end and using the parchment underneath to help you. Lift onto a platter or board. Will keep chilled for up to a day. Drizzle over the remaining caramel sauce, then finely grate over more chocolate to serve.

GOOD TO KNOW gluten free PER SERVING 462 kcals • fat 28g • saturates 17g • carbs 46g • sugars 44g • fibre 2g • protein 5g • salt 0.5g