A Tasty Recipe for the Weekend!

Lucinda recently made this wonderful chocolate roulade with Sarah and Ann - our two competition winners - who joined us for a day of cooking in the Genius Office. We really enjoyed having Sarah and Ann join us for the day and the roulade went down a treat! It's delicious filled with a generous layer of blackcurrant jam to serve with coffee or tea.

Ingredients

For the sponge:

• 4 eggs separated into yolks and whites
• 175g/6oz icing sugar *look for wheat flour on label*
• 55g/2oz good quality cocoa powder *look for wheat flour on label*

For the filling:

• 1 pint of whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 200g/8oz raspberries

For this recipe you will also need:

• A shallow baking tin measuring 25cm by 30cm/10 inches by 12 inches, lined with lightly oiled greaseproof paper. Make sure the paper stands an inch or so above the rim of the tin.
• An electric whisk or balloon whisk
• 2 large mixing bowls

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400°F/ gas mark 4.
2. To make the sponge, first whisk the egg yolks with half the icing sugar until thick and pale.
3. Clean the whisk and dry thoroughly before whisking the egg whites. Traces of egg yolk left on the whisks will prevent the egg whites foaming. Whisk the egg whites until peaks of egg white stand upright and do not wobble when gently shaken. Add half the remaining icing sugar and continue to whisk the egg whites until stiff.
4. Stir a large spoonful of whisked egg whites into the whisked egg yolks and mix well. Tip the remaining egg whites into the egg yolks and gently fold together.
5. When the egg yolks and egg whites are almost mixed, mix the cocoa powder and remaining 45g/1½oz of icing sugar together and sift onto the whisked egg mixture. Gently fold the cocoa powder and icing sugar into the eggs until the mixture is just blended. Do not over fold or the mixture will lose air and become dense.
6. Holding the bowl just above the tin, pour the chocolate sponge mixture over the lined baking tray. Gently tip the tin from side to side, end to end, allowing the mixture to spread itself over the baking paper and fill the baking tray or to a rectangle measuring approximately 26cm by 30cm/10 inches by 12 inches.
7. Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the sponge is lightly set and feels springy in the centre when gently pressed with the fingers. Do not overcook or the sponge will be dry and hard. Allow the mixture to set for at least three quarters of its cooking time before opening the oven door to check it or the sponge may collapse. Once the cake is cooked leave it in the baking tin to set and cool, covered with a clean dampened tea towel to prevent it drying out and cracking.
8. When the sponge is cold, turn it out onto a large rectangular piece of greaseproof paper, liberally dusted with icing sugar. Peel away the greaseproof paper from the top of the cake.
9. To fill the roulade, whip the cream with the icing sugar until it just holds its shape. Thickly spread the cream over the sponge with a palette knife and evenly scatter on the raspberries.
10. To roll the roulade, slide it on the greaseproof paper towards you so that one of the two long ends of the rectangle is square with the edge of the work surface. Tightly fold the long end of the roulade, furthest from you, over the first 2.5cm/1inch of filling to form the centre of the roll. To roll the remaining length of roulade, gently pull the greaseproof paper up and over the tightly folded centre, towards you, supporting the roulade as it is rolled together. The sponge will crack but this adds to the appearance of the roulade.
11. Using the greaseproof paper to support the roulade, roll the cake onto a serving plate and dust with more icing sugar. Trim away any rough edges at either end of the roulade and serve cut in thick slices with Raspberry Coulis.