Last week was a little hectic.
My boss came back to work after a few months out.
Someone who I trained when I was a student (and was the current office joker) had their last day.
My cousin (the one who dubbed me franny cakes) got engaged.
I got a haircut.
I made this cake.
Someone who works in the office said that where he comes from this cake would be called a gypsy arm. That was almost the title of this cake.
But it was a good-bye cake for a coworker. One who loves Little Debbie snacks and asked for something chocolate.
I first had this cake in junior high when my mom made it as a Bûche de Noël for my seventh grade French class with Mlle. Boyde.
You will never have a cake as airy as this. If you frost it with ganache and make meringue or marzipan mushrooms, you have a great Christmas treat. Or eat it naked with this shortening-butter-heavy cream-powdered sugar filling and satisfy your craving for ho-hos while realizing that this is way better.
| Gluten-Free Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake |
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- Pan Lube
- 2 teapoons shortening
- 1 teaspoon cocoa
- cake
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (50 grams + 25 grams) sugar
- 6 large eggs separated and at room temperature
- 4 (110 grams) ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- unsweetened cocoa
- filling
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons shortening
- 2 teapoons vanilla bean paste
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Make the greasing mixture by mixing shortening and cocoa. Grease a jelly roll pan with the mixture, line it with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper.
- Beat 1/4 cup (50 grams)sugar and the egg yolks until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Pour in the melted (and slightly cooled) chocolate. Beat until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
- In a seperate bowl that is very clean (dampen a paper towel with vinegar or lemon juice and wipe out the bowl and then dry with a clean paper towel to be certain that your bowl is free of grease). With the whisk attachment of your mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the lemon juice. Beat until you have soft peaks when you raise the beater. Slowly add the remaining sugar while beating and keep beating until you have stiff peaks.
- Fold 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate mixture with a large whisk or spatula. This will lighten the chocolate so that the air stays in in the egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
- Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for about 16 minutes. The cake will no longer be shiny and will spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.
- Dust the warm cake with the cocoa and turn out onto a clean dish towel. Remove the parchment paper and dust this side of the cake generously with cocoa as well. Roll it up in the towel and let cool.
- While the cake cools, beat together the butter and shortening. Add the cream and vanilla bean paste and mix well. Add in the sugar 1/4 cup at a time to keep sugar from flying around your kitchen. Once all the sugar is added, beat until the filling is light and airy.
- Remove the towel from the cooled cake. Spread the filling in a thin layer of the filling on the cake and gently re-roll.
- Top with powdered sugar or ganache. Let the cake chill for a while before slicing.