Black Forest Roulade

Deep, rich and flamboyant, the flavors of the black forest are chocolate, cream and cherry. The chocolate, which is slightly bitter, provides a base for sweet and tart cherries and both come together as a flavor, the cream is used to provide a soft texture and break some of the sharp richness. The combination of the red against the black of the chocolate and the white cream provides the images beautiful opulence, when the cake is rolled into a log and lightly dusted with icing sugar you are transported deep into the heart of the forest.

Living in England I feel that we experience the true essence of Christmas, the weather is cold so we like our food to give us the feeling of warmth, just like you feel when your sitting next to a roaring fire. The last three months of the year are my favourite. During these months a whole array of seasonal food and drink is realised and black forest comes in all forms. This cake is a elegant twist on the traditional yule log and is perfect as a simple show stopper. The sponge is very light and as the cherry compote is made fresh with frozen cherries they are still fruity but are not heavy like a jam, the simple cream adds decadence to the overall dish with its fluffy texture.

Ingredients:

Chocolate sponge
2 eggs
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
90 grams self- raising flower

Cherry compote 
100 grams frozen cherries
100 ml hot water
1 teaspoon corn flour

Whipped cream
200 ml double cream
3 tablespoons vanilla sugar

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°c and line a 26 x 30 cm tin with enough baking paper so that it hangs off the sides.

Shift together the flour and cocoa powder in a bowl an leave to one side. In a large bowl combine the eggs, egg white and sugar and whisk together for 5 minutes until the mixture turns light and foamy. Fold in the dry ingredients gently and pour into your cake tin. Bake for 9-10 minutes.

Once baked take the cake out of the tin. While still hot using the paper roll the cake from the shorter side into a swiss roll. Allow to cool completely.

For the cherry compote add the cherries into boiling water and shift in the corn flour making sure not to create lumps. Boil on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Allow to cool then take out the cherries and using a fork press the cherries until they are slightly flat.

Whip the cream and sugar to soft peaks and spread onto the cake, then place the cherries onto the cream making sure to place more on the side you will roll from and then start to roll. You will see that the rolling will push the filling to the edges.

These flavours are the essence of Christmas. There are a few steps but they are worth it as the cake is so beautiful and everyone loves it. You can use the the sauce left over from the cherries to serve the cake with.

Love Mademoiselle De Baker.

P.S. when I didn't have the appropriate cake tin I used a lasagne dish.