Deb’s Kitchen | Mum’s chocolate roulade with berries

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Deb Quinn shares favourite family recipes and tips on how to cook them. Photo by Megan Fisher
Mum’s chocolate roulade with berries. Photo by Contributed

Debbie Quinn has a lifelong love of food and cooking, nurtured in her parents’ restaurants and in her own family’s kitchen. Every fortnight she shares her passion and expertise with our readers, bringing her best recipes, tips and tricks to the table.

This is a recipe my mother, Lorna, would make regularly.

It’s easy to make, it looks fantastic, it’s gluten-free, always a hit with a crowd and is a great dish to serve during the festive season.

I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with family and friends.

Ingredients for the chocolate roulade with berries. Photo by Contributed

Ingredients

  • 8 eggs
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 250g good quality dark chocolate
  • ¼ cup water
  • 600ml whipped cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp softened butter for greasing
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar for sprinkling
  • 1 punnet of fresh raspberries and 1 punnet of fresh blueberries for decorating
  • 1 tbsp sieved icing sugar for decorating
  • Drinking chocolate for garnishing roulade — around ¼ to ½ cup or you can use cocoa

Chocolate roulade

  • Pre-heat oven to 160°C (fan)
  • In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate and water over a low heat, stir until the chocolate has melted then cool slightly.
  • Beat egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until very light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
  • In a separate medium clean dry bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
  • Fold cooled chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture, then gently fold in the egg whites until combined.
  • Line a 23 x 33cm Swiss roll tray with baking paper, making sure there is enough paper to hold the mixture up the sides of the tray. Lightly grease the baking paper with a little softened butter then sprinkle lightly and evenly with 2 tablespoons caster sugar. Pour the mixture on to the tray and spread evenly.
  • Bake in the pre-heated oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Test with a skewer, it should come out clean when it is cooked.
  • Using kitchen paper towel (enough to cover the roulade) dampened with water, squeeze out the excess water and place over the top of the roulade. Let the roulade cool completely.
  • Meanwhile, whip the cream and vanilla, be careful not to over-whip the cream. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
  • Lay 2 sheets of foil overlapping each other on the bench and sprinkle the drinking chocolate or cocoa over the foil using a sieve.
  • Invert the cooled roulade on to the chocolate dusted foil. Spread half the cream over the roulade and gently roll up the roulade from the widest end. You can use the foil to help guide you rolling it on to your favourite long cake plate. Don’t worry if it cracks.
  • Garnish with the rest of the cream, dotting it down the middle of the roulade, and decorate with blueberries and raspberries.
  • Don’t worry if it cracks — once you top with the cream and berries, it looks great.
  • To finish off, sprinkle with a dusting of sieved icing sugar to give it that festive look and if you have a piece of holly or fresh mint, place it in the middle of the roulade.
  • Must refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, and don’t cover it with anything.