Japanese Style Chocolate Roll Cake

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 1 Hour

Yield: 8

Ingredients:

• Dough:
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp  flour
• 1.5 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 20 g (0.044 lb) butter
• Syrup:
• 3.5 Tbsp  water
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp brandy
• Ganache:
• 200 g (0.44 lb) chocolate 50%, do not use chocolate chips because they will not melt into best ganache consistency
• 200 g (0.44 lb) heavy cream
• 50 g (0.11 lb) butter
• Decoration
• 1 mandarin
• 2-3 walnuts
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• Cookware and Equipment
• cutting board
• long-bladed knife
• wide skillet
• 3 heatproof bowls
• stove
• paking paper
• scissors
• ruler
• stapler
• film
• baking sheet
• foil
• sieve
• oven rack
• fine grater
• fridge

Steps:

Ganache

1. Chop chocolate finely and evenly. Use a cutting board and a long-bladed knife. Start at the outer edges of the chocolate and work your way to the centre.
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2. Melt the chopped chocolate: Place a wide skillet on top of the stove; place a heatproof bowl in the skillet; add 1 inch of water to the skillet; place finely chopped chocolate inside the bowl. Bring water to a very gentle simmer;
   gently stir chocolate as it begins to melt, but do not vigorously agitate. 
   
   Remove chocolate from the heat when it is about three-quarters of the way melted gently stirring it, the residual heat will melt the remaining chocolate.
   Keep the water at a low simmer. Do not let water drip, because it causes the chocolate to seize.
   
   You can melt chocolate in the microwave: Place finely chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt at mid and lower powers. Check the chocolate frequently. Gently stir it as it begins to melt, but do not vigorously agitate.
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3. Heat heavy cream on the stovetop until just simmering. Once you see little simmers around the edges, immediately pour the warm cream over the chocolate. Wait a few minutes, then stir until smooth.

 
4. Add pieces of butter, stir it. Leave the ganache to cool. As it cools, the ganache will thicken.

 
5. Baking mould: To bake the cake you need a rectangular baking mould about 24 cm x 28 cm (about 9,5 x 11 inches). If you, like me, don't have such a mold, you can, like me, make a rectangular mould out of baking paper. Cut a rectangular piece of baking paper, taking into account the allowance for the sides. Fold the sides and fix the corners using a stapler (like a box).

 

 
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6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350F / gas mark 4).

Dough

1. Dough
   Heat a bit water in the skillet. Add 3 eggs and the sugar in a bowl and whisk over the hot water until the eggs reach body temperature. Then remove the hot water and continue whisking until soft peaks.

 

 
2. Sift the flour and the cocoa powder into the egg mixture and whisk until well blended.

 
3. Melt the butter for dough. Warm up the milk.
4. Add milk and melted butter to the dough and stir gently.

 
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5. Grease the bottom of the baking paper mould. Put the baking paper mould on a baking tray.
   
   If the baking mould is not made of baking paper, insert a greased piece of baking paper inside it, bending it over the sides.
6. Pour the dough into the baking paper mould and even the surface. Drop the tray from a small high to release air bubbles. Bake at 180 degrees C. (350 F) for 15 minutes.

 
7. Stand for the roll cake: For the roll, you need an oblong plate about 26 cm long. If you do not have such a dish, then you can wrap a cutting board with 2-3 strips of crumpled foil.

 

 
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8. Take out the baking paper mould with the cake from the oven and put it on a wire rack. You can use an oven rack by turning it upside down.
   Cover the cake with film and let it cool down.

 

Syrup

1. Pour water into a bowl, add sugar, brandy and bring to a boil.

 
2. Remove the film from the cake. Gently peel off the sticking baking paper.
3. Gently brush syrup over cake, allowing the liquid to soak into the sponge. If you don't have a brush, use a spoon and pour in a little syrup.

 
4. To make the cake easier to roll, push the strips with the blunt sides of the knife at a short interval.

 
5. Spread 2/3 of the ganache onto the cake evenly. You can use a spatula or a long knife.

 
6. Roll the cake up gently.

 
7. Wrap the roll cake in the baking paper in which ot was baked and put it in the fridge.

 
8. Separate the mandarin wedges, remove skin from the wedges. Grate the walnuts or other nuts on a fine grater.

 
9. Cut off the edges of the roll cake.

 
10. Transfer the roll cake to a plate or to the board wrapped in foil. Cother the roll cake (sides too) with the remaining ganache. You can use a spatula or a long knife.

 
11. Crumple up a piece of the foil and stamp the surface of the roll cake with it.

 
12. Decorating: Divide the peeled mandarin wedges into pieces and place in the middle of the roll cake.

 
13. Tilt the plate / cutting board slightly and sprinkle with grated nuts on one side. Sprinkle the other side of the roll cake in the same way. You can place a napkin on the plate around the roll cake to remove any loose crumbs.

 
14. Sift some powdered sugar onto the mandarin pieces. The roll cake is ready.