Making a cake roll is a lot easier than it looks. It’s a simple beating of ingredients for cake batter and then baking for a few minutes. A thin sheet of chocolate sponge cake is spread with whipped cream, rolled together, then drenched in a chocolate ganache glaze. The only thing that might be better than eating it is slicing the cake and seeing the most perfect swirl of black and white. To get started, combine four eggs and ½ cup of sugar in a heatproof bowl.
Set this bowl on a saucepan filled with an inch of simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Beat this mixture with a hand mixer on medium speed for a couple minutes, until the eggs warm up and turn pale yellow. If you have a thermometer, heat the eggs in a bowl to 120ºF. Keep whipping the eggs for a couple of minutes until the eggs get super thick and airy, and have reached the ribbon stage.
Add a mixture of cocoa powder, flour, and salt to the eggs, and mix gently until incorporated. Pour the chocolate cake batter onto a butter-greased silicone mat or piece of parchment paper. Smooth the batter out with a spatula until you almost reach the edges. Bake the cake for 5–6 minutes in a 425ºF oven, then flip the cake onto a cocoa-powder-dusted piece of parchment paper and peel off the silicone mat.
Roll the cake up in the parchment while it’s still hot. We’re giving the cake some muscle memory here, so it rolls up easier later. While the cake cools, start on the cream filling. Whip heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer until it gets thick and fluffy. Unroll the cake, then spread the cream all over, leaving a 1-inch border all around the edges.
Ingredients;
Cake:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup of water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened baking cocoa
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- Unsweetened baking cocoa and powdered sugar for rolling the cake
Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
- 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip in the tub not can
- 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
Topping:
- Chocolate syrup
- Mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and line pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil spray.
- Beat eggs with electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes until thick and light yellow.
Slowly beat in granulated sugar. - Lower speed to low and add water and vanilla extract.
- Still on low, slowly add flour, ¼ cup cocoa, the baking powder, and salt. Beat just until batter is smooth.
- Pour into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 7-8 minutes and do a toothpick test. Run a spatula around edges of the pan to loosen cake.
- Generously sprinkle a clean kitchen towel with cocoa and powdered sugar. Turn the cake pan upside down onto the towel. Carefully remove parchment paper. Trim off crusty edges if necessary.
- While the cake is still hot, gently roll cake with the towel from narrow end (don’t make it too tight and don’t press.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, make frosting: Beat cream cheese with sugar on medium-high for about 2 minutes, until light and smooth. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and add marshmallow fluff.
- Beat until combined. On low speed, beat in Cool Whip just until combined. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and add marshmallows. Fold them in with a spatula until all incorporated.
- Unroll cake carefully. Carefully, spread frosting all over the cake, leaving about an inch and a half one of the short ends.
- Carefully roll the cake back up (starting with the side that has frosting) and place cake on the serving dish seam down.
- Drizzle with chocolate syrup and top off with some mini marshmallows.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
