Festive Favourites (Part One)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 

Christmas is 4 DAYS away, and I've still got presents to wrap, cards to write and baking to do. It's a crazy time of year. I thought I'd share with you guys some of my festive favourites over the next couple of days, starting with a good old roulade. 

There are hundreds of variations of a roulade, both sweet and savoury. This version is a chocolate roulade with a layer  of whipped cream in the centre. Yum right? So as always, here's the recipe and a step by step guide to festive fun this year. 

Ingredients:
6oz sugar
6 eggs
5oz plain flour 
1oz Cocoa powder 

300ml double cream, whipped until stiff
Icing sugar, to dust

Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a swiss roll tin (ideally 23x33cm) with baking parchment.

Place the eggs and sugar into a large mixing bowl and whisk until light, fluffy and thickened. The mix should reach ribbon stage, (when you can draw the number 8 with the mix and it does not sink). 
Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and gently fold in until fully combined. The flour often hides at the bottom, so make sure you take your spoon right the way down to ensure all your ingredients are combined.
Pour the mixture into your tin and smooth the surface. 
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just firm to the touch.
Place a piece of baking parchment that is slightly bigger than the Swiss roll tin on your work surface and dust with caster sugar. 
Carefully flip the hot sponge onto the baking parchment and peel off the parchment from the bottom of the sponge. Then roll up your sponge using the shorter side. Set aside to cool.

When cool, unroll the sponge and spread your whipped cream in the centre, it doesn't matter too much with neatness here, just make sure you have an even layer, reaching right to the edge of the sponge. 
Roll up like a Swiss roll (starting with one of the short edges), roll tightly to start with and use the paper to help, it will make your life a lot easier; and don't panic if it cracks - it's totally normal and part of its charm!

Dust with sieved icing sugar and then simply slice up! It'll keep your guests happy in a chocolate haze. Bobs your uncle, you have a festive favourite that won't touch the sides. 



Check back tomorrow for my next festive favourite! 

Happy baking!
Charley X

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