Gluten and Dairy Free Triple Chocolate Roll

It's my pleasure to present to you a chocolate inspired recipe from my late Mum, slightly modified to suit the needs of my gluten and dairy intolerant daughter.

Filled with a luscious chestnut cream, I promise you, NOBODY will ever be able to guess that this chocolate treat is gluten and dairy free.

Let's begin...

SPONGE CAKE:

• 40g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or potato starch)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 150g granulated sugar (separated into 125g and 25g)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)
• Icing sugar for dusting

CHESTNUT BUTTER CREAM FILLING

• 75g softened, unsalted margarine (can substitute for butter)
• 25g softened coconut oil (can substitute for more margarine or butter)
• 100g sweetened vanilla chestnut spread (also known as chestnut puree)

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

• 50g unsalted, softened margarine (or butter)
• 50g vanilla chestnut spread
• 75g 60-70% dark chocolate, melted

DECORATION (optional)

• 50g white chocolate, melted
• Fresh fruit, berries (whatever is in season)
• Cocoa powder or icing sugar

TOOLS / UTENSILS

• Measuring spoons
• Spatulas
• Scissors
• Bowls
• Weighing scale
• Swiss roll tray, greased and lined with parchment / greaseproof paper
• Stand mixer with whisk attachment
• Hand whisk
• Tea towel
• Cooling rack

Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F.

Grease and line a Swiss roll tray with parchment / greaseproof paper. This will make it easier to remove and roll the sponge later.

Combine the cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt in a bowl and set aside.

With the separated egg whites, start to whisk until they form soft peaks. Gradually add in the 25g of sugar and beat until they form stiff peaks.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining 125g of sugar until pale and thick.

Add in the vanilla, (optional) rum and cocoa starch mixture.

Now carefully fold the stiff egg whites into the chocolate mixture and gently spread out the batter onto the lined Swiss roll tray.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the cake springs back to a light finger touch and is just starting to shrink a little from the edges of the tray.

BE CAREFUL not to overcook, otherwise the sponge will crack when rolling.

Once the sponge is baked, remove from the oven and immediately dust the top of the sponge liberally with icing sugar.

Run a blade around the edges and cover with a clean kitchen towel, then a wire rack (with feet facing up).

Reverse the tray and rack together and lift off the tray, revealing the underside of the sponge (greaseproof paper up).

Carefully slide the kitchen towel and sponge onto a flat surface and slowly peel off the greaseproof paper.

Trim any crispy edges and quickly gobble them up! If anyone asks, you are taste testing :-)

Starting at one of the short edges, roll the cake up, then leave to cool for 20 minutes.

Whisk together the butter, coconut oil (if using) and chestnut spread until smooth.

NOTE: For those who live in a warm climate or a warm home, you can place the filling in the fridge until the sponge is cool. This will allow the filling to hard a little. Just don't forget to whisk again before using.

Unroll the sponge onto a sheet of greaseproof paper, removing the kitchen towel.

Spread the chestnut filling all over the sponge in an even layer, leaving a 1-2 cm band on one of the short edges.

Using the greaseproof paper and starting at the short edge that is frosted, roll the sponge up again and transfer to a flat surface/ plate and pop it into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This will make it easier to frost later.

Melt the dark chocolate and butter and then beat in the chestnut spread.

Remove the roll from the freezer and spread the frosting all over the top, sides and ends of the roll using a spatula.

Put the roll back into the freezer for 10 minutes to harden.

You can get as creative as you like with decorating the roll.

Here I melted 50g of white chocolate and using a teaspoon spread the chocolate over one edge and then allowed the remaining chocolate to drip in a criss-cross pattern.

You can also add fresh fruit, tinned fruit or simply dust with cocoa powder or icing sugar, anything you like, get creative!