Chocolate Chestnut Roulade

I always make this for my birthday – I love it that much.  The very chocolately sponge is filled with softly whipped cream,  luscious chestnut spread and studded with crumbled Maron glacé is a real indulgence.  It freezes so, if you don’t have a Birthday so close to Christmas as I do, you can make it in advance and whip it out on Christmas Eve as a Buche de Noel – perhaps covering it in yet more cream and chocolate to make it more log like like the French do.

The sponge itself is fatless so this isn’t a heavy pudding, unlike other seasonal sweet offerings yet there is something so wonderfully decadent and luxurious about it you can’t help but feel very spoilt when you eat it.  You don’t need to buy whole Maron glacé to make it as you are going to crumble them anyway so go for the cheaper pieces instead!   I do admit to serving whole ones alongside purely because I love them so much but this is because I am extra greedy and I do make it as my birthday cake.  Remember when you roll the roulade the sponge is going to crack  – it is supposed to so don’t panic.

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

For the sponge

• 6 eggs, separated
• 150g caster sugar
• 50g cocoa (I use Green and Blacks)

For the filling

• 1/2 pt double cream
• 250g tin Fourier chestnut spread
• 100g maron glace pieces
• icing sugar

Method

To make sponge

1. Set oven to 175c fan
2. Use baking parchment to line a Swiss roll/baking sheet
3. Whisk egg yolks until pale and mousse like
4. Add sugar and whisk for further 15 seconds
5. Add cocoa and quickly whisk until incorporated
6. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks.  Roughly stir in one third to slacken the chocolate mixture before gently folding in the remainder
7. Pour mix onto baking sheet, lightly spreading so it reaches corners.
8. Sharply bang sheet down on work surface to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 20 mins in the oven until it’s springy in middle
9. Put cooked roulade in the tin on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.  Do not be alarmed when mixture sinks

To assemble

1. Lay out a large sheet of fresh baking parchment and sprinkle liberally with icing sugar
2. Take completely cold roulade and tip upside down on icing sugar.
3. Carefully peel back baking paper and remove
4. Softly whip the cream and spread to corners
5. Put over the chestnut spread and sprinkle over the Maron glace
6. Taking hold of the baking parchment underneath on the short edge firmly start to roll the roulade.  If you find it difficult to start the roll, almost cut through the sponge mix about 2cm from short edge and start to roll as before.  This will ensure a tight swirl to the finished roulade
7. Transfer the completed roulade to a serving platter.  Trim each end for a neater effect if desired.
8. Eat and enjoy!