I love the fact that this gluten free chocolate roll cake bakes so quickly compared to regular cakes. This recipe especially bakes fast because it does not contain flour. Instead, it contains mostly eggs and chocolate. I was so excited to give this a try I even purchased a jelly roll pan just to make this cake. The pan turned out to be perfect size for so many other things (small batch cookies, cinnamon rolls, sheet cakes, and baking rolls, to name a few.) Meanwhile, the cake turns out light, yet has a rich chocolate flavor. You have a choice of fillings and toppings, one of each may be made dairy-free. I hope you enjoy this recipe. It looks like a huge Hostess Ding Dong. Doesn’t it? You can make it taste it like one, too, if you use the fluffy white frosting as a filling. I prefer cream cheese frosting or whipped cream, though.
A moist, easy to roll, gluten free chocolate roll cake (roulade) filled with sweetened whipped cream, cream cheese, fluffy white, or chocolate frosting.
Ingredients:
- 10 oz. (1 bag) gluten free dark chocolate morsels (Hershey's) (or Enjoy Life Mini Chips for dairy-free) (better yet, high-quality chocolate, chopped)
- 1 cup granulated sugar*
- 2 Tablespoons gluten free Dutch processed cocoa (Rodelle brand) (or unsweeted GF cocoa)
- 8 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 1/2 Tablespoons confectioners' sugar**, plus more for dusting (or)
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Dairy-Free Fluffy White Frosting
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz. Chocolate or German chocolate baking squares, shaved or grated (Baker's)
- 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate baking squares, shaved or grated (Baker's brand) (or)
- Chocolate Ganache (or)
- Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Oil the entire inside of a jelly roll pan. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, snipping the corners to lie flat. Leave paper hanging over the longer sides for easy removal and transferring. Oil the parchment paper that is inside the pan.
- Boil a small pan of water and add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl of chocolate over the pan and lower the heat to a simmer. Stir the chocolate as it begins to melt. Once you see only two or three morsels of chocolate, remove the pan from the burner and allow the chocolate to cool a bit, just long enough so that it no longer burns your finger. (You want them as close to room temperature as possible without becoming stiff again.)
- To the bowl of your mixer, add the sugar and egg yolks and cream until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the melted chocolate to the egg yolk mixture and stir until well blended.
- In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites, beginning from the center and coming up the sides.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and using a rubber spatula smooth out the top.
- Bake the cake for 25 minutes and until it springs back when touched.
- Transfer the pan, along with the cake, to cool on a heatproof surface.
- Place a cooling rack other vented screen on top, then a damp tea towel, and then cover it with foil. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes. Then, dust a tea towel with cocoa powder and transfer the cake to the towel. Roll the cake and set aside for 4 hours.
- In the bowl of your mixer, whip the cream and confectioners' sugar until it is stiff. Refrigerate until you are ready to fill the cake.
- Unroll the cake and spread the whipped cream evenly to thoroughly cover. Errol and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- In a cold saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cream. Cook over low heat until it comes to a boil. Add both chocolates and whisk until the chocolate melts.
- Remove the bowl and set it aside to cool long enough so that it doesn't burn your finger.
- Place the roulade over a large sheets of parchment paper, and pour the chocolate over the top. Allow the chocolate to set thoroughly before moving. Using a pairing knife, remove any chocolate legs left behind. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar, slice, and serve. (Alternatively, you may use ganache, whipped cream, or melted chocolate.)
Tips
You can use a European size roulade pan for this recipe, however, the cake will be thicker. I prefer this size pan as you get more cake per slice. For those who have never made a roll cake before you may wish to begin with a thinner cake at first. Usually, roll cakes are immediately trimmed of dry cake, rolled while still hot in a towel (towel inside the cake). Then it is unrolled, filled, and rolled again. However, the steaming method avoids over-handling the cake, preventing breakage and cracking. Use either method. You can skip the steaming or first roll if you are using a filling the cake with a jelly or jam. Just be sure to roll the cake while it is still hot/warm.
*If you have a food processor, process the sugar to make it fine as in castor sugar. Because this cake does not bake for a long period, fine sugar will dissolve faster.
**Trader Joe's Organic Powdered Sugar is corn-free. It contains tapioca starch instead of cornstarch.
This looks wonderful. Can it be made ahead and frozen? I was thinking of filling it with a mock whipped cream frosting.
Cindy,
Any gluten free cake may be frozen. However, many cream fillings do not do well in the freezer. I haven’t tried this one myself. If you do, let us know what filling you used and how it turned out.
Thanks,
Carla
Nestlé has Dark Chocolate Morsels they are also Soy Free. Most chocolate has soy included. I know because my daughter has Soy allergy. Thought I would share since most people with issues also have other issues like Soy. Thought this might help someone whom has the same problem. Thanks for the recipe I will try this using the Nestle brand since that is the only Dark Chips that we are able to obtain locally that is Soy Free.
Beautifully presented, delicious looking roulade, Carla. I’ve printed the recipe to make as a GF offering for Thanksgiving. Thank you!