It’s like an enormous Ho-Ho. But it’s gluten free, super chocolatey, and you can totally make it yourself.
Honestly, if you didn’t know the ingredients list, you would have no idea that this cake is gluten-free. It has no strange texture or taste; there’s no flour substitute that gives a hint of lack of gluten. This is the one of the tastiest cakes I’ve ever made. In fact, I may create this recipe again, except as a four-layer cake instead of a cake roll!
Now, I won’t kid you. This isn’t the easiest cake to make. In fact, no matter how delicately I handled it or how intently I reread the directions, I couldn’t prevent my cake from cracking. I even used a timer for each step to follow the recipe’s directions. But this should assure you: unless your cake is super duper cracked when you unroll it, you’ll still have a great cake roll!
See that crack? That was the only major one, aside from the entire first two inches of the cake which broke off completely. (These first two inches were the tightest-rolled parts of the cake within the initial towel roll; I could feel the edge break as I began to roll it all together.) But that edge of cake was the perfect snack for later! And honestly, the cake I made using a 10×15 inch baking pan was so long that it didn’t matter if I lost those first few inches. It still turned out pretty well.
The rolling process is a bit harrowing, but just trust your hands and use the Force. Once I stopped trying to inspect the cake as I was rolling it and just slowly measured progress by smoothing the cake through the towel, it all went pretty well. I knew that it was going to be delicious no matter how it turned out! I kept one hand pulling up the towel to roll the cake onto itself, and the other hand bracing the underside of the towel/back of the cake to encourage it forward and feel for any cracks forming. I also used a cake lifter to move the cake and make sure that the seam ended up on the bottom of my tray.
For the filling, I used whipping cream and it came together in about six minutes. For the whipped eggs in the cake batter, I used an immersion blender with a whisk attachment, and it took only about three minutes to get stiff peaks. Also, I used some Ghiradelli 60% dark chocolate chips for the chocolate melting stage – these gave the batter a perfectly bittersweet chocolate taste. I also think that the dusting of cocoa powder helped keep it not-too-sweet.
I have just recently started to explore the world of gluten-free baking. This cake looks fabulous! So glad to have found this through Tastespotting!
beautiful :)
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Gorgeous! Sponge rolls can be the most wonderfully easy things some days, but a royal pain in the arse to make on others. Yours has really turned out beautifully, and looks so..so…yummy. Definitely going to check out the recipe :)
I think I would dip it in chocolate for the complete Ho Hos experience. Also, if you want to avoid cracking, I suggest that you immediately roll it in the towel after baking. Don’t let it cool for 10 minutes like the recipe says. This is what I do for pumpkin roll and I never have problems.
That’s a really good idea. It definitely felt too cool after I removed the wet towel 10 min after taking it out of the oven.
Yum! My grandmother used to make chocolate cake rolls when I was little– love that you’ve made this one gluten free!
Um, yes please.
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