Barb Hodgens
Barb Hodgens

Barb Hodgens loves to cook with alternative, healthy whole food ingredients, with a focus on gut health. Barb has overcome her own gut health issues through healthy eating. Share your ideas, comments and photos at the end of this post :)

chocolate roulade

Crowd-pleasing and indulgent!

Impress your family and friends with this sumptuous dessert. It’s flour free, delicious, festive and made completely from scratch!

The version we’re sharing with you today is made in the Vibe blender! Yes, that’s right – we actually beat egg whites to light and fluffy peaks and whipped cream in the blender jug. There really is little reason to own a kitchen full of appliances when this machine does so much, and in half the time!

chocolate roulade with hazelnut mousse

This chocolate and hazelnut roulade is made up of a decadent, chocolatey sponge cake, filled with a rich hazelnut mousse that’s made from whipped cream and our famous healthy homemade Nutella. A must try blender treat.

Making a roulade (or Swiss roll) is a lot less complicated than you’d think but you do need to be gentle. Gentle with the mixing, gentle with the baking, and most importantly, gentle with the rolling. It will feel odd to roll a warm cake up in a towel, but it is easier than you'd imagine.

chocolate roulade

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate cake
1 cup / 175g good-quality dark chocolate, melted

6 eggs, yolk and white separated
1 cup / 175g coconut sugar

Hazelnut mousse filling
300g pure cream (or cultured cream)

½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread (such as our homemade Nutella)
1 tablespoon of coconut sugar

Chocolate drizzle
Melted chocolate to drizzle (approx. ¼ cup of chocolate)

1 heaped teaspoon of chocolate hazelnut spread/Nutella
Chopped roasted hazelnuts, for decorating

METHOD 

1.   Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F
2.   Line the base and sides of a Swiss roll tin with a sheet of baking paper.

3.   Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
4.   Separate the eggs.
5.   Make sure the Vibe blender jug is thoroughly clean and dry.
6.   Place the egg whites into the blender jug. Secure the lid on. Choose ‘smoothie’ mode, select the lowest speed setting and blend for 90 seconds or until the whites are stiff enough not to fall out if you turned the jug upside down.
7.   Scoop the whites out into a large mixing bowl.

chocolate roulade steps

8.
   No need to wash the jug. Move quickly to the next step because you don’t want the whites to deflate.

9.   Tip the yolks and coconut sugar into the jug. Blend on ‘smoothie’ mode on medium speed for 30 seconds.
10.  Stop, open the lid and pour in the cooled melted chocolate. Blend for a further 10-20 seconds to combine.
11.  Pour the chocolate mixture to the side of the egg whites, in the same bowl but making sure not to pour onto the whites.

Chocolate Roulade steps

12.
  Use a spatula to gently fold the chocolate into the egg whites. Do not over mix - you don’t want to push the air out f the whites).
13.  Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and gently spread to the edges.

14.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until risen and the top feels firm. An over baked cake is more likely to crack as it rolls.
15.  Remove from the oven. The cake will deflate as it cools. 

chocolate Roulade steps

16.
  Lay a clean thin tea-towel over the cake

17.  Place a cake cooling rack (or chopping board) upside-down on-top of the tea-towel.
18.  Flip the tray and rack over so the cake tin is up-side down. Lift the tray off. The cake should be sitting in the middle of the tea-towel.
19.  Peel the baking paper off the cake.
20.  While the cake is still warm, use both hands to tightly roll the cake up in the tea-towel. Choose to roll from the long edge for a small spiral or the shorter edge for a more exaggerated spiral.
21.  Leave to cool for 15 minutes to cool, then gently unravel and left cool completely. The cake will have a memory when you re-roll it with the filling.
22.  While the cake is cooling, you can make the hazelnut mousse.

Hazelnut Mousse Filling
23.  Wash and dry the blender jug.

24.  Pour in the cream and sugar. Place the lid on the jug and blend on ‘smoothie mode, choosing the lowest setting. Depending on the fat content in your cream, it may only take seconds to thickens. We found that 30 – 60 seconds is usual. Do not whip the cream until it is too thick, or over blend and make butter.

chocolate roulade

25.
  Scoop the cream out of the jug and into a large bowl.

26.  Stir in the homemade Nutella.
27.  Gently spread the mousse filling onto the cake.
28.  Don’t worry if the roulade cracks (or even splits) - that is quite normal and all part of its charm.
29.  Lift the roulade onto a serving plate, with the join underneath.
30.  Finish with a drizzle of melted chocolate mixed with homemade Nutella and toasted hazelnuts.
31.  The roulade is best cut on the day it is made but will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.

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Chocolate roulade recipe