This is a lovely, light and delicate sponge with a tasty combination of flavours and a sumptuous creamy filling.
Serves: 8 – 10
Time: 80 minutes + cooling
Level: A bit more challenging
Tins: 1 x 23x33cm (9”x13”) Swiss roll tin
Credit: Adapted from a “Baking Mad” recipe
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 3 medium eggs
- 85g golden caster sugar + 1 tbsp for sprinkling
- 90g plain white flour
- 15g ground almonds
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 15g cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp milk
For the filling
- 50g – 70g unsalted butter, softened
- 50g – 70g Mascarpone cheese at room temp.
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g – 120g icing sugar
Optional extra or alternative fillings include: jams, curds, traditional buttercream, chocolate spread etcetera.
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/400°F/Gas 6. Brush melted butter inside the tin and line with baking parchment.
2. If you make the cream filling before baking the sponge, it will be less frenetic later. First, beat the butter until it’s smooth. Add in the Mascarpone cheese and vanilla extract. Continue beating for a few minutes. Sift in the icing sugar and mix gently at first then beat more vigorously. Set aside to use shortly.
3. Use an electric mixer to whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale and thick. (About 5 minutes on high speed.)
4. Spoon half the mixture into another bowl and sift in 45g flour. Add the ground almonds and ½ tsp almond extract and gently fold it all together with ½ tbsp hot water.
5. Sift 15g cocoa powder into the remaining 45g flour and mix well. Gently fold this into the other half of the wet mixture and add in ½ tbsp. hot water and 1 tbsp. milk.
6. Spoon the two mixtures into separate disposable piping bags.
7. Snip the end off one piping bag so it will pipe a 1cm (½”) line. With the short side of the tin facing you, pipe a series of diagonal stripes, leaving the same width of space between them. Repeat with the other piping bag and contents. Make sure the whole tin has been covered with alternate stripes.
8. Bake for 7 – 8 minutes – until springy to the touch. Take care not to overbake.
9. While it’s baking, dust a large sheet of baking parchment with caster sugar and put a small weight on each corner to keep it stable. When the sponge has baked, immediately invert it onto the sugared parchment. Carefully remove the baking parchment that was used while cooking. (If you need to make the cream filling now, cover the sponge with a damp tea towel. You may choose to do this anyway while the sponge cools.)
10. When the sponge is sufficiently cool, cut a line across one short end about 1cm (½”) in. Take care not to cut the whole way through the sponge. Working from the cut, spread the cream filling over the rest of the sponge.
11. Use the baking parchment to help you to tightly roll the sponge, beginning from the cut end. Finish with the seal underneath.
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