Christmas Recipes: Cakes & Tarts, No.7 of 7 - Christmas Swiss Roll
By Paul Curran

Christmas recipe makes 8 slices
calories per serving: 720 cals
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Not suitable for freezing

Christmas recipe ingredients:

• oil for greasing
  
• caster sugar, 125 g (4 oz)
  
• flour, plain 75 g (3 oz)
  
• eggs, 3
  
• cocoa powder, 30 ml (2 tbsp)
  
• chestnut paste, can of sweetened 440 g (15.5 oz)
  
• icing sugar
  
• decoration, holly sprigs

Christmas recipe instructions:

1. Prepare a Swiss roll cake tin, about 13 x 9 inch, inserting greaseproof paper into the greased tin and then greasing the paper itself. Shake a small amount of caster sugar around the tin, then do the same with some flour, finally shaking out the extra.
   
   
2. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl placed over steam from water at just at boiling point. Be careful not to over heat the mixture. It should be just thick enough to make strands as you lift the whisk out of the ingredients.
   
   
3. Take the mixture away from the heat and continue whisking as it cools, (about 5 minutes). Blend in the cocoa powder and flour followed by hot water (15 ml, 1 tbsp).
   
   
4. Take the tin from step one and pour in the mixture. Bake at gas mark 6 (200 degrees centigrade, 400 F) until the cake has come away from the sides of the tin a bit (about 10 minutes).
   
   
5. Remove the cake from the tin and place on greaseproof paper, previously coated then shaken with caster sugar. Trim the hard edges off the cake, then bake the rolled up cake (with paper inside) for an additional 20 minutes.
   
   
6. Melt the chocolate with water (15 ml, 1 tbsp) in a bowl placed over water just at boiling point. Mix icing sugar into some softened butter and then add the melted chocolate.
   
   
7. Take the cold Swiss roll, unroll it and add the chestnut paste, spreading over the complete surface. Remove the paper, roll up again and put on a plate.
   
   
8. Attach a slice of the roll to the side of the log with butter cream. Preferably a diagonal slice.
   
   
9. Complete the presentation by using a piping bag with star shaped nozzle to run lines of butter cream along the swiss roll log. Finally, sprinkle with icing sugar and decorate with sprigs of holly.