Chocolate Brownie Tart

Every so often I come across recipes that make me feel ‘I have to bake this now!’ This is instantly what I felt when I saw this Chocolate Brownie Pie on Peabody’s Culinary Concoctions blog.

I was actually in need of a chocolate dessert, as at the time, my brother was still home from Uni for the holidays and wanted a nice dessert. He is quite possibly the biggest chocoholic I know. If it doesn’t involve copious amounts of chocolate he doesn’t consider eating it. I can’t actually think of a non chocolate dessert he will eat! So when I spied this dessert I knew it would be a winner.

I wanted to be able to eat the dessert too but didn’t have the time to make some gluten free pastry. The actual brownie filling contains very little flour, so I simply switched the plain flour for some gluten free flour and then made a slightly smaller standard pastry case than the recipe called for, but the full quantity of chocolate filling. I then poured the extra chocolate filling into ramekins and baked them for less time. The result were little gluten free chewy chocolaty brownie pots – yum!

The brownie part was dense, very fudgy and extremely chocolaty. It had the characteristic wafer thin sugary crust and chewy chocolaty centre. The chocolate chips stayed soft and creamy adding a nice contrast and extra chocolate hit when you bit into one. It’s very rich so small slices are more than enough but it certainly pleased the chocoholic!

Chocolate Brownie Tart
(Recipe adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody blog)

Ingredients
350g sweet shortcrust pastry
1 x 400g tin sweetened condensed milk
60g butter
50g cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp gluten free teff flour (or use plain flour)
75g chocolate chips – any kind

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Roll out the pastry and use it to line an 8-9inch/20-23cm tart tin.
Fill the lined tart with a sheet of greaseproof paper and some baking beans or rice. Blind bake the tart for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.
Then remove from the oven, take out the baking beans and leave to one side. Reduce the oven to 180C.
Pour the condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder into a pan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and all the ingredients are combined.
Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
Scatter over the flour and fold in gently. Add the chocolate chips and stir briefly to incorporate. Do not stir too much as they will start to melt if the chocolate mix is still warm.
Pour the chocolate mix into the tart tin and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. The tart will puff up in the oven but will settle down into a flat smooth finish on cooling.
Allow to cool in the tart for at least an hour before releasing from the tin.
Serve warm or at room temperature with cream or ice cream.
Makes one 8-9inch tart

Alternatively, you can pour the mix into 10 ramekins and bake crustless brownie pots. They will only need 18 minutes in the oven at 180C. If you use the gluten free flour in the chocolate mix, the resulting brownie pots will be gluten free!

Roule au Chocolat avec Crème de Cassis (GF)

This divine, light as air chocolate roulade was the alternative choice to Christmas pudding that my family served after Christmas lunch. It’s an almost flourless, fatless chocolate sponge that is so light it’s almost mousse like. To enhance its deep rich chocolate flavour the sponge is drizzled in a fruity blackcurrant liqueur before being filled with lightly whipped cream and rolled into a roulade. Yum!

Have you ever noticed how saying things in French makes them sound so sophisticated and exciting? The above named Roule au Chocolat avec Crème de Cassis literally means Chocolate Roulade with Crème de Cassis (Blackcurrant Liqueur). Saying it in English still makes it sound delicious but it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. As the recipe was taken from The Roux Brothers Patisserie book (the father and uncle of the well known French restaurateur and Master Chef judge Michel Roux) I thought it deserved a French title.

We normally serve the roulade with berries and a fruity coulis but as it was Christmas, after rolling into a log, we used one of the end off cuts on top of the roulade to make it into more of a Yule Log and decorated it with holly and other assorted Christmassy things. This roulade is one of my mums signature desserts and one that my sister declares a ‘must have’ on Christmas day. It’s also completely flourless apart from two tiny teaspoons of cornflour, which is gluten free, meaning I could happily indulge with the rest of the family. If you are having a special occasion and in need of a show stopping dessert then look no further. It’s simple to make, yet people will think you have been slaving in the kitchen for hours!

Roule au Chocolat avec Crème de Cassis (GF)
(Recipe based on The Roux Brothers Patisserie)

Roulade
3 egg yolks
4 egg whites
50g cocoa powder
2 tsp cornflour
80g icing sugar
40g icing sugar (separate)

Cream Filling
30g icing sugar
250ml double cream
2 tbsp Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)

Berries or coulis to serve (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a 10x12 inch/26/30cm tin with greaseproof paper.
Beat together the egg yolks and 80g icing sugar for 3-5 minutes until the mixture becomes thick and moussy enough to form ‘ribbons’ when the beaters are lifted out of the mixture.
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until beginning to form soft peaks. Add the 40g icing sugar and beat for a further minute until the egg whites become stiff.
Use a large metal spoon to fold one-third of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, folding it in gently while turning the bowl.
Sift over the cocoa powder and cornflour and fold until well incorporated and no streaks remain.
Gently fold in the remaining two-thirds of the egg whites. Do not over mix as you want as much air left trapped inside as possible.
Pour the chocolate mix into the prepared pan and smooth to the edges.
Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. When done it should feel springy when pressed gently in the centre.
Immediately place a layer of greaseproof paper over the top of the roulade and cover this with a damp – not wet – tea towel and leave to cool. (This keeps the sponge moist)

To Assemble
When the sponge is cool, remove the tea towel and greaseproof. Get a new sheet of greaseproof paper and dust with icing sugar. Invert the roulade out onto the paper and carefully peel off the base greaseproof layer.
Lightly whip the cream with the 30g icing sugar until just stiff enough to form peaks.
Brush the roulade with the Crème de Cassis and spread over the whipped cream, smoothing until nearly to the edges. Leave a small edge to allow for spreading when rolling.
Starting at the narrow edge, roll a 2cm strip into the sponge. Use the greaseproof paper base to help you roll up the remaining sponge into a roll, as tightly as you can. Don’t worry too much about any cracks – these add character.
When completed, use a large fish slice to transfer the roll onto a serving dish. Cut off the two ends, at a diagonal, so you can a clean finish.
If desired, use one of the cut off ends to place on top of the roll to form the knot of the log, if making a Yule Log.
Dust lightly with extra icing sugar and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Serve with berries and a fruit coulis if desired – but it’s so moist it really doesn’t need it!
Can be made 24hours in advance.

Spicy Mole 3 Bean Chilli

On Saturday it was my turn to host the friend’s dinner evening get together that my friends and I take it in turns to host every month. One of my friends informed me that at the moment she is avoiding eating potatoes, rice, raw dairy and anything citrus, this along with the meal having to be vegetarian and gluten free meant it was rather a challenge trying to figure out a meal we could all eat. There were only going to be three of us at the dinner, so I didn’t really want to start making multiple dishes.

After running through a few ideas I suddenly remembered a bean chilli I had made a few months back and amazingly it suited all our dietary requirements – hurrah! I decided to serve it corn tortilla chips which we used to scoop up and eat the chilli. This did away with the need for cutlery which made for a fun and informal dinner. The chilli also tastes good topped with a little sour cream, avocado and coriander, but I find it’s best to serve these separately and let the guests help themselves as not everyone likes these.

The chilli contained lots of veggies and three different varieties of beans simmered together in a spicy smoky chili and tomato sauce. It also contained a secret ingredient – a little cocoa powder! This may sound odd at first but the cocoa powder adds a wonderful depth and richness to the dish as well as a deep earthy brown colour, without adding any chocolate flavour. This is actually quite traditional in Spanish and Mexican cuisine and these types of dishes can often be referred to as Moles.

Moles (pronounced Mo-Lay) come in a variety of flavours depending on the ingredients used. It is rumoured that they were originally created by nuns as a way of using up leftovers and often consisted of chili’s, spices, stale bread, nuts and chocolate. Mole poblano is one of the most famous and is a dark red brown sauce containing chilis and chocolate which is often served over meat – although in my case lots of beans!

I’ve never had an authentic Mole, but my concoction was delicious and just what was called for on a dark cold winter evening. Rich, thick and spicy with the salty crunch for the corn tortilla chips it was very hearty and comforting. The chili and spices warming us up from the inside out. You can make it as spicy as you like but personally I enjoy it with a bit of a kick. As an added bonus the dish actually tastes better if allowed to sit for a few hours or even overnight to allow all the spices and flavours to mingle and develop. This means you can prepare it in advance and are free to enjoy the time with your guests without any manic last minute cooking required, which is always a bonus.

Spicy Mole 3 Bean Chilli

Ingredients
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
400g can kidney beans
400g can black eyed beans
400g can Auzaki beans
1 red chili
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
1 large carrot
2 large mushrooms
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 red pepper
½ small can (100g) sweetcorn
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground chillies
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp olive oil
Ground pepper

To serve
Dollop of sour cream
Avocado, diced
Corn tortilla chips (check your brand as some also contain wheat flour)
Fresh coriander

Method
Slice the onion, carrot, mushrooms and red pepper into a small dice. Finely chop the garlic and red chili (seeds and all if you like it hot).
In a large saucepan heat the oil and sweat the onion, garlic and carrot until beginning to soften but it still with some bite.
Add the red pepper, chilli, cumin, paprika, ground chilli and cayenne.
Drain the tins of beans and add to pan along with the sweetcorn. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato puree. Season a little pepper.
Bring the mix to a boil then reduce to a simmer and allow to bubble and reduce for 20-30 minutes.
Mix the cocoa powder with a little hot water to form a thin paste. Stir into the chilli.
Cook for 5 minutes more before serving.
To Serve
Top with the sour cream, avocado and coriander if desired. Serve with corn tortilla chips and use them to scoop up and eat the chilli.
Serves 6

The Cake Slice October 2010: Pumpkin (Sweet Potato) Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (GF)

I’m so excited to be able to reveal that the new cake book that The Cake Slice bakers will be baking from for the next year is…. Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman! It’s a fantastic looking book and absolutely full of all sorts of different types and styles of cakes – not just layer cakes, but loaf cakes, bundt cakes and snacking cakes to name but a few. If they are half as good as this months debut cake then we are going to be in for a treat!

The winning cake from our new cake book was a pumpkin chocolate chip loaf cake, which I was delighted about considering how seasonal it is. The recipe calls for canned pumpkin puree, but it is near impossible to find pumpkin puree in this country and so I substituted this with some pureed sweet potato. This worked really well and resulted in a deliciously moist and tender cake that had a faint pleasing orange colour.

I actually made this cake just a few days after discovering I had to go gluten free and so it was my very first attempt at baking. I decided to substitute the flour for Buckwheat flour, which despite its name is gluten free. This has a subtle nutty grassy flavour to it, similar to rye flour, and a natural sweetness that I thought would go well with the chocolate chips and sweet potato elements of the cake.

The recipe made a lot of cake mix and I was worried there would be too much for the tin but it baked up fine, tall and puffy with a long crack down one side which I actually think improved the appearance as it gave a tempting insight into the melty chocolate chips hidden within.

I absolutely loved the results and would never have guessed it was gluten free. It was light, soft and springy and wonderfully moist. I loved the dark chocolate chips studded throughout the cake which seemed to stay permanently soft and slightly gooey after baking. I couldn’t stop eating it and bizarrely it tasted really good when dipped into hot strong coffee.

Unfortunately the rest of my family had mixed results to this cake. My mum ate it and said it was ok, but she didn’t like the grassy note from the buckwheat. My dad was not a fan but he likes more traditional flavours and was highly confused by the combination of spices, sweet potato and chocolate chips in a cake. However, my lovely grandmother (who shares/shared my tastes for rye breads and other assorted grains) adored the cake as much as I did. She even said that if that’s what gluten free cake tasted like then she wouldn’t mind binning wheat altogether – I love you grandma!

I know that other members of the group loved this cake too, so gluten free or not, this autumnal cake is perfect for this time of year and definitely worth making. Click to see the Cake Slice blogroll.

Pumpkin (Sweet Potato) Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (GF)(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Ingredients

210g plain flour (I used Doves buckwheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground cloves

Pinch nutmeg

100g unsalted butter, softened

280g caster sugar

3 eggs

200g pumpkin puree (I used pureed sweet potato*)

1 tsp vanilla extract

75ml milk

75g dark chocolate chips

75g chopped walnuts (I’d run out of these)

MethodHeat the oven to 180C. Coat the inside of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.

With the mixer on medium low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the pumpkin puree (see note below) and vanilla. Stir in the milk.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, a third at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack and then turn it right side up on a rack to cool completely.

Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic for up to 1 week.

Makes one 9 by 5 inch loaf cake

Note* It’s very hard to find pumpkin puree in the UK, so I substituted this with homemade sweet potato puree. Simply cut a large sweet potato in half, place in a bowl and add 2tbsp water. Cover the top with clingfilm and microwave on high for 7 minutes until the flesh is soft. Scoop out the flesh and mash with a potato masher (you won’t need to add any liquid or butter) and use as above.

Chocolate & Cherry Mud Fudge Brownies (GF)

It is the last day of National Chocolate Week today and I was determined to bake a chocolate recipe to celebrate. These chocolate brownies are incredibly chocolaty – just the thing! I found the recipe online and believe it originally came from Gourmet magazine, however, I have put my own stamp on it by adapting it to be gluten free and to include some cherry brandy soaked dried cherries for extra indulgence.

It was the photo of the brownies that drew me to the recipe, they looked so moist and squishy that I couldn’t resist trying them out. The brownies were called Chocolate Crack Brownies, which I assume means they are so addictive they are like drugs! I admit that the resulting brownies were insanely good but I have renamed them Mud Fudge Brownies which I think sounds much more inviting. They are soft, squishy, fudgy and intensely chocolaty with that just-cooked tenderness of a chocolate mud cake all encased under a delicate crisp sugar topping.

I was a little worried that making them gluten free would result in a drier brownie as gluten free flours have a tendency to absorb the excess moisture out of foods but brownies are actually one of the best baked goods to make gluten free as the proportion of flour called for is usually very low compared to the vast amounts of butter and chocolate, meaning soft and tender brownies are almost guaranteed. Just look at the slice – so good!

I decided to add some dried Morello cherries to the batter as I love the combination of cherries and chocolate together and I found a small snack pack of them lurking near the back of the cupboard. They were a little too dried to add straight in, but a short soak in some cherry brandy plumped them back up and added a fantastic fruit boozy hit every time you unexpectedly bit into one.

Using a good quality, high cocoa content dark chocolate is what makes these brownies so satisfyingly chocolaty. I used a 70% Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference dark chocolate which was described as having ‘fruity red berry notes.’ I was generously sent a free sample to try after the re-launch of the Taste the Difference range (along with a hazelnut Swiss milk chocolate, also delicious) and was pleasantly surprised at how well it seemed to enhance the flavour of the brownies.

So whether you are making the brownies gluten free or not, I urge you to give them a go and bet you won’t be able to stop at just one!

Chocolate & Cherry Mud Fudge Brownies (GF)

Ingredients
135g butter
135g 70% dark chocolate
240g caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs
50g gluten free flour (mix of rice, potato & tapioca flours)
OR 50g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
30g dried Morello cherries
1 tbsp cherry brandy

Method
Pour the cherry brandy over the dried cherries, cover with clingfilm and leave for 3-4 hours to plump up.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 7-8inch square baking tin and line the base with baking paper.
Gently melt the butter and chocolate together in a pan set over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from the heat and beat in the vanilla, salt and sugar (it will go grainy – but this is normal)
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. The mix should go thick, glossy and smooth.
Scatter over the flour and cocoa powder and mix until combined. Finally, beat in the soaked cherries and any remaining liquid.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. They will look slightly puffed with a dry sugary topping and be soft and moist underneath (not raw or molten though!)
Allow to cool in the tin for at least an hour before turning out and slicing. Delicious eaten at any temperature and with anything!

Cinnamon Choc Chip Yoghurt Scones

These are delicious scones and so easy to make. They make use of Greek yoghurt in place of buttermilk and eggs and result in a lovely soft and tender scones. I decided to flavour them with some dark chocolate chips and cinnamon which is a combination I love – well I love anything with cinnamon as I’m sure you know but dark chocolate works particularly well with cinnamon.

I often cut my scones into rounds, probably because this is the most traditional way and recognised shape for a scone, but as I was jazzing up the scones I chose to jazz up the shape too and cut them into triangles.

As I was glazing them with a little milk I hit upon the idea of sprinkling the tops with cinnamon sugar, which gave them a wonderful thin cinnamon sugar crust, which added a slight crunch and a good burst of sweet cinnamon flavour to the finished scones.

The scones are baked in a very hot oven, hotter than I would normally consider but I’m sure this helped the scones be extra light and tender as they puffed up and browned quickly, without being in long enough to dry out the middles – and nobody likes dried out scones. Look at all the fluffy layers and little air bubbles.

These were delicious when eaten warm from the oven, I ate my first one plain, enjoying the taste of the still molten chocolate chips, and then had another one later on with Nutella. If you are not going to eat them all within 12 hours, I would suggest freezing them and then perking them up again in the oven as scones are best eaten fresh. They make a tasty and relatively healthy breakfast too!

Cinnamon Choc Chip Yoghurt Scones
(An Apple & Spice recipe creation)

Ingredients
450g plain flour
25g caster sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
50g cold butter
150g 2% fat Greek yoghurt (I used Total)
125-150ml milk
50g dark chocolate chips
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Topping
20g caster sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Milk to glaze

Method
Preheat the oven to 250C (yes it sounds hot!) and have a baking tray to hand.
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon into a large bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour mixture using the tips of your fingers. Lift your fingers up above the bowl as you rub in the butter, letting the crumbs fall back into the bowl. Continue until all the butter has been evenly distributed and some small crumbly clumps have formed.
Add the chocolate chips, yoghurt and half the milk. Use a round bladed knife to mix everything together until it stars to form a dough. Add a little more milk as necessary, then bring the mixture together using your hands. You want a soft but not too sticky dough. Don’t knead it like dough though as this makes it tough.
Turn the scone mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat or gently roll it out into a large circle, about 1inch/2.5cm thick.
Cut the dough into 8-12 triangles – depending on how big you want your scones.
Brush the tops with a little milk to glaze and help the cinnamon sugar stick to them.
Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the topping together and then scatter it over the top of the milk brushed scones.
Transfer the scones to a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. (8 for smaller scones, 10 for larger ones)
Once baked, transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly and eat while still warm.
Delicious served with honey or Nutella or just some good butter.
Makes 8-12 scones

Daring Bakers July 2010: Chocolate, Raspberry & Hazelnut Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

Just reading about this challenge bought a smile to my face. Here was a dessert that I had been meaning to attempt for ages but had been putting off in favour of some easier desserts. As it was this month’s challenge, I knew it was time to take the whisk by the handle and get baking.

When reading the recipe I felt a little uneasy as it consisted of so many components. We had to make a Swiss roll filled with cream and frozen, two different flavours of ice cream, layered inside the Swiss roll slices and around a hidden fudge centre – yikes!

I was most nervous about the ice cream components as I don’t have an ice cream maker and have tried making ice cream by the home freezing, stirring, freezing process before with limited success. However, I soon discovered that this recipe didn’t require the egg based ice cream variety, but relied on freezing flavoured cream to produce the ice cream which is much better behaved for home freezers.

We were provided with recipes for chocolate Swiss roll, chocolate and vanilla ice creams and a chocolate fudge centre, all of which had to be made from scratch. However, we were allowed to choose our own flavour combinations which was great as I love coming up with different flavour combinations.

I decided to stick with the chocolate Swiss roll as the outside layer, as I loved the colour contrast between the chocolate sponge and the white cream filling. My first ice cream flavour choice was raspberry as I have recently found a bottle of pure raspberry syrup which is so intensely raspberry that I knew it would go wonderfully with the chocolate.

To complement both the chocolate and raspberry flavours I decided to make my second ice cream hazelnut. I achieved this by added chopped roasted hazelnuts to a vanilla ice cream base. I also stirred in some Frangelico (an amazing hazelnut liqueur). The resulting ice cream was divine! Silky smooth and creamy, unsurprisingly due to the cream but with the slight crunch from the nibs of toasted hazelnut and the liqueur flooded your senses with hazelnut flavour – just gorgeous. The main thing to take note of is that by adding the alcohol, the ice cream will not set completely solid, which is great for eating but rather tricky when trying to layer it into a dessert!

Finally I stuck with the chocolate fudge centre as both my ice creams where quite pale in colour and I wanted the hidden centre to really stand out and add a wow factor when the finished cake was cut into. The fudgy sauce itself was delicious, so thick and glossy, I bet it would be great drizzled warm over profiteroles.

Making all the components and assembling the cake took time, especially the hourly mixings of the ice creams while they were freezing, but none of it was too tricky and I was able to complete the dish from start to finish in one day. I had plenty of time to get on with my other jobs in-between and the results were definitely worth the effort.

The dessert looked yummy when I unmolded it. The swirls of Swiss roll making it look quite elegant with little streaks of the pink raspberry ice cream peeking out between the gaps. I cut into it using a knife, unsure what to expect but the results were far better than I had hoped!

WOW! I loved how it turned out. The Swiss roll outer layer gave the edge a two toned stripy effect that reminded me of a zebra. Just inside this was the pale pink raspberry ice cream with the paler nutty hazelnut ice cream at the base. The centre of chocolate fudge came out perfectly formed – I’ve no idea how that happened as it sort of sunk into the ice cream when I added it. Magic! I loved how it really stood out against the ice cream layers and yet tied in with the chocolate sponge edge. It really added a wow factor.

How did it taste? Only one word needed – Divine! Silky smooth and creamy, fruity and nutty with the occasionally crunch texture from the chopped hazelnuts. The Swiss roll had stayed surprisingly soft and the fudge centre was rich and sticky.

Yes it is completely cream and calorie laden but for a dessert this good I don’t care! Just what you need on a hot summer day and it’s sure to impress any guests you might have over for a BBQ. Thanks Sunita for choosing such a fabulous dessert. Click to see the Daring Bakers blogroll.

Chocolate, Raspberry & Hazelnut Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake
(Inspired by the recipe of the same name from the Taste of Home website)

Chocolate Swiss Roll
3 eggs
110g caster sugar
25g plain flour
20g natural unsweetened cocoa powder
15ml boiling water
A little oil for brushing the pans
For the filling-
250ml whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
30g icing sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C. Brush a Swiss roll tin (11x9 inches) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper.
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick, about 10 minutes. When the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface.
Mix the flour and cocoa powder together and sift it over the whisked egg mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula, making sure to reach down to the base and around the sides. Finally fold in the hot water.
Spread the mixture into the baking pans and spread it out evenly.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch. It will still be quite soft and squishy due to the nature of the cake.
Spread a tea towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it. Flip the cake out of the pan and onto the tea towel. Carefully peel off the greaseproof paper and leave the cake to cool.
Starting from one of the longer sides, start to make a roll with the towel rolled inside. Leave until cool.

To make the Filling
In a large bowl, add the cream, vanilla and icing sugar. Beat until quite thick.
Unroll the cake from the tea towel and spread it evenly with the cream, leaving a ½ inch border around the edge to allow for spreading when re-rolled.
Roll the cake up again, using the towel to help you but don’t roll the towel into the sponge. Transfer the roll to a sheet of clingfilm and wrap it up well. Transfer the roll to a plate or tray and place in the fridge to chill until firm.

Raspberry Ice Cream

300ml whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
55g caster sugar
3 tbsp raspberry syrup/coulis

Method
In a mixing bowl, add the cream, vanilla and sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is blended together. Add the raspberry syrup or coulis and mix in well.
Pour into a freezer friendly container (I used a small tupperware box) and freeze till firm around the edges, about an hour. Remove from the freezer, mix well so it all becomes incorporated and smooth. Return to the freezer for a further hour before repeating the process. It may need a third hour depending on your freezer and container used. (You could use an ice cream maker if you are lucky enough to have one).

Hazelnut Ice Cream

250ml whipping cream
30g caster sugar
1½ tbsp Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
25g roasted hazelnuts

Method
Chop the roasted hazelnuts until quite fine. Place the cream, sugar and Frangelico into a large bowl and beat until slightly thick. Add the chopped hazelnuts and fold in to mix.
Pour the mixture into another freezable container or ice cream maker. Freeze for an hour, stir it together again and freeze for another hour. Repeat until the mixture is very thick and nearly solid. (The added alcohol will prevent it from freezing completely solid)

Chocolate Fudge Sauce Centre

50g caster sugar
10g natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp cornflour
170ml water
7g butter
½ tsp vanilla extract

Method
In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and cornflour until no lumps are visible. Slowly whisk in the water until combined and to prevent lumps from forming.
Place the pan over the heat and stir constantly until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat, beat in the butter and vanilla and set aside to cool.

Assembly

Line a pudding basin or deep bowl with a large sheet of clingfilm.
Cut the Swiss roll into 10-12 equal slices, approximately 2cms each. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the bowl, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the sides of the bowl, right to the top. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and freeze until the slices are firm, about 30 minutes.
Take your nearly frozen raspberry ice cream out of the freezer and spread it over the base and up the sides of the Swiss roll lined bowl.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
Once set, add the cooled fudge sauce over the raspberry ice cream, in the base only, not up the sides. Return to the freezer for another hour.
Soften the hazelnut ice cream (if needed) and spread it over the fudge sauce, filling the bowl completely to the top in line with the top of the Swiss roll slices. Cover with clingfilm and freeze for at least 4-5 hours until completely firm and well set.

To Serve
Remove the bowl from the freezer and place a serving plate on top. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl with the help of the clingfilm. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water and try again.
Leave the cake for 10 minutes to soften slightly and then cut slices using a sharp knife, warmed by dipping it in hot water first.
Eat and enjoy. Serves 6-8