Cheerio cherry log

dessert cake

These moist buttermilk muffins are best eaten at breakfast with a dab of peanut butter

Placeholder image

Servings

12 Servings

Prep time

15 Minutes

Cooking Time

70 Minutes

Calories

--- Kcal

Ingredients

Dark chocolate roulade:

  • 200g excellent-quality dark chocolate (above 50% cocoa solids)
  • 6 eggs, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup (165g) caster sugar
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
  • ¼ cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder (optional but excellent)

Chantilly cherry filling:

  • 1 cup (200g) pitted sour morello cherries (from a jar or tin), plus 1 cup (250 mL) of the sour cherry juice
  • 300mL whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (155°C fan). Grease a 25x35 cm Swiss roll or brownie tin and line with baking paper.
  2. For the roulade, put the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl placed over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the base of the bowl isn’t touching the water. Stir occasionally to melt the chocolate then leave to cool a little.
  3. Separate the eggs into two small, clean bowls.
  4. Splash some vinegar on a clean tea towel and wipe the mixing bowl of a stand mixer until scrupulously clean and dry. Place the egg whites into the bowl and, using the balloon whisk attachment, whisk on high speed for 5 minutes until they form stiff peaks — you should be able to hold the bowl over your head without an egg hat appearing. Use a flexible spatula to carefully transfer the whisked whites into a new bowl. Set aside.
  5. Add the egg yolks and sugar to the stand-mixer bowl — no need to clean out any stray egg white. Whisk for 3-4 minutes until thick and creamy. Pour in the melted chocolate, folding it through with a flexible spatula until incorporated. Sprinkle in the salt, with some firm encouragement from your fingertips to help with even distribution. Sift in the cocoa powder, if using.
  6. Add a big spoonful of the beaten egg whites to lighten up the mixture then add the rest, folding it through in a figure-eight motion, being careful not to knock the air out.
  7. Transfer the batter to your lined tin and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the top springs back when gently touched. Take out of the oven and leave to cool, covered with a tea towel.
  8. Meanwhile, to make the Chantilly cherry filling, place the sour cherry juice in a small saucepan, bring to the boil over high heat then allow to cook for a few minutes until syrupy. Pour over the sour cherries and pop into the fridge to chill.
  9. Clean the stand-mixer bowl and place in the fridge, ready for whipping the cream (this is much quicker when the cream and utensils are cold). Using the balloon whisk attachment, whip the cream with the vanilla bean paste until billowy but still soft then briefly fold through the cooled cherries and juice to form a ripple.
  10. Line a cooling rack with a fresh sheet of baking paper. When the sponge cake has cooled, lift off the tea towel and evenly sift some icing sugar across the sponge. Place the cooling rack over the sponge, baking paper face-side down, and invert the cake onto the rack so it’s sitting face down on the fresh baking paper. Slide the baking paper and the cake onto your workbench and peel off the old paper that was used to line the tin.
  11. Spoon and smear the filling over the sponge, leaving a 2cm edge all around. Then, using the fresh baking paper underneath to help you, very gently roll your log from the short side, making allowance for the cream to spread. There will be a few cracks and graceful wrinkles in the sponge but these are part of the charm. If you like, trim one of the log ends off on an angle, then add it to the side of the log, to make it look more loggy. Transfer to a serving platter or board.
  12. Sift icing sugar all over and into the cracks. If there are any particularly gnarly cracks, sprinkle a little cocoa powder into them then more icing sugar — no-one will ever know.