Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake

I loved this month's Daring Bakers Challenge, however Ivan wasn't so keen on it. But the thing I liked the most was that we were given a frame – to make a Swiss roll, two ice creams and a hidden chocolate sauce. And about the recipes – we had the full choice to make whatever we want – to use our own recipes, to invent new (which is the best part of a challenge like this).

After turning the idea over our heads for a couple of hours, we cleared it out and got to work.

We wanted to make very thin rolls, so we needed very thin and flexible cake bases. As there were egg yolks used for the ice creams, we wanted to make the cake bases with the egg whites and tried with fond de succès aux noix. The first one was very good but the roll turned out not so thin (however it was very delicious). For the second one we diminished the amount of the batter by two – we had an extremely thin cake layer, but it turned very crisp as soon as we took it out of the oven. After covering it with a wet kitchen towel finally we managed to roll it and it was the exact thinness but it was braking apart and it was hard to notice it was a swiss roll. So finally we made an ordinary but very thin genoise layer.

As for the ice cream(which we made without an ice cream maker) – we assembled apricot ice cream with jaggery one. And hidden inside was the chocolate-rum sauce. There was a lot of rum in it in order to melt faster than the ice cream. The ice cream cakes were intended to be like individual servings, but they were more like for two.

The July 2010 Daring Bakers' chalenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita's world – life and food.

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake Recipe:
Makes 6 individual (7-8 cm) cakes

For the Genoise (the Swiss roll base):
Makes 2 very thin genoise bases

• 2 eggs;
• 60 gr sugar;
• 60 gr flour;
• butter and flour for the baking pan.

For the filling:

• 200 gr whipping cream;
• home made apricot jam.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and set the rack in the middle. Line two 18/25 cm baking pans (or one bigger) with paper. Then butter and flour them.

Whisk the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl over a water bath till the mixture reaches 40ºC /if you don't have a candy thermometer, it should be warm to touch but not hot/. Then remove from the heat and continue to whisk until the mixture is completely cooled. Remove the beaters and with the help of a wooden spoon gently fold in the sifted flour.

Divide the batter among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly. Since the genoise bases are very thin bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly golden.

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter. After taking out of the oven turn the genoise onto the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges. Starting from one of the longer sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped rolls on a rack, seam side down.

Whip the cream.

Open the rolls and spread a thin layer of apricot jam followed by a thin layer of whipped cream. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed.

For the Jaggery Ice Cream:

• 2 medium egg yolks;
• 130 ml milk(full fat);
• 60 gr jaggery;
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract;
• 2 pinches nutmeg;
• 2 pinches cinnamon;
• 2 Tbsp rum;
• 130 ml whipping cream.

Liquefy the jaggery into the microwave or over a hot water bath. Let cool.
Beat the egg yolks and the jaggery until pale.
In a saucepan bring the milk up to a simmer, adding the nutmeg, cinnamon and the vanilla extract. Pour a small amount of the hot milk over the yolks-jaggery mixture to temper, then pour the remaining milk over the yolks. Stir well and pour back in the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat till the mixture reaches 85º C. (If making without a thermometer – the mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and bubble rudiments should begin to appear.)

Let the mixture cool completely, then add the rum.

Whip the cream. Gently fold the whipped cream into the yolks-milk mixture. As we are making the ice cream without an ice cream maker, whipping the cream and mixing it with the cooled cream anglaise (yolks-milk mixture) will help to create a fluffier and more aerated texture. 

For the Apricot Ice Cream:

• 2 large egg yolks;
• 150 ml milk (full fat);
• 40 gr sugar;
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract;
• 2 Tbsp rum;
• 60 gr apricot jam (home made);
• 150 ml whipping cream.

Beat the egg yolks and the sugar until pale.
In a saucepan bring the milk and the vanilla up to a simmer. Pour a small amount of the hot milk over the yolks-sugar mixture to temper, then pour the remaining milk over the yolks. Stir well and pour back in the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat till the mixture reaches 85º C. (If making without a thermometer – the mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and bubble rudiments should begin to appear.)

Let the mixture cool completely, then add the rum and the apricot jam. Mix well.
Whip the cream. Gently fold the whipped cream into the yolks-milk-jam mixture.

For the Chocolate-Rum Hidden Sauce:

• 60 ml whipping cream;
• 50 gr dark chocolate 50 % cocoa mass (we've used Cacao Barry's Force Noire);
• 20 ml rum.

Bring the cream to a simmer, since the quantity is so small we've done this in the microwave. Then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Wait for a minute, then stir to obtain a smooth ganache. Let the ganache cool completely, but it shouldn't set, then add the rum and mix well.

To assemble:

For assembling we decided to use rings, thus every layer, except the hidden sauce is visible. It was intended to be for individual portions, but the portion was more like for two. So prepare 6 rings (7-8 cm in diameter and 5 cm tall). Cover one of the ends of the rings from the outer side with a plastic wrap. Turn the rings wrapped side down on a tray, suitable for freezing.

Cut the Swiss rolls to about 0,5 cm slices and arrange them tightly into the ring onto the plastic wrap. Over the Swiss roll slices pour the jaggery ice cream to a little bit less than the middle of the ring. Then put a shot glass in the middle of the ring open side up and press it slightly to sink a little bit in the ice cream. Pour the apricot ice cream over the jaggery living a centimetre to the edge. Proceed the same way for the six rings and put in the freezer to set (3 or 4 hours). When set, remove the shot glass and pour the chocolate-rum sauce in its place. Put in the freezer again for an hour. Then pour the rest of the apricot ice cream to the edge of the rings and freeze till needed. When serving – peel the plastic wrap away, turn cake side up and warm a little bit the rings between your hands. Thus the ice cream cake will loosen and fall into the plate easily.