DARING BAKER'S CHALLENGE

July 2010 Daring Baker's Challenge: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake.

I LOVE ICE CREAM!! and i love cake. So this challenge was pretty much perfect ;) Basically I've been dying to try out an ice cream cake and I've been dying to try a Swiss roll as well- but never had an excuse to make either (my pops not big on sweets). BUT THEN, oh but then, the beautiful daring kitchen stepped in and saved my life. SAVED MY LIFE. Maybe I'm exaggerating. But who cares? Ice cream has once again made its beautiful way into my (not so) beautiful freezer. WAHOO. Anyways. Time for a history lesson. (if you please, try to stay awake.) (while history of Thomas Jefferson's campaign journey might be a snooze, history of yummy sweet goodness is not. so LISTEN.) (or read. . ) Anyways, here we go:

(via wikipedia): The Swiss roll originated in Central Europe (not Switzerland, who knows where the "swiss" thing came from), and has many different versions and varieties throughout Asia and Europe. In China, swiss rolls (they call them egg rolls) are very popular, and are made fresh daily to sell beside other Chinese pastries- they are often filled with a whipped cream filling (just like the one we'll be making today). In the UK, they are called Jelly Rolls and are often filled with jam or jelly (shocker). In the US, we also typically call them Jelly Rolls- and are filled with a variety of fillings. Chocolate Swiss Rolls are a very common packaged snack/dessert food here- Ho-Ho's anyone?!

Now that you know all about Swiss Rolls (I would give you an ice cream history lesson too, but I've kept you kiddies waiting too long already) ;P

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake ( I halved the recipe when I made it and it made plenty- probably enough to serve about 6 people, so I'm putting the halved recipe on here. the original can be found at here

*This recipe calls for caster sugar. I just whizzed the sugar in the food processor for a bit to grind it down finer and then used that as a substitute. For this recipe you'll need to pulse about 2 cups total (a little less) in the food processor. (I did like 7 or 8 pulses). I would do it all at once before you get started so you have it ready when ya need it.

The Swiss Roll

For the Cake: oven 400

3 eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar (or just granuated sugar whizzed in the food processor)

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon boiling water

For the Filling:

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar

1) In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until very (seriously very) thick; when the beaters are lifted out, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds (and even after 10 seconds, the trail should still be visible, just less defined).

2) Sift in cocoa powder and flour and fold in. Then fold in boiling water.

3) Grease a 9 by 11 pan, then line it with parchment, and then grease again ( I know this seems redundant, but trust me, nothing is more frustrating than a cake that rips in half when you take it out of the pan) ( i have a lot of experience with that kind of frustration, and have found that the above method is NECESSARY, even if annoying). Pour batter into pan. Bake at 400 for about 9-12 minutes, until the top is springy.

4) Dust a clean cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar and invert cake into the towel, roll it up (with the towel being rolled into it as well) and let cool on a wire rack.

For the Filling:

1) Whip together cream, sugar, and vanilla until it has the consistency of shaving cream.

2) Unroll completely cooled cake, and spread filling (don't go all the way out to the edges, when you roll the cake, the filling will kind of squeeze out a little to meet the edges). Roll up again- this time without the towel (obviously). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

(hopefully this pic will keep ya motivated- this is a loong process)

The Ice Creams & Fudge Layers

For the Vanilla Ice cream:

1 1/4 cups whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup caster sugar

1) Mix everything together and throw into an ice cream maker. When its finished transfer it to a storage container and keep it in the freezer until ready to use.

OR. . . If you don't have an ice cream maker: Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze until firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, and beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

For the Chocolate Ice Cream:

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1) In a sauce pan, whisk together all the ingredients and place over heat. Stir until it begins to bubble around the edges, and all the chocolate powder is dissolved.

2) Pour into an ice cream maker. Then when frozen, transfer to a storage container and keep in freezer until ready to use. OR. . use the freeze-then-whip method described in step 2 of the vanilla ice cream recipe.

For the Fudge Sauce Layer:

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1) Combine cream, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and water (basically everything except the vanilla) in a sauce pan. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly until it begins to thicken and is smooth. Remove from heat and mix in vanilla. Let cool (i popped it in the fridge to speed this up)

For the Assembly:

1) Choose a container that you like. Line the inside with plastic wrap.

2) Slice the swiss roll into slices- enough to cover the bottoms and sides of the container. Freeze for about 30 minutes.

3) Soften the vanilla ice cream. Spread it on the bottom and sides of the cake. Freeze until hardened. (probably about 45 mins to an hour).

4) Pour in the fudge sauce. Freeze until hardened.

5) Soften the chocolate ice cream. Spread it on top of the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for a few hours or until completely hardened.

To serve: Place the bottom of the container in a bowl of hot tap water for a little bit to loosen it from the pan. Invert onto serving platter and remove the plastic wrap.

Enjoy!