chocolate marble sponge roll

hi! do you know that i have a very long story about this chocolate marble sponge roll? well, first of all, i didn't meant to make this in the first place. making a chocolate-hazelnut sponge roll was the main idea. who knew i would end up making this more festive sponge roll.

the story all started on the christmas eve. i had a tradition of giving cakes or cookies to some people. so far, i was like always associating christmas cake with a sponge roll and now i finally know where that idea comes from. buche de noel! yeah, buche de noel is a christmas'-must-have-cake in France and some other countries, but apparently not in Indonesia of course. buche de noel or yule log is a very incredible cake and praise the one who invented it. however, my skill was way below that, especially the frosting-thing. yule log is almost a normal sponge-roll decorated with frosting until it looks like a log. beautiful cake it is.

since that cake still seems impossible for me to make, i decided to make a normal sponge-roll without frosting on the exterior. my choice fell to a chocolate hazelnut sponge roll but the recipe brings me down, i tried twice on the very same day and both booed me. if i do the math, i was like wasting 9 eggs, 100 grams of hazelnut powder, 250 grams chocolate couverture, and 100 gr flour. i really wanted to cry if i remember all those waste. after my second trial on the hazelnut cake, i ran to my room, tried to find another recipe while soothing and boosting my mood back. i decided to use my classic sponge roll recipe and be loyal to it, the one that never fail me. but i don't want it to be just plain, i wanted to make a pattern on it, i wanted it to taste unusual. so i modified the recipe, i made marbled pattern for the cake and flavor the filling with irish cream. tell me it's festive enough..

i couldn't be more happy to see my cake batter looking so fluffy, so wonderful in its way, moreover when i saw it poured into my jelly-roll-pan. the most exquisite part is when i dropped the chocolate batter on it and swirled it. to be honest and a little of bragging my self, i made a great pattern you know. ha ha. finally, the cake came out from the oven and i started to roll it and make the filling. the filling was whipped cream with some shots of Baileys, superb! i gave this cake to my bf's parent and this cake was complimented. how couldn't i give a little credit to myself? he he. thanks to the marvelous recipe below, this recipe is one of the oldest recipe i discovered in my baking journey and have i told you that this recipe never fails me? you better try this and prove it to your self..

Chocolate Marble Sponge Roll

modified from Group Recipes 

sponge cake:

1/3 cup sifted cake flour

3 tbsp cornstarch

4 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

100 gr + 1 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp cocoa powder

cream filling:

200 ml whipping cream

2 tbsp irish cream liquor (Baileys)

directions:

1. sponge cake: preheat oven to 450 degree F (230 degree C) and place oven rack in the center of the oven. butter a 17 inch (43 cm) x 12 inch (30 cm) baking pan, line it with parchment paper, and then butter and flour the parchment paper. set aside.
2. while eggs are still cold, separate two of the eggs, placing the yolks in one large mixing bowl and the whites in another bowl. to the two yolks, add the additional yolk, and the two remaining eggs. cover the two bowls with plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature before using (30 minutes).
3. meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the sifted cake flour and cornstarch. set aside.
4. once the eggs are at room temperature, place the egg yolks, along with 1/2 cup (100 gr) of granulated sugar, in your electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. beat on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick, pale, yellow, and fluffy. (when you slowly raise the beaters, the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons). at this point beat in the vanilla extract.
5. sift half the flour mixture over the egg yolks mixture and fold in gently with a rubber spatula just until the flour is incorporated. sift the remaining flour mixture into the batter and fold in.
6. in a clean mixing bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. sprinkle in the remaining 1 tbsp granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. gently fold a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then add the rest of the whites. folding just until incorporated. pour the 3/4 of the batter into the prepared pan, evenly spreading the cake batter with an offset spatula or knife. add 1 tsp cocoa powder into the remaining batter, fold until just incorporated. drop tablespoonfuls of chocolate batter onto the vanilla batter. make a swirls using the offset spatula.
7. bake for about 7 minutes or until golden brown. a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean and the cake when lightly pressed, will spring back.
8. immediately upon removing the cake from the oven invert the sponge cake onto a clean dish towel that has been sprinkled with confectioners sugar. carefully remove the parchment paper, sprinkle lightly with confectioners sugar, and roll up the sponge, with the towel, while it is still hot and pliable. place on the wire rack to cool.
9. filling: whip the whipping cream until thick. fold in the liquor.
10. assembling: when the cake has cooled, unroll the cake, remove the towel and brush the cake with liquor. spread the filling generously and re-roll the cake. cut per servings and cake is ready to be eaten. 

such a long and winding recipe, huh? it's really worth it, though. go on and try..

thanks for reading, HAPPY BAKING! :)