This was a wonderful challenge, set for me by my sister-in-law for our
early family Christmas lunch.
I was particularly proud of myself for putting this together so I am
excited to share it! I used a Nigella
Lawson recipe for the cake itself and then looked around and experimented with
other recipes for the meringue mushrooms, bark and pine cones. In this post I will publish the cake recipe
and bark, then, in a follow up post, I will publish the meringue mushroom
recipe (otherwise it will be a super long post!).
This is a wonderful alternative (or addition) to the Christmas dessert
and I think children would really love it too.
If you are going to embark on this challenge, I would recommend preparing
it at least a day or two before you need it.
This recipe requires patience and a bit of time, but if you add these
things to the list of “what you need” you will have a beautiful masterpiece at
the end.
So, here we go…
What you need
cake
6 large eggs (separated)
150 grams caster sugar
50 grams cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 teaspoons icing sugar (to decorate)
icing
175 grams dark chocolate (chopped or at least
broken into squares)
250 grams icing sugar
225 grams soft butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
bark
1 packet of melting chocolate (at least 300grams). I used the chocolate melts, available at most
supermarkets. You can use any chocolate
you like, but I would stick to something that isn’t overly high in cocoa
content. Also, it depends what colour
you want your bark to be!
How to make it
Preheat the
oven to 180°C.
In a large,
clean bowl whisk the egg whites until thick and peaking, then, still whisking,
sprinkle in 50g / ¼ cup of the caster sugar and continue whisking until the
whites are holding their peaks.
In another
bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is
moussy, pale and thick – it will look like cake batter. Add the vanilla
extract, sieve the cocoa powder over, then fold both in.
Add a
couple of dollops of the egg whites to the yolk mixture, folding them in
robustly. Then add the remaining whites in thirds, folding them in carefully to
avoid losing the air.
Line a
Swiss roll tin with baking parchment, leaving a generous overhang at the ends
and sides, and folding the parchment into the corners to help the paper stay
anchored. I used a 34cm x 28cm Swiss roll
tin.
Pour in the
cake mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a little
before turning it out onto a generously dusted (with icing sugar) clean tea
towel.
Gently roll the cake up using the
tea towel. Leave the cake on a cooling
rack to completely cool (for at least half an hour). You can use this time to make the bark and
icing.
To make the
bark, melt the chocolate in a bowl that is resting over a saucepan (half
filled) of simmering water. When
completely melted, pour the chocolate onto a large baking tray that is lined
with baking paper. Use a spatula to
spread the chocolate out. Don’t worry
about making it completely smooth as the lines will be a great effect when you
break it all up later.
Place in
the fridge until completely set.
Break the
chocolate into thick strips. This is
your bark!
To make the
icing, melt the chocolate – either in a heatproof bowl resting over a pan of
simmering water. Once the chocolate is
melted, set it aside to cool.
Sift the
icing sugar into a bowl and add the softened butter. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add the cooled (it will still be warm), melted
chocolate and the tablespoon of vanilla extract and mix again to make a smooth
icing.
Now, back
to the cake…
Gently
unroll the cake and either place it on the tray you would like to serve it on
or on a piece of baking paper. Spread some of the icing thinly over the sponge,
going right out to the edges.
Start
rolling the cake up from the long side facing you, taking care to get a tight
roll from the beginning, and roll up to the other side. Pressing against the tray
or platter, rather than the tender cake, makes this easier. Don’t stress if the cake cracks a little as
you are about to completely cover it in icing!
Cut one or
both ends slightly at a gentle angle, reserving the remnants. If you need to, this is where you should
transfer the cake onto the plate you wish to serve it on (I just rolled it up
on mine). Use the pieces you have trimmed off to create branch off-shoots and
place these where you want them.
Spread the cake
with the remaining icing. I covered one
end of the cake, but left the branches and one end without icing. If you are not using the chocolate bark you
can create a wood-like texture in the icing by marking along the length of the
log with a skewer.
If you are
not using the chocolate bark, you can simply serve the cake as it is or dust it
with icing sugar using a tea strainer or other small sieve.
I actually placed the iced cake in the fridge overnight and decorated
it with the bark the next day. I presume
if you had the bark pre-prepared and it was completely set, you could decorate
it straight away.
To do so, simply place the bark on the iced cake, arranging it roughly
and breaking as you need to. Then, when
you are about to serve the cake, sprinkle with icing sugar.
TIPS:
Preparing beforehand? I would
definitely recommend preparing the bark a day or so before you make and
assemble the cake. And I would also
recommend making the cake the night before you need it (but you could
absolutely make it on the same day for an evening dessert if you have the
time).
How long will I need? Allow at least
three hours to make and assemble this cake (this is not including time for
meringue mushrooms).
The pinecones? If you like the
look of the pinecones, these are simply 50cent-size balls of marzipan with
sliced almonds stuck into them. Edible
yes, but probably really just decorations… Be generous with the icing sugar
sprinkling on these too.
Oh, and it is much easier to cut this cake if you take off the bark first.
Have fun with this one!
This is mostly a Donna Hay recipe from the December 2013 Donna Hay Magazine, but I adapted it
because I didn’t want my truffles to have alcohol in them. If you do want them to have alcohol in them,
simply substitute the cream cheese for ½ a cup of coconut flavoured
liqueur. These truffles were a huge
success and they look beautiful too.
Great for a party, baby shower, afternoon tea, after dinner treat or
just have them handy for when people pop by! 
Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased, lined cake tin. I used a 26cm round tin but, if you have one,
you can use a 20cm x 30cm tin. Smooth
the top of the cake with a palette knife. 
Roll the chocolate-coated truffle in the shredded
coconut while it is still on the skewer and then carefully remove the skewer,
placing the truffle on a lined baking tray.
