Dark chocolate and chestnut cream roll

Tamara West

Chestnut cream is a seriously delicious treat I discovered while working in Paris. It is made with cooked chestnuts that have been sweetened and pureed, sometimes with the addition of vanilla — tres, tres bon. I guess it’s the classy French version of sweetened condensed milk — you could easily sit down and devour a whole can or jar all on your own. So in the interests of general health and happiness I’ve decided to spread the chestnut love in a very quick and easy to make dark chocolate sponge with just a touch of cream!

Ingredients

3	Eggs, at room temperature
90 g	Sugar
50 g	Cornflour
25 g	Dutch cocoa powder (Main)
1 Tbsp	Flour
40 g	Butter, melted
125 ml	Cream, (1/2 cup)
180 g	Chestnut puree, sweetened (Main)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 200C.
2. Grease a 25 × 34 cm baking tray and line with baking paper, cut the corners to fit, allowing the paper to extend at least 2cm beyond the edges of the tray.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Fold in sifted dry ingredients, adding butter last. Pour into prepared tray and smooth the surface. Tap tray gently on the bench to settle the mixture.
4. Bake for 6 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Place a large piece of baking paper on the bench and sprinkle liberally with caster sugar. Tip hot sponge out of tray upside down on to sugared paper. Cover with a tea towel.
6. Meanwhile, whip cream to firm peak stage.
7. Peel baking paper off sponge, spread chestnut puree over the inside of the sponge, then a layer of cream.
8. Use the baking paper the sponge is on to roll up and form a log.