So… this post is the result of watching several episodes in the same day of the Great British Baking Challenge. I literally love that show! It is my favourite cooking show, I like the concept, I like the presenters, I like the people and of course I find the dishes a great source of inspiration.

I never, ever tried to make a Swiss roll before, it was something very complicated to me and simply I didn’t trust myself enough to even try. But it is indeed a very simple dish and so versatile you can more or less personalise it as much as you want. Now, this is not a Dark Forest roll, but it has chocolate and red fruits which create a nice colour contrast. Oh and of course, cream. Loads of cream. Because, let’s be honest, what’s closer to our childhood than the taste of chocolate and cream? We own to our inner child to indulge and be a bit naughty… but with class. At least while people are watching us.

The recipe is fool proof, and again, I never tried it before, so you can trust me. I was thinking to bring it to work but I kind of feel that immediately after I take the pictures, it will be all gone. Let’s blame the cats for that. Yes, let’s blame them.

Ingredients – Sponge

• 3 full eggs
• 50g of sugar (I used icing sugar)
• 80g plain flour
• 40g cocoa powder (if you add 50g nothing bad will happen to the cake)
• A sprinkle of powdered vanilla beans
• 1 tbs hot water flavoured with fresh mint leaves (optional)

Ingredients – Filling

• 250g Mascarpone cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 80g butter, softened
• 50g icing sugar
• 300g thick cream
• 4 fresh mint leaves (or 2 drops of mint essence, but I didn’t try it)
• 1 raspberries punned + few berries to decorate

Let’s start with the sponge.Turn on the oven at 200°. Grease and line a baking sheet/pan wit parchment paper and set aside. Beat 3 eggs and the sugar until they are pale fluffy and double the original volume. Add the vanilla. Sift the cocoa and the flour on the egg mixture and gently fold in. I used the standing mixer on the minimum speed and it worked fine, but be careful not to release too much air. Add the hot water slowly on the edge of the bowl and incorporate. Pour the mixture into the baking pan, and try to distribute it evenly by moving the pan around. Cook for 10 minutes (forced fan oven). While cooking, prepare a second parchment sheet and dust with some more caster sugar. You can skip the sugar only if you plan to cover the roll with cream or some kind of icing. Turn the hot sponge on the paper, remove the paper you used to cook and gently roll the cake from a short end into a sort of log. Set aside to cool.

In the meantime, prepare the filling. Beat 1 egg with brown sugar until fluffy and add the Mascarpone, one spoonful at the time. Add the butter making sure it is soft, and then the caster sugar and a couple of leaves of mint. On a separate bowl whip the cream with a bit of sugar. Incorporate gently the cream and the mascarpone mixture.

Once your roll has cooled down, unroll it, fill with 2/3 of the cream and the raspberries and with the help of the paper, roll it back. You should have a nice and even sponge, with no cracks. Cover with the remaining cream, decorating as you like. Top with some more fresh raspberries.

Voila’. I guarantee you arteries will dance the Macarena as soon as you taste the first spoonful, but you will be too happy to notice.