Classic chocolate roulade

Classic chocolate roulade

Crowd-pleasing, indulgent and easy to make, this classic chocolate roulade is a great Christmas dessert.

Classic chocolate roulade

We’ve got lots of other roulades on the site to try, including a rather decadent chocolate coffee meringue roulade.

  • Serves icon Serves 8
  • Time icon Takes 40 minutes to make, plus cooling

Crowd-pleasing, indulgent and easy to make, this classic chocolate roulade is a great Christmas dessert.

We’ve got lots of other roulades on the site to try, including a rather decadent chocolate coffee meringue roulade.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
842kcals
Fat
60.6g (35.9g saturated)
Protein
10.2g
Carbohydrates
67.6g (58g sugars)
Salt
0.4g

Ingredients

  • 5 eggs
  • 100g caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
  • 60g plain flour
  • 40g cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp chocolate extract (optional)

For the ganache and decoration

  • 200g fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 400g plain chocolate, broken up
  • 20g butter, softened
  • 568ml carton double cream
  • 1 tbsp bourbon whiskey
  • Chocolate leaves, to decorate
  • Icing sugar, to dust
Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Line a Swiss roll tin with baking paper. Beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk for 5 minutes until thick.
  2. Sift over the flour and cocoa and fold in with the vanilla and chocolate extract, if using. Spread in the tin. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Turn out onto baking paper sprinkled with sugar. Cool a little, then roll up from the long side with the paper. Cool.
  3. Put the berries, sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a pan and cook for 7-10 minutes. Cool.
  4. Put the chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl. Heat 450ml cream in a pan until almost boiling, then pour over the chocolate. Leave for 5 minutes, add the bourbon and stir until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes, then whip until light. Transfer a third of the ganache to a bowl. Whisk in the remaining cream. Unroll the sponge, spread with the creamy ganache, then spoon over the cranberries and re-roll.
  5. Ice the roulade with the remaining ganache. Decorate with chocolate leaves and dust with icing sugar.

Nutrition

Calories
842kcals
Fat
60.6g (35.9g saturated)
Protein
10.2g
Carbohydrates
67.6g (58g sugars)
Salt
0.4g

delicious. tips

  1. When you line the Swiss roll tin with a sheet of non-stick baking paper, trim the paper to stand proud of the tin by 3cm. This will give the roulade space to rise.

    For best results use an electric hand whisk or mixer to whisk the eggs and sugar together at top speed until thick, pale and airy – the beaters should leave a ribbon-like trail behind when lifted.
    Use eggs that are a few days old and bring them up to room temperature before whisking – they will whip up more easily and make the roulade lighter.

    When folding the flour and cocoa into the whisked egg mixture, try to retain as much air as possible. Use a large metal spoon or a spatula and gently cut through the mixture, rotating the bowl as you do so.

  2. This is a brilliant dessert for dinner parties because you can assemble the roulade up to 5 hours ahead.

Buy ingredients online

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Share a tip

Or, how about...?

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Healthy makeover recipes

Healthier chocolate roulade

This dessert has fewer calories and fat than traditional chocolate...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Dark chocolate recipes

Chocolate coffee meringue roulade

A rich roulade that combines meringue, chocolate and coffee is...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Meringue recipes

Hazelnut meringue roulade

Try this fabulous variation on a meringue roulade recipe using...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Festive desserts

White russian roulade

No one can resist the call of a light chocolate...

Subscribe to our magazine

Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.