Holiday Chocolate Peppermint Roll

Eveyone needs have at least one “Holiday Log Roll” in their recipe collection. These cakes bring a festive and fun touch to a holiday meal; they are reminiscent of a Yuletide Log. There are so many creative variations. My mother made an awesome “Chocolate Log Roll” filled with vanilla ice cream. Grandma Jeanne, my mother-in-law, made a “Chocolate Peppermint Roll” filled with whipped cream and crushed peppermint candy. These recipes usually consist of a sponge cake which is rolled up while still warm. Then the cake is unrolled to add the desired filling and re-rolled. Top with a confectioner’s sugar icing and decorate. We’re ready for the holidays. The vintage dessert can be a little tricky to bake but it is worth it. And there’s even a “jelly roll” pan which is just right for baking a sponge cake. This year I’m making a “Holiday Log Roll” ahead of time and freezing it until time to serve.

Sponge Cake

For this dessert you need a special kind of cake. This must be a very stretchy cake which does not fall apart when rolled up. A sponge cake is just the answer. This cake is basically egg yolks which are beaten until thick and lemony. Then stiffly beaten egg whites are folded in. No leavening is added and just a tiny bit of flour goes into the cake. The eggs provide enough structure so that the cake doesn’t fall apart when you roll it up.

Peppermint Log Roll Recipe

For my recipe, I’m combining the vintage recipe from my mother-in-law, a “Peppermint Log Roll,” and substituting ice cream for a whipped cream filling. My husband has memories of his mother crushing peppermint candy with a rolling pin to make the filling. The peppermint candy was wrapped in a dish towel. I definately remember that my mother used ice cream in her log roll. I will make my cake with ice cream filling ahead of time and freeze it. Then I plan to ice and decorate when ready to serve.

Cake Ingredients

There are actually only four ingredients in the cake — eggs, confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar), flour and cocoa. (The oil is included in the photo because you need to generously oil the cake pan.)

Making the Cake

Making the cake takes attention to detail. You need an electric mixer to make this dessert. No way to get around this electric appliance.

Prepare the pan first. I suggest using a jelly roll pan which was created just for this cake. It is a little smaller than a half-sheet pan. The dimensions of a standard jelly roll pan are 15″ x 10″ with a 1″ rim. Oil the pan, layer on parchment paper and then oil the parchment paper.

I prepare the cake in reverse order. First, I beat the egg whites until they are stiff using the electric mixer. To beat egg whites, the beaters and bowl must must be absolutely clean, not a speck of debris. When separating the eggs, make sure that no egg yolk or shell gets into the egg whites. Not one tiny bit.

Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. On the left, the egg whites are not right ready yet — they are still foamy and soft. On the right, these egg whites have stiff peaks. Set the egg whites aside. Beating the egg whites may take several minutes and up to five minutes.

The next step is to beat the egg yolks and powdered sugar until thick and lemony. This process may take up to five minutes, too. Use another clean bowl — but is doesn’t matter if any of the egg whites on the beaters get mixed in.

Gently and carefully fold in the egg whites using a rubber spatula and lifting motion. Try not to knock all the air out of the egg whites.

Then, sift together the flour and cocoa. Sprinkle over the egg yolk/white mixture and gently fold in. I did this in two batches. The cocoa powder may not completely dissolve, but as the batter bakes, the mixture will become evently brown.

Spread evenly into prepared cake pan. Spread all the way to the edges. An offset spatuala is handy; however, I used a rubber scraper. Bake for about 18 minutes until the cake is just set and springs back. Try not to overbake.

Here’s an interesting tip from my mother-in-law. Dampen a clean — yes, I mean clean — dish towel and spread it out on the counter. Invert the cake onto the cloth and gently peel off the parchment paper.

Roll up the cake — with the damp towel included. I rolled the cake up from the long edge. However, for a very thick and short log roll, you could also roll the cake up from the short side. Let the cake cool to room temperature while you make the filling.

A filling with pizzazz helps as the sponge cake is rather bland. I used peppermint baking bits mixed with ice cream. (Alternatively, crush peppermint candy.) A little peppermint goes along way — don’t use too much of the peppermint baking bits or crushed candy. Soften the ice cream and fold in the peppermints. Unroll the cake and layer on the filling — a thick layer. Work quickly so the ice cream doesn’t melt. (I actually used two pint containers of ice cream.)

Re-roll; this time without the cloth towel. Wrap with plastic wrap and freeze. Turn so that the exposed edge is facing down.

Alternative cake fillings

There are several alternatives to using ice cream as a filling, dealing with a frozen cake and melting ice cream. My mother-in-law used peppermint candies folded into whipped cream. A cream cheese filling or a mascarpone filling would also be taste great, especially if you plan to serve the cake just after baking and decorating it.

Decorating the cake

When ready to serve, make a chocolate glaze and decorate. I used the simple chocolate confectioner’s sugar icing from my mother-in-law’s recipe. The ingredients are cocoa powder, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract and milk. (My mother-in-law used whipping cream.)

Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl. The mixture should be very thick and shouldn’t drizzle off a spoon. I added more confectioner’s sugar to maker a thicker icing.

For decoration, I used crushed peppermint candy. A meat mallet worked well for crushing the candy. Unroll the log. I trimmed my frozen cake so that it would fit on my serving platter. Keep in mind that it contains ice cream — so work quickly and have everything ready to decorate.

Ice, decorate and serve immediately. It makes a festive holiday dessert!

And, I’m sorry to report that this cake didn’t make it to my planned holiday meal. My husband and I liked the dessert so much, that we consumed it all ahead of time.

Of course, I can always bake another cake! These vintage recipes bring back so many memories from past Christmas and Hannukah celebrations. My mother-in-law proudly shared her recipe with me shortly after we were married, years ago. I have kept it all this time and finally had the opportunity to bake the cake. Looking forward to another holiday season. Enjoy!