Chef's Christmas: Chocolate Swiss roll with orange and cherry

Serving a fantastic Christmas dinner this year? Be inspired by Pillows Chef's Christmas! Especially for this holiday season, pastry-chef Anastasiia of Pillows Amsterdam made a dessert of Chocolate Swiss roll flavoured with orange and cherry.

Ingredients

Chocolate-orange sponge
- 4 eggs
- a pinch of salt
- 120 g sugar
- zest of 2 oranges
- 110 g flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 2 g baking powder
- 60 g milk
- 180 g orange juice (in preference, part of the juice can be replaced with likor)

Vanilla cream
- 150 g cream cheese
- 250 g mascarpone
- 90 g sugar
- 1 vanilla stick

Cherry filling
- 150 g cherries
- 30 g sugar
- 5 g corn starch

Chocolate ganach
- 120 g dark chocolate
- 120 g cream

Necessities

- Baking tray
- Baking paper
- Grater
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Pan
- Weighing scale
- Whisk
- Sieve
- Spatula

Preparation

Chocolate-orange sponge

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

2. Whisk eggs with sugar, salt, and orange zest until it's double in size, pale, and fluffy.

3. Meanwhile, sieve flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.

4. Gently combine dry ingredients with the whipped eggs mix.

5. Add milk and mix until well combined.

6. Spread the batter onto a tray lined with baking paper, use spatula.

7. Bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 15-17 minutes.

8. While hot, soak the sponge with orange juice and leave to cool down.

Cherry filling

1. Combine all the ingredients together in a saucepan.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

3. Once boiling, cook for an additional minute.

4. Leave the cherry sauce to cool down.

Vanilla cream

1. Combine all the cream ingredients together.

2. Whisk the mixture until a stable piping consistency is reached.

Spread and roll up

1. Spread the cream filling evenly onto the prepared sponge.

2. Spread the cherry sauce on top of the cream.

3. Carefully roll up the sponge to form a log.

4. Place the rolled sponge in the fridge for 1-2 hours to set.

Chocolate ganache

1. Bring cream to a boil.

2. Pour the hot cream over dark chocolate.

3. Blend together until very well combined.

Finish and serve

1. Take the chilled sponge out of the fridge

2. Evenly spread the chocolate ganache over the outside surface of the sponge roll.

3. Use a spatula to create a nice pattern with the ganache.

4. Slice and serve the chocolate ganache-glazed sponge roll.

Make the holidays extra special. Book the special festive packages in Pillows Hotels and enjoy luxurious rooms and festive culinary dinners.