Ingredients
For the cake:
4 Eggs
110g Caster sugar
65g Self-rising flour
50g Cocoa powder
2 tbsp Honey
For the Strawberry Italian Meringue Buttercream filling:
227g SCS unsalted butter (room temperature)
3 Eggs
90g Fine grain white sugar
2 tbsp Water
1 cup Fresh strawberry puree
For the Chocolate Ganache frosting:
300g Dark chocolate (70%) (chopped)
300g Heavy whipping cream*
2 tbsp Fine grain white sugar
*Available at your nearest FairPrice store.
Method
Prepare the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 200°C
- Grease and line a Swiss roll tin with baking paper covering all corners.
- Sift and whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and honey.
- With an electric whisk, whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale and frothy.
- Gradually add the sifted flour mixture and gently fold it in until just combined (don’t let too much air escape).
- Pour the batter into the tin and bake for about 10 minutes, until well-risen and firm when you touch it.
- Let the cake cool completely before spreading the Strawberry Italian Meringue Buttercream.
- Holding one end of the cake with both hands, carefully roll the cake into a log while removing the baking paper at the same time.
- Using a metal spatula, spread the Chocolate Ganache all over the cake and run a fork down the length of the cake to add tree bark patterns on the cake.
- Dust with sifted icing sugar and decorate with strawberries or your favourite plastic decorations, like reindeer and holly leaves.
Prepare the Strawberry Italian Meringue Buttercream filling:
- Heat sugar and water in a pot and bring it to boil. Remove from heat when the sugar is fully dissolved.
- While boiling the sugar, beat the eggs until soft peaks form.
- Pour the sugar syrup from step 1 into the eggs and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Add in the butter and mix well.
- Fold in the strawberry puree, mix well and it is ready for use.
Frosting:
- Heat cream in a pot, add in sugar and bring to boil.
- Put the chopped chocolate into a boil and pour in the hot mixture from step 1, mix well and it is ready for use.