Swiss Roll Ice Cream Bombe

Confessions from my middle school lunch box: Little Debbie Swiss Rolls were my fav! And they tasted even better straight from the freezer. Oh how my leanings in consuming preservatives and packaged foods has changed nowadays. This doesn't completely rule out a place for Swiss rolls in my diet. It just means I'd make them myself now...from scratch...if I had a hankering.

Making this Swiss roll was the first time I've ever baked a rolled cake. Well, to be honest, this was my second time baking a rolled cake--the first attempt at this recipe was a crumbly, cracked mess. But the second time around, from those mistakes, I adapted a rolling technique that was much better (or one could argue was obsessive and constantly fidgety). Now I'm all set to put my skills to the test come yule log season or jelly roll craving.

To complete the bombe, two layers of ice cream separated by a layer of fudge lie beneath the cake. I wanted the ice creams to appear as swirled as the Swiss rolls, so I chose to mix in black currant curd to the vanilla-thyme layer and fudge ripple to the dark chocolate layer.

Homemade ice cream was a perfect way to use the 18 egg yolks I had leftover after taking their companion whites to make an exceptionally large batch of buttercream for my friends' wedding cake/cupcakes. Also, this was a great opportunity to try recipes from two of my newest cookbooks: Lola's Ice Creams & Sundaes and Perfect Scoop.

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Bombe

Vanilla-Thyme Ice Cream Swirled with Black Currant Curd

from Lola's Ice Creams & Sundaes

1 vanilla pod

fresh thyme sprigs, tied in a bundle

750 ml whole milk

450 ml whipping cream

12 egg yolks

240 g sugar

Put the milk and cream in a large sauce pan. Halve the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Add both the pod and the seeds and the thyme to the milk and cream. Heat to just below boiling. Cover, take off heat and set aside to steep. After 20 minutes of steeping, remove the vanilla pod and thyme bundle, but do not discard. Re-warm the mixture to just below boiling again.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar. Add a third of the warm milk-cream to the egg-sugar mixture, whisking constantly. While continuously stirring, return this custard mix to the pan with the rest of the milk-cream. Slowly heat the custard stirring constantly until the temperature reaches 80° C. Maintain this temperature for 15 seconds. Do not allow the mix to boil or it will scramble.

Turn off the heat and continue whisking the custard for a few minutes to reduce the heat. Transfer the mixture to a container, add in the reserved thyme and vanilla pod. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or ideally overnight.

Before churning in your ice cream machine, remove the vanilla pod and thyme.

Black Currant Curd

makes about 2 cups

1 pint black currants, rinsed

2 TBS water

½ cup sugar

2 TBS unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

Place the black currants and the water in a non-corroding saucepan. Cover and cook on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the currants are mushy. Pass the currants through a food mill to produce about 1¼ cups puree. Stir the sugar and butter into the warm puree and heat, stirring constantly. Whisk the eggs and the egg yolk just until mixed, then whisk in a little of the hot currant mixture to heat the eggs. Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is well thickened and has reached 170° F. Pour into a container, cover and chill.

Mixing it in: The curd should be throughly chilled before using. Just before you remove the ice cream from the machine, spoon some on the bottom of the storage container. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, layer generous spoonfuls of the curd between layers of ice cream. Avoid stirring it in as it will make the ice cream muddy looking.

Deep Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with Fudge Ripple

from Lola's Ice Creams & Sundaes

500 ml whole milk

500 ml whipping cream

40 g cocoa powder

250 g dark chocolate (70% cacao)

3-4 fresh coffee beans (optional)

6 egg yolks

150 g sugar

Heat the milk and cream in a pan to just below boiling, then remove from heat. Make a paste with the cocoa powder by mixing it with a little heated milk and cream. Add the paste to the warm milk-cream and whisk continuously over a very low heat for 4-5 minutes in order to cook out the powdery taste of the cocoa.

Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir from time to time until the chocolate melts. Add the melted chocolate and coffee beans to the milk and cream. Stir until everything is combined.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar. Add the warm milk to the egg-sugar mix and return the mixture to the pan. Heat the custard, stirring constantly, to 80° C. Maintain this temperature for 15 seconds. Do not allow the mix to boil or it will scramble.

Turn off the heat and continue whisking the mix for a few minutes to reduce the temperature.

Transfer the mixture to a container. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or ideally overnight.

Churn in your ice cream machine.

Fudge Ripple

from David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop

makes 1 cup

100 g sugar

80 ml light corn syrup

125 ml water

50 g cocoa powder

½ tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges. Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using.

Mixing it in: The fudge ripple should be throughly chilled before using. Just before you remove the ice cream from the machine, spoon some on the bottom of the storage container. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, layer generous spoonfuls of the sauce between layers of ice cream. Avoid stirring the fudge ripple into the ice cream, as it will make it muddy looking.

Swiss Rolls

For the cake:
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (225 grams) sugar, plus extra for rolling
6 TBS (45 grams) all purpose flour
5 TBS (40 grams) cocoa powder
2 TBS (30 ml) boiling water

For the filling:
2 cups (500 mls) whipping cream
1 vanilla pod, cut into ½ cm pieces (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
5 TBS (70 grams) sugar

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Brush a half sheet pan with a neutral-flavored oil and line with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat until very thick; when the beaters are lifted, they should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and gently fold into the egg mixture with a spatula. Then, fold in the boiling water.

Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan, spreading it evenly into the corners. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the cake is springy to the touch.

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and generously sprinkle it with sugar. Upon removing from the oven, immediately turn the cake onto the towel and peel away the parchment paper. Trim away any crisp edges and generously sprinkle sugar over the cake. Starting from the long edge, roll the cake along with the towel. Be careful not to apply too much pressure, as the cake will crack. Place the wrapped roll on a rack to cool, seam side down. Allow the cake to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

To make the filling, grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a coffee bean grinder until throughly mixed together. Skip this step if you are using vanilla extract. Combine the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture in a large bowl and beat until very thick.

When the cake has cooled completely, open the roll and spread the cream mixture evenly, leaving a ½-inch border. Roll the cake up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge seam side down until ready to use.

Assembly

Line the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with plastic wrap, leaving a generous overhang. Cut the Swiss roll into slices approximately 2 cms thick.

Arrange two slices at the bottom of the bowl, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the remainder of the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze until the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes). Meanwhile, set the first layer of ice cream out to soften.

When ready to proceed, remove the bowl from the freezer, peel back the plastic wrap cover and spread the ice cream over the cake slices and up the sides of the bowl. Replace the plastic wrap and freeze until firm (at least 1 hour).

Pour the fudge sauce over the frozen ice cream layer, cover with the plastic wrap and freeze until firm (at least 1 hour). Meanwhile, soften the second flavor of ice cream.

When ready to proceed, spread the second layer of ice cream over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours until completely set.

When ready to serve, peel back the plastic cover, and used a serrated knife to level the bottom of the cake so that it is flush with the bowl. Place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down. Carefully lift off the bowl and peel off the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outside of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water.

Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

Fruit Curd Popsicles

Recently, I sensed a trend in the artisanal popsicle. Recipes and photo spreads are "pop"ping up in food magazines and blog posts, and a variety of molds are out on the market boasting nostalgia, fun shapes, or no-mess features. Also, there's these people of whom I'm completely in awe.

You don't need me to tell you that it's been a pretty hot summer and that the trend of DIY endures. I so entirely relate and was ready to jump on that bandwagon. My first vision of frozen relief: multiple, vibrant stripes of fruit curd. Tart, refreshing, and a gorgeous gradation of color. That's the concept I was after.

Making interesting fruit curds strongly rivals my interest in jam making. Freezing them in popsicle format just seemed like a logical next step. The flavors of this batch, layered from top to bottom/ lightest to darkest, include: lemon-buttermilk sherbet, gooseberry curd, raspberry curd, and black currant curd. See below for the recipes.

Not ready to invest in popsicle molds? Try the tricks outlined here.

And for fun, read the brief history of the popsicle. Learn how they got their name...

THE RECIPES:

Lemon Buttermilk Sherbet
from David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop"

makes about a quart

⅓ cup water water
⅔ cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup lemon juice

In a saucepan, bring the first three ingredients to a boil. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Once it has chilled, add the buttermilk and lemon juice and churn in your ice cream machine.

Gooseberry Curd

makes about 2 cups

1 pint pink gooseberries, rinsed

2 TBS water

½ cup sugar

2 TBS unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

Place the gooseberries and the water in a non-corroding saucepan. Cover and cook on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the gooseberries are mushy. Pass the gooseberries through a food mill to produce about 1¼ cups puree. Stir the sugar and butter into the warm puree and heat, stirring constantly. Whisk the eggs and the egg yolk just until mixed, then whisk in a little of the hot gooseberry mixture to heat the eggs. Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is well thickened and has reached 170° F. Pour into a container, cover and chill.*

Raspberry Curd
from Tea and Cookies



makes about 3½ cups

12-oz fresh raspberries

1 cup sugar
4 large eggs

4 TBS fresh lemon juice

4 TBS unsalted butter (½ stick)

¼ tsp salt



In a medium saucepan, add the raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, butter, and salt. Heat on medium and, as the butter begins to melt and the raspberries break down, start whisking. Cook on medium heat until the mixture is uniform and the fruit has softened.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Stirring continually, slowly add ½ cup of the fruit mixture to the eggs. Mix to incorporate.

While whisking continually, slowly add the eggs back into the raspberry mixture. Stir constantly as the mixture heats and thickens slightly. Don’t let the mixture come to a boil, but small bubbles around the edges are okay.

Taste and add more sugar if desired.

Place a mesh strainer over a large bowl. Pour half the raspberry mixture into the strainer and, using a spatula or spoon, press the solids into the mesh. When all the raspberry curd has been expressed, discard the solids and strain the second half of the mixture.
Refrigerate the curd until use.*

Black Currant Curd

makes about 2 cups

1 pint black currants, rinsed

2 TBS water

½ cup sugar

2 TBS unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

Place the black currants and the water in a non-corroding saucepan. Cover and cook on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the currants are mushy. Pass the currants through a food mill to produce about 1¼ cups puree. Stir the sugar and butter into the warm puree and heat, stirring constantly. Whisk the eggs and the egg yolk just until mixed, then whisk in a little of the hot currant mixture to heat the eggs. Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is well thickened and has reached 170° F. Pour into a container, cover and chill.*

*Curds can be stored about a week in the refrigerator, frozen for several months, or canned,

processing in

a hot water bath for about 15 minutes.

Nuts & Notions

For awhile I had a fascination with Coraline. She was my Halloween costume last year (yep, I submitted a pic to Evil Buttons) and the reason I now own a blue wig and yellow wellies. When I came across an idea awhile ago for Coraline-inspired button cookies, I tucked it away in my memory. I thought it'd be a welcome change from the usual criss-cross pattern used to decorate classic peanut butter cookies, and maybe an adorable idea for a cute-as-a-button-themed baby shower. Then last week my friend Lisa showed me another pretty blog with shortbread button cookies. With a directive from the Daring Kitchen to make something with self-ground nut butter, I decided this would be my chance to try out the button technique. My rendition, however, is made a little differently with hazelnuts that I toasted and then ground into a buttery paste. If I'd a had any cacao nibs in my pantry, I'd have tossed those into the food processor as well to make something akin to a chocolate-hazelnut spread. Nutella buttons! Maybe next time...

To tell you the truth, though, the nut butter cooking challenge wasn't supposed to involve something sweet. Dessert was an optional bonus I just couldn't resist. So with the extra credit out of the way, I did make something savory with ground nuts. Before washing the bowl of the food processor completely clean of the hazelnut butter, I tossed in more hazelnuts and roasted almonds and toasted bread and garlic. To that I added piquant spices, fresh basil leaves, a roasted red pepper, and fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market. What resulted was a Catalan-style Romesco sauce. This version is a great healthy and versatile (and vegan!) accompaniment to grilled or broiled vegetables, especially potatoes, as well as smeared on grilled polenta (as I did in the picture down below) or meats or fish. My plan is to freeze it in batches, to use all summer (or however long it lasts) as a fancy alternative to ketchup.

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

Hazelnut Buttons

makes ~11 dozen

3 cups hazelnuts
5½ cups flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
12 ounces unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for flattening into rounds
2¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs plus 2 yolks
2 TBS vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°.

Toast hazelnuts for 12-15 minutes until golden. When cool enough to touch, rub off as much of the skin as possible with a clean dishtowel. Process in a food processor until a firm, thick and grainy butter forms, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides as needed. This should take 2-3 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine 1⅓ cups hazelnut butter, butter, sugar, and oil. Beat at high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and beat until just incorporated. Reduce speed to low, then add the flour mixture in three portions, mixing until well incorporated.

Scoop scant tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. If the dough is very soft, chilling it for an hour or 2 will make this easier. Roll into balls and space about 1½ inches apart. Dip a small drinking glass into sugar and flatten each mound evenly to about ⅓ of an inch high. Use the non-business end of large diameter piping tip and the business end of a small tip to press button details into each round.

Bake until slightly puffed and golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Before cookies cool completely, use the small piping tip to reopen the button holes that closed during baking.

Romesco Sauce

from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

makes ~3 cups

1 slice country-style white bread
Olive oil for frying
¼ cup almonds, roasted
¼ cup hazelnuts, roasted and peeled
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 Roma tomatoes
1 TBS fresh basil leaves
salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 red bell pepper, roasted
¼ cup sherry vinegar
½ cup plus 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Fry the bread in a little olive oil until golden and crisp. When cool, grind the bread, nuts, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a food processor. Add everything but the vinegar and oil and process until smooth. With the machine running, gradually pour in the vinegar, then the oil. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.