Chocolate Roulade Star Log

Not everyone likes Christmas cake or Christmas pudding so it's a good idea to have another dessert option for your guests on Christmas Day. Most people love chocolate cake and nowadays a chocolate log is probably just as traditional as Christmas pudding and brandy sauce. This lovely chocolate cake has a hint of orange and the chocolate stars make it feel perfectly festive.

If you're short of time you can cheat and buy a good quality swiss roll and then simply decorate it following the instructions at the end of this recipe.

Ingredients (10 servings):

For the Cake:
Medium Eggs x 3 separated
100g Caster Sugar
5 ml Dr. Oetker Select Vanilla Extract with Seeds (1 tsp)
40g Plain Flour
20g Cocoa Powder
55g Ground Almonds
2½g Dr. Oetker Baking Powder (½ tsp)
15ml Orange Liqueur or Orange Juice (1-2 tbsp)

For the Filling:
200ml Double Cream
15g Icing Sugar (1 tbsp)
For the Topping:
400ml Double Cream
45g Cocoa Powder Sifted
30g Icing Sugar (2 tbsp)
Dr. Oetker Giant Chocolate Stars

Method

- Heat the oven to Mark 6/200°C. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract until pale.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff.
- Mix together the flour, cocoa, ground almonds and baking powder. Fold in the egg yolk mixture along with the egg whites until combined.
- Spread into a 21x31cm lined Swill roll tin. Bake for 10 mins.
- Cool in the tin for 10-15 mins, then carefully turn out onto fresh baking paper, drizzle with alcohol or orange juice and gently roll using the paper to help you. Leave rolled until ready to fill.
- Whip the cream for the filling with the icing sugar, then unroll the sponge, fill and re-roll.
- Whip the topping ingredients together and spread all over the log. Decorate with the chocolate stars.