Chocolate Mint Roll

A decadent and fluffy chocolate roll, filled with minty whipped cream and coated in crunchy dark chocolate.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I cannot believe it’s already this week! Didn’t we just celebrate Valentine’s Day a few days ago? Time has been flying by lately and it’s mainly because I have been working real hard on upcoming posts, completing my spring cleaning checklist and getting the garden back into shape after winter’s slumber. Spring is definitely a busy time but it is also the time where I feel most motivated. Chirping birds, extended periods of sunshine and that typical spring scent that is in the air- how can you not be high on life right now? 🙂

Getting back to St. Patrick’s Day and the annual challenge to create a unique ‘green recipe’. Obviously my first thoughts on green baking include mint. This however, had almost created a marital dispute between my husband and I. You see, my husband dislikes hates mint. When he saw me in the kitchen baking a delicious chocolate roll and melting gorgeous dark chocolate, all to the end of filling it with grotesque (his words not mine) mint was too much for him. He said I shouldn’t disappoint my readers with a mint recipe. Needless to say, he was very upset about the beautiful roll that he couldn’t eat and that was making our whole fridge smell of mint. I was only half sorry. Let’s face it, the combination of mint and chocolate is amazing and this roll is really something.

For those of you who now feel sorry for Mr. Home Baked Bliss, you should know I made a tiramisu and banana bread two days after. There are benefits to being married to a blogger after all 😉

If you haven’t made a Swiss roll before, or you have and it had cracked when you rolled it, don’t be intimidated! I’ll let you in on a little secret right now. The success of a perfect Swiss roll is largely defined by the quality of the recipe. I’ll be honest with you, there are a lot of recipes out there that just don’t work. If you have made one of those recipes and now think Swiss rolls are complicated please let me change your mind! This recipe right here is crack proof. If you follow the steps correctly and do not over-bake it, you will end up with a gorgeous chocolate mint roll that you can brag about to your friends. In addition, I have even made a ton of step by step photos to explain each step and guide you through the process.

Let’s do this!

Before you start, get 3 mixing bowls ready. Start off by mixing together the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder. In a seperate bowl whip up the egg whites, sugar and a pinch of salt. In the third bowl beat the egg yolks, and sugar together. Add the egg whites to the yolk mixture and fold under. It’s super important that you fold the egg whites into the yolks as opposed to mixing. Then sieve the flower mixture into it and fold it under with a whisk until no clumps remain.

Spread out your batter on a baking sheet fitted with parchment paper into a rectangular shape. Important: Make sure to spread the batter evenly, making the corners the same thickness as the center. Bake for about 15 minutes on the middle rack. Your roll should still be soft and spring back when you press your finger on it. While it is baking, get an old dish towl, dampen it (it should be damp not wet) and sprinkle it with cocoa powder.

When you take the roll out of the oven, flip it onto the dish towl and peel off the baking sheet. Now roll it up. Let it cool completely.

In the meantime whip up your filling and melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Spread the whipped cream onto the roll and roll it back up again, making sure the seam is at the bottom. With a serrated knife, cut off both edges (these can have small cracks in them, that’s normal!). Drizzle the melted chocolate over your roll, add garnishes if you wish and let it cool completely.

I find that a Swiss rolls always taste better on the second day, which makes it a great make-ahead recipe for any event. The flavors intensify and it soaks up a bit more of the filling and becomes even softer. YUM! If you are going to serve this on the second day, I recommend adding any fresh garnishes shortly before serving.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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