Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake - A Daring Baker's Challenge

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.

This was a really fun challenge, and perfect for July in Tucson, where it is 105 degrees F everyday.



Ice Cream

We were required to make two different ice creams from scratch, and we could choose which flavors we wanted. I decided to be daring on one: a buttermilk ice cream, and not so daring on the other: a standard chocolate ice cream sans eggs. Here's the recipe for the chocolate ice cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 Cup sugar
6 oz unsweetened chocolate

Heat the heavy cream, milk, and sugar on medium high, stirring constantly. Once the mixture begins to boil, turn off the buner, and add the chocolate. Whisk until all of the chocolate is melted. Cool the mixture until it is cool enough to store in the fridge. Should remain in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but will be good for a couple of days. I usually let my ice creams stay in the fridge at least for 24 hours because I find that it freezes well in the ice cream maker.

Swiss Roll Cake

6 medium sized eggs
1 cup sugar + extra for rolling
6 tbsp of all purpose (plain) flour
5 tbsp of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together
2 tbsp of boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans

Pre heat the oven at 400 degrees F. Brush the baking pans (11 inches by 9 inches) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake. I used a sheet pan. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds. Mix together the flour and cocoa powder, and add the flour mixture in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water. Divide the mixture among the baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans. Place a pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little sugar over it. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges. Starting from one of the longer sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

Cake Filling

It's really just a simple whipped cream! I just whip up some cream, 2 cups to be exact. Add some (5 tbsp) sugar, and a splash of vanilla. Whip it to a very thick consistency.

Cake Assembly

Open the rolls and spread the cream among the cakes. Make sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine). Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer until firm. Once firm, cut right away. The freezing helps to retain shape of the rolls.

Hot Fudge
Make this after you spread the first layer of ice cream.

1 cup of caster sugar
3 tbsp of natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp of cornflour/cornstarch
1 ½ cup of water
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornflour and water. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool .

Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake Assembly

Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange 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 till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes). Soften the buttermilk ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour). Add the fudge sauce over the buttermilk ice cream, cover and freeze till firm (at least an hour). Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.