Sweet and spongy
TRY YOUR HAND AT MAKING THIS OOEY-GOOEY ITALIAN TREAT.
Tronco al cioccolato is a popular cake found all along the Tuscan coast. Tronco literally means ‘log’ or ‘trunk’, and it’s almost always stained pink with Alchermes – a type of Italian liquor – and filled with a rich chocolate cream, or even chocolate-hazelnut spread.
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar 125ml (1/2 cup) Alchermes icing sugar, for dusting
For the chocolate pastry cream:
100g (2/3 cup) dark chocolate (70% cocoa) 2 egg yolks
60g caster (superfine) sugar
1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), sifted 250ml (1 cup) warm milk
For the sponge:
50g cornflour (cornstarch) or potato starch 50g (1/3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour 3 eggs, separated
100g caster (superfine) sugar
METHOD
To make the pastry cream, melt the dark chocolate either in a microwave or over a bain-marie. Then, use an electric mixer to whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale. Stir in the cornflour. Put the mixture in a saucepan over a low heat and slowly add the milk, little by little. (If your lowest burner is still quite aggressive, do this over a bain-marie (double boiler) so the eggs don’t curdle from being heated too rapidly.) Stir continuously with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until the mixture becomes smooth and thick and coats the back of a spoon – about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir through the melted chocolate. When it’s smooth and well combined, cool quickly by spreading the pastry cream out into a shallow, flat container, like a glass lasagne dish or baking tray. Place plastic wrap right over the top of the pastry cream, so the entire surface is in contact with it. This will ensure the cream doesn’t develop a skin. Keep in the fridge until needed.
Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 23×33cm baking tray with baking paper.
To make the sponge, sift the cornflour and flour together. Put the separated eggs in two clean metal or glass mixing bowls – yolks in one and whites in the other. Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar with an electric mixer or electric beaters for up to 10 minutes, or until the yolks become very pale and creamy. Clean the beaters very well, then whisk the whites until stiff peaks form. To the creamy egg yolks, gently fold in half the whites then half the flours, and repeat with the remaining whites and flours until they’re all combined. Pour the batter into the lined baking tray – it should be about 1cm high. Bake in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the top is very pale golden and the sponge is springy in the middle. Remove the sponge from the oven and let it cool ever so slightly so you can handle it easily – you want to work with it while it’s still warm. Spread out a sheet of plastic wrap and scatter it evenly with the caster sugar (this helps stop the sponge from sticking to the plastic). Gently turn the sponge upside-down onto the plastic wrap. Remove the baking paper to reveal a spongy, soft cake. With a bread knife, trim the edges – this will stop the sides from cracking as they roll. Then, with a pastry brush, stain this side of the sponge evenly with the Alchermes. You may have to do a couple of ‘coats’ for a bright pink. Take the cooled pastry cream out of the fridge and generously spread it over the top of the pink sponge so it’s about 1.5cm thick, smoothing it out evenly and leaving a 1cm border around the edges.
The rolling part is rather like rolling sushi. The tricky bit is starting the roll – the rest is all about the right amount of pressure (not too tight, but not too loose). Picking up the short end of the sponge with the help of the plastic wrap, carefully roll the entire thing up firmly, then secure by wrapping completely in the plastic. Keep in the fridge to chill for 1 hour or overnight.
Remove the plastic wrap carefully, dust the top with icing sugar and serve in thick slices. Serves 6.