Arctic roll
SERVES 10-12 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR
15 MINUTES PLUS FREEZING CALORIES 322KCAL, FAT 17G, SAT FAT 8.6G, PROTEIN 6G, CARBS 37G, SUGARS 31.4G, SALT 0.1G, FIBRE 0.7G
Here’s a wonderful Germanic nod to the classic Arctic roll of my childhood. It’s easy to make, even weeks before you need it, always fun and dramatic to tuck into, and great for feeding a crowd. Stick a sparkler in it, and you’re winning.
SPONGE
unsalted butter, for greasing
3 large eggs
100g golden or raw caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
75g plain flour
25g quality cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
FILLING & TOPPING
500g quality chocolate ice cream
1 clementine or orange kirsch
½ x 340g jar of quality black cherry jam
50g blanched hazelnuts
100ml thickened cream
100g Greek yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. For the sponge, grease a baking tray (25cm x 38cm) with butter, line the bottom and sides with baking paper, then lightly grease the paper. By hand or with an electric mixer, beat the eggs and golden caster sugar until pale, thick and creamy. Sift in half the flour and cocoa, very gently fold them in using a large metal spoon, then repeat with the rest. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and spread out evenly. Bake for 10 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Meanwhile, soften your ice cream in the fridge.
2 Place a large sheet of baking paper on top of a clean damp tea towel, and evenly sprinkle over a thin layer of golden caster sugar from a height. While it’s still hot and flexible, turn the sponge out on to the paper. Peel off and discard the baked piece of baking paper. With one of the shortest sides in front of you, fold up the excess paper, then roll up the sponge with the paper inside (as it cools this will set the shape but prevent the sponge from cracking). Leave to cool.
3 For the fillings, finely grate the clementine zest into a bowl, squeeze in the juice, add a splash of kirsch and the jam and mix well. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until golden, then bash until fine. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold in the yoghurt, vanilla and sifted icing sugar. To assemble, unroll the sponge so it’s flat, removing the paper. Drizzle with kirsch, cover with a layer of cream, then dot over half the jam filling. Rustically spoon over the softened ice cream, leaving a 5cm gap at one of the shorter ends, then dot over most of the remaining jam filling and most of the nuts. Carefully re-roll – if the filling starts to slip out, just push it back in. Wrap well in baking paper and freeze overnight, or until needed.
4 Get your Arctic roll out of the freezer and into the fridge 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve. Carefully trim the ends to give you nice edges, then brush over the remaining jam filling, dust with cocoa, and scatter over the remaining nuts. Decorate it with shavings of dark chocolate, fresh cherries and gold leaf!