JOSÉ PIZARRO’S Brazo de Gitano
Renowned for tantalising tapas at his London restaurants, our favourite Spanish chef, José, shares this light and fruity roulade recipe from his new cookbook, Catalonia. An orange or passion fruit curd would work equally well.
Hands-on time 15min. Cooking time about 25min. Serves 10
4 large free-range eggs, separated 100g (3½oz) caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle 1tsp vanilla bean paste or extract 100g (3½oz) plain flour 1tsp baking powder Pinch of fine sea salt 300ml (½ pint) double cream Icing sugar, to dust For the compote 5 persimmons (also known as Sharon fruit), flesh mashed 1 small apple, peeled, cored and chopped ½tsp ground ginger 1tbsp caster sugar 1tbsp lemon juice Physalis to decorate, optional
Preheat oven to 180°C, (160°C fan), mark 4. Grease and line a 33 x 22cm (13 x 8½in) Swiss roll tin.
In a stand mixer, beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until pale, fluffy, and holding a ribbon shape for a few seconds.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and fold into yolk mixture. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Carefully fold into the batter, then spoon batter into tin and spread out with a spatula.
Bake for 10–12min until just cooked. Put a clean tea towel on the worktop and cover with a piece of baking paper. Sprinkle paper with sugar. Turn the still-warm sponge out on to the sugared paper, then peel off paper from the bottom of the sponge. While still warm, roll up the sponge from the long edge, using the tea towel to help you, making sure the paper rolls on the inside of the sponge. Set aside to cool.
To make the compote, put the fruit, ginger and sugar into a pan and cook until the fruit has broken down. Using a stick blender, whizz until smooth. Add lemon juice and cool completely. When ready to serve, unroll the sponge and remove the paper. Lightly whip cream until just holding its shape and spread all over the sponge. Spoon compote over the top and roll up again. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with physalis, if using, and serve.
PER SERVING 307cals, 5g protein, 18g fat (11g saturates), 29g carbs (22g total sugars), 2g fibre
‘Brazo de Gitano, or Gipsy’s Arm, is said to have been brought to Spain in medieval times by an Italian monk’