{daring bakers: swiss swirl ice cream cake}

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.

Upon first sight of this months swiss swirl ice cream cake challenge, my thoughts were as follows: I get to make ice cream!!! Wait. I have to make swiss rolls as well? Like those little debbie ones I loved as a kid? And then combine it all?! Okay, a kid HAD to have made this up and then an adult just made it pretty...who else would have come up with combining swiss rolls and ice cream but a kid?

So, yes, that was my thought process pretty much exactly. I was very excited to get started so I began brainstorming my dream combinations of ice cream flavors. Strawberry + lemon, blueberry + lemon, mint + chocolate, mint chocolate + coffee, mint + chocolate cinnamon, chocolate coffee + mint...the list went on. I have determined that I will make all of these flavors at some point or another. For this challenge though, I chose to do a chocolate espresso + mint ice cream along with a mint cream filled swiss roll.

It was quickly evident that I would not be able to make this dessert with entirely locally sourced ingredients so, I did the best I could and at least used my own fresh mint from my container garden. My other challenge was that I am a bit lactose intolerant which is very sad as I LOVE ice cream. I do sometimes indulge in the occasional ben & jerry's just to ya know, "test" my stomach out. I savor every single bite and then about 5 minutes later, immediately regret my decision. Thankfully, a friend of mine has the book The Vegan Scoup on her iPad and was able to send me over a few of the recipes I needed to make my concoction. Let me tell you, ice cream is incredible simple to make without an ice cream maker! You just need to have an entire day that you will be home so you can babysit it. Totally worth it in my opinion.

As this challenge had so many components (the ice cream (two versions!), swiss rolls, hot fudge sauce and then assembly which had several steps of letting it freeze for hours) I had to break it down into a several day process so that my brain wouldn't explode. I started with the chocolate espresso ice cream to make sure it would work. It did. I enjoyed a bowl that evening. The following day I made the mint ice cream. Delicious. The green leaves even turned the ice cream a light mint color! I then took a day of rest to build my courage to create the swiss roll as I'd heard too many horror stories with it not working from other daring bakers.

Took another day to build more courage.

Finally got the courage to try it on the 5th day and was very hopeful. I'd read all sorts of tips from others and felt I was ready to face the challenge. Everything mixed nicely and remained fluffy. It baked beautifully. It even came off of the parchment paper without too much trouble. I was feeling very happy and wondered what all the fuss had been about. I rolled it up nicely in my towel and left it to cool for the two hours recommended. A few minutes before it was ready to be filled I made my mint cream filling and then sat down to do my unrolling. It went okay as I unrolled but I noticed it cracking a bit. I figured it was okay and kept on going. Added the mint filling and began to roll it back up without the towel this time and well...DISASTER. A thin amount stuck to the towel and did not come up which caused the cake to crack even worse. Lets just say at this point, the day before our challenge is due, I just gave up and kept on rolling it. Somehow I got it wrapped in plastic and placed in the freezer hoping it would take some shape and allow me to cut it. Thankfully it did and I was able to slice it up nicely and begin assembling the masterpiece.

The assembly process was fairly easy, it just took forever for each layer to freeze. I must say that the end result was absolutely worth the long drawn out saga. The flavors combined delightfully in my mouth and I think I could eat this every day. In the end, I don't know if I'd ever make this entire thing again. I will definitely be making more ice creams, but just not sure about doing the whole thing all over again. Thank you Sunita for an awesome challenge! It was perfect for this ridiculous summer heat we've been having.

Visit the Daring Kitchen for the original recipes and see what others created. Check out more pics and my recipes below the jump!

{swiss roll}

The Swiss rolls: Preparation time: 10 minutes Baking time: 10 - 12 minutes Rolling and cooling time: at least 30 minutes Filling: 5 - 8 minutes Filling and rolling: 5 - 10 minutes

ingredients

for the cake

6 medium sized eggs
1 C caster sugar + extra for rolling
6 TBS. whole wheat pastry flour + 5 TBS. natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together
2 TBS. boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans

for the filling

2 C whipping cream
1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about 1⁄2 cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
5 TBS. caster sugar
handful of fresh mint leaves

for the cake

Pre-heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. 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.

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.

Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.

Place a pan in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the center is springy to the touch.

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster 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 shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

Repeat the same for the next cake as well.

for the filling

Grind together the vanilla pieces, mint leaves and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar and mint and then add the mixture and extract to the cream.

In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-mint-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.

Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.

Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of 1⁄2 an inch should be fine).

Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

{chocolate espresso ice cream}

makes: 1 quart

ingredients

1 cup soymilk, divided
2 tbs. arrowroot powder
2 cups soy creamer
3/4 cup cane sugar
3/4 cup fresh, strong espresso
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tbs. vanilla extract

directions

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the soymilk with arrowroot and set aside.

Mix soy creamer, remaining 3/4 cup soymilk, sugar, espresso, cocoa powder and chocolate chips in a saucepan. Stirring frequently over low heat, melt the chocolate chips, then bring to a boil. Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add arrowroot cream. This will cause the liquid to thicken noticeably.

Add vanilla extract.

Pour into the container you plan to freeze the ice cream in (I used a gallon size plastic container). Set this into an ice bath to cool the ice cream. Once cool, cover and place into your freezer. After about 45 minutes, using a spatula, stir the starting to freeze sides into the mix. Do this every 30 minutes until frozen. It can take a while so be sure you'll be home and set your timer.

{mint ice cream}

makes: 1 quart

ingredients

1 cup soymilk, divided
2 tbs. arrowroot powder
3 tbs. chopped, packed fresh mint
2 cups soy creamer
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 tbs. vanilla extract

directions

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the soymilk with arrowroot and set aside.

In a food processor, blend remaining 3/4 cup soymilk and mint until smooth. Set aside.

Mix soy creamer, mint-milk blend and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat. Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add arrowroot cream. This will cause the liquid to thicken noticeably.

Add vanilla extract.

Pour into the container you plan to freeze the ice cream in (I used a gallon size plastic container). Set this into an ice bath to cool the ice cream. Once cool, cover and place into your freezer. After about 45 minutes, using a spatula, stir the starting to freeze sides into the mix. Do this every 30 minutes until frozen. It can take a while so be sure you'll be home and set your timer.

{hot fudge sauce}

Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes

ingredients

1 C caster sugar
3 TBS. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TBS. cornstarch
1 1⁄2 C water
1 TBS. butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

directions

In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, corn flour 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.

{assembly}

Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices (approximately 3/4" each).

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 vanilla 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 vanilla 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.

{resources}

- rolling a swiss roll
- making a swiss roll
- making ice cream without an ice cream maker
- easy chocolate ice cream
- vanilla ice cream