The Bake Off Box: Salted Caramel Mini Rolls
The September 2021 Bake Off Box challenge was salted caramel mini rolls – chocolate sponge filled with salted caramel buttercream, topped with chocolate and salted caramel drizzle!
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Shallow, lipped baking tray (30 x 20cm)
- Baking sheet (or large shallow baking tray) (38 x 33cm)
- Chopping board
- Long, sharp knife
- Tall glass
- Wooden spoon
- Electric hand whisk (or rotary hand whisk)
- 2 mixing bowls
- Hand whisk
- Sieve
- Spatula or large spoon
- Palette knife
- Wire rack (or the clean metal insert of a grill pan)
- Small, sharp knife
- Heatproof bowl
- Heatproof jug
- Shallow plate
Ingredients
For the caramel crunch
- 60 g caster sugar
For the salted caramel
- 80 g caster sugar
- 80 ml double cream
- 10 g unsalted butter
- 1 tsp salt
For the filling
- 80 g unsalted butter softened
- 140 g icing sugar
- 2/3 of the salted caramel (above)
For the chocolate sponge
- 4 large eggs separated
- 80 g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil plus extra for greasing
- 30 g plain flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 20 g icing sugar for dusting
To decorate
- 400 g dark chocolate broken into pieces
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/3 of the salted caramel (above)
Instructions
Make the caramel crunch
- Tip the 60g of caster sugar into a small saucepan and set over a medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally (but don't stir), until the sugar has melted and turned a medium amber colour (about 4-5 minutes).
- Line a shallow, lipped baking tray (30 x 20cm) with a sheet of baking paper. Carefully pour the caramel onto the baking paper, tilting the tin so the caramel spreads out into a thin layer. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes, until hardened.
- Once the caramel has hardened, peel it away from the baking paper and transfer it to a chopping board. Using a long, sharp knife, chop the caramel very finely. Set aside until ready to use.
Make the salted caramel
- Tip the 80g of caster sugar into a small saucepan and set it over a medium heat. As in step 1, cook, swirling the pan occasionally (but don't stir), until the sugar has melted and turned a medium amber colour (about 4-5 minutes).
- Reduce the heat to low and add the cream. Be careful, as the mixture will bubble and split.
- When the bubbles settle, add the butter and salt and stir with a wooden spoon, until smooth. Remove the salted caramel from the heat and leave it to cool in the saucepan for at least 30 minutes.
- Once the caramel has cooled, suspend the small piping bag in a tall glass and pour one third of it into a bag. Set it aside at room temperature until ready to use. Leave the remainder in the pan and set that aside too, for use when making the filling.
Make the filling
- Using an electric hand whisk (or a rotary hand whisk), beat the 80g of softened butter in a mixing bowl at medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until creamy.
- A little at a time, beat in 140g of the icing sugar. It will look sandy at first, but continue beating until the mixture turns white and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes).
- One third at a time, add the salted caramel from the pan, beating well between each addition until thoroughly combined. Cover the filling until ready to use.
For the chocolate sponge
- Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4. Grease the silicone baking mat* (36.5 x x 26cm) with a little vegetable oil and place the mat on a baking sheet. Separate the 4 egg yolks, saving the whites. Using a hand whisk, in a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 40g of the caster sugar together. Then, whisk in the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the top of the egg-yolk mixture and stir with a spatula or large spoon until there are no lumps.
- Using an electric or rotary hand whisk, or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, whip the egg whites in a clean bowl on a low speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and add the remaining 40g of caster sugar. Whisk until the egg whites have reached medium peaks.(Tip: you'll know you've reached medium peaks when you see ridges on your whisk or on the surface of your mixture when you lift the whisk up).
- Using the clean spatula or large spoon, mix one quarter of the egg whites into the sponge mixture to loosen.
- Add the remaining egg whites and fold them in gently, just until there are no streaks of egg white visible. Be careful not to overfold, which can deflate the egg whites, resulting in a dense rather than light sponge.
- Pour the batter onto the oiled baking mat and carefully spread it out with a palette knife to an even layer, making sure it reaches into the corners of the mat.
- Transfer to the oven (on the baking sheet) and bake the sponge for 10-11 minutes, until it bounces back when lightly pressed. Transfer to a wire rack and run a small, sharp knife around the edges to release the sponge.
- Sift the 20g of icing sugar in a thin layer over a sheet of baking paper, covering an area roughly the same size as the sponge. Turn out the sponge on top of the icing sugar.(Tip: Work quickly - you don't want to leave the baked sponge in the mat for more than a few minutes as it may start to stick).
- Use the small, sharp knife to score a line down both the long edges of the sponge, 5mm in from the edge. Do not cut all the way through the sponge.
To assemble
- With a clean palette knife, spread the filling in an even layer over the top of the sponge, leaving just a slight border. Don't worry if you cover the scored lines.
- Sprinkle the finely chopped caramel over the top of the filling in an even layer.
- With a scored long edge of the sponge closest to you, roll the sponge towards the middle, as tightly as you can, stopping halfway. Turn the sponge 180 degrees and repeat the roll from the other long edge until both rolls meet in the middle.(Tip: if your sponge starts to crack or tear as you roll, trim off the short ends of the sponge and try again).
- Cut down the centre between the rolls to create two separate rolls. Line the baking sheet with a new sheet of baking paper and carefully place the rolls, seam-side downwards, on top. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.
- Once chilled, trim the ends of the rolls (if you haven't already) and cut each roll equally into four to create eight mini rolls.(Tip: wipe down your knife between cuts to keep the edges of the sponge clean).
To decorate
- Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of very gently simmering water, stirring until smooth and melted. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the melted chocolate into a heatproof jug.
- Pour a little bit of melted chocolate onto a shallow plate and carefully dip the base of each mini roll into it, gently scraping off any excess on the rim of the plate. Replace the mini rolls onto the lined baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes to set.
- Peel the mini rolls off the paper and place them onto a wire rack with the baking paper underneath. Mix the 4 teaspoons of oil into the remaining melted chocolate and, using a zigzag (back-and-forth) motion, pour it over the tops and ends of the rolls to coat. Leave at room temperature to set completely (about 1 hour).
- Move each mini roll onto a new sheet of baking paper. Snip a small hole in the end of the piping bag and pipe fine stripes of salted caramel back and forth across the top of each mini roll. Serve and enjoy!(Tip: if your salted caramel feels too stiff to pipe, before snipping the end off the piping bag, twist the top and submerge it in hot (not boiling) water for a few minutes to soften).
Notes
- You could use a standard Swiss roll baking pan of similar size if you can't find a silicone one. Be sure to line it with baking paper to prevent the sponge from sticking to the pan!
The recipe and instructions above are exactly as written on the recipe card provided with The Bake Off Box. This is not my own recipe!