Flourless Chocolate Roulade / Bûche De Noël

by Linda Baldwin
.December 23, 2022

We’re spilling our secrets! It’s not always easy to make gluten-free desserts, but this flourless chocolate roulade takes the cake. This simple recipe only takes a handful of ingredients, and some patience to prepare ahead of time. But the result is a beautiful dessert with a rich dark chocolate flavor and filled with lightly sweetened whip cream. We like to add a dusting of powdered sugar, and optional cranberries & rosemary sprigs for a more festive celebration.
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For the Cake:
- 10 Eggs
- 3/4 Cups sugar or sweetener of choice
- 5 oz Chocolate (we like bakers chocolate, but you can use semi-sweet, dark, or whatever you like)
- 2 TBSP Cocao powder
For the Filling:
- 2 1/2 Cups heavy cream
- Dash of vanilla (Optional)
- 1 Tablespoon sweetener of choice (Optional)
Optional Toppings:
- Powdered Sugar
- Rosemary Sprigs
- Cranberries
The Process:
- Preheat your oven to 350
- Separate all your eggs so the yolks are in one bowl, and the whites are in another. Set the whites aside for now.
- Mix the yolks with a stand or hand mixer, slowly adding in 3/4 cup of your choice of sweetener (Sugar, monk fruit, etc.) Mix until the yolks have doubled in size, and are very pale yellow. Should take about 5-7 minutes.
- Melt your chocolate in a bowl in the microwave using 45-second intervals, or over a double boiler. You want the chocolate to be smooth, so keep a careful eye on it so it doesn’t get too hot too quickly.
- Let the chocolate cool down, a little, and then fold it into your egg yolk mixture. The chocolate should be melted, but not too hot or it will cause the yolks to develop hard pieces.
- Add your cocoa powder to the yolk mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Next, mix your egg whites with a stand or hand mixer until you get very stiff peaks.
- Slowly and gently fold your egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. You want to keep that nice aeration the whites have, while also making sure everything is evenly incorporated. Make sure there are no lumps or massive air bubbles.
- Spray or grease a half-pan cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Gently pour your egg mixture onto the cookie sheet. Tap the pan to help evenly distribute the batter, or use your spatula to help spread it out. Again, we want to keep the batter airy and fluffy
- Bake the cake at 350 for about 13 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the cake is springy but doesn’t leave a dent if you press your finger into it.
- Allowed to cool completely at room temperature then chill for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add your heavy cream and optional vanilla extract and sweetener to a bowl, and mix with a hand or stand mixer until you have a lovely light and fluffy whipped cream.
- Take your chilled cake out of the fridge, and use the parchment paper to lift it out of the sheet pan. Lay it out on a flat workspace.
- Spread your whipped cream evenly across the cake.
- Using two hands, gently roll the cake starting from one of the shorter ends. Be sure to tuck it in nicely on that first foldover, then gently continue to roll tightly, peeling the parchment paper as you go.
- Once the cake is all rolled up, roll it up with some aluminum foil, and gently twist the end to create a seal on both ends (like a tootsie roll).
- At this point, you can keep it in the fridge for 3-4 days, or you can freeze it for up to 3 weeks. If you freeze the cake, allow it to defrost at room temperature for about 3 to 4 hours before serving.
- Dust with powdered sugar, and decorate with rosemary and/or cranberries if desired.
Did you try this recipe? We’d love to know how it turned out! Tag us on social media @IntelligentGourmet!