Mont Blanc Cake Roll
A classic French-inspired sponge cake roll with a delicate meringue texture, layered with silky chestnut cream and finished with candied chestnuts.
Ingredients
Eggs (size M)
3
fine granulated sugar
90 g
cake flour (sifted)
90 g
milk
15 g
egg whites
45 g
fine granulated sugar (for meringue)
38 g
powdered sugar (non-melting type)
50 g
cornstarch
5 g
chestnut paste (store-bought, 20 g for decoration)
100 g
chestnut cream (store-bought)
100 g
heavy cream (47% milk fat, for chestnut cream sauce)
40 g
rum (for chestnut cream sauce)
5 ml
heavy cream (47% milk fat, for whipped cream)
250 g
fine granulated sugar (for whipped cream)
12 g
syrup (for rum syrup (→ p.4))
15 ml
rum (for rum syrup)
10 ml
fine granulated sugar (for decorative icing)
100 g
powdered sugar (non-melting type, for decoration)
to taste
Instructions
1
Make the sponge cake
Prepare and bake the sponge cake batter (→ p.26, steps 1–3)
2
Make the meringue
Make a meringue using egg whites and fine granulated sugar (→ p.174, steps 2–5)
3
Combine the powdered sugar and cornstarch
Combine the powdered sugar and cornstarch, then pour into the meringue. First, use a rubber spatula to stir with an upright cutting motion; once blended, fold by scooping from the bottom of the bowl
4
Stir until smooth
Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and glossy throughout
5
Bake the meringue
Fill the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 15 mm round piping tip, pipe strips onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake in an oven at 150–160°C for 1 hour
6
Soften the chestnut paste
Spread the chestnut paste onto a cutting board and soften it with a wooden spoon; add the chestnut cream in 3 additions, stirring well after each
7
Check the mixing consistency
Confirm that the chestnut cream sauce has been stirred to a smooth consistency
8
Make the chestnut cream sauce
Transfer the softened chestnut paste into a bowl, add the heavy cream in 2 additions, and stir with a rubber spatula after each addition until smooth
9
Add the rum
Pour in the rum and mix, then transfer into a piping bag fitted with a Mont Blanc piping tip
10
Make the whipped cream
Add the fine granulated sugar to the heavy cream and whip to 7–8 stiff peaks (→ p.182)
11
Spread the whipped cream
Reserve about 50 g of whipped cream, spread the rest horizontally over the outer one-third using a scraper, then use the scraper to spread the cream frosting across the entire cake from outside to inside
12
Arrange the meringue sticks
Trim the meringue sticks to match the length of the cake and place them on the outer side, pressing gently so they adhere firmly to the cream frosting
13
Roll up the cake
Roll the outer side of the cake once to form a core, then roll up the whole cake together with the parchment paper (→ p.27, steps 10–11)
14
Brush on the rum syrup
Brush the rum syrup over the surface, place whipped cream on top, then spread it smooth with a palette knife
15
Smooth with cellophane
Attach a strip of cellophane cut to a width of 5 cm to the outer side, then pull it toward you along the cake surface to smooth out the uneven cream
16
Pipe on the chestnut cream sauce
Pipe the chestnut cream sauce onto the cake from outside to inside, moving it left and right as if slicing the cake horizontally
17
Attach the meringue crumbs
Roughly chop the meringue sticks and press them onto the lower side of the cake
18
Dust with powdered sugar
Dust powdered sugar onto both ends of the cake roll, avoiding the center as much as possible
19
Shape the decorative chestnuts
Shape the chestnut paste into a ball (about 5 g), lightly press the top, then pinch both sides to a point to form the shape of a chestnut
20
Air-dry the decorative chestnuts
Open a paper clip into an S shape, insert it into the bottom of the decorative chestnut, and hang it on a wire rack to air-dry for at least half a day
21
Make the decorative icing
Measure out enough fine granulated sugar to cover the bottom of a 15 cm-diameter pan, and melt it over medium heat while stirring
22
Add the fine granulated sugar
Once melted, add the remaining fine granulated sugar in 5 small additions, stirring continuously until melted
23
Cool the icing
Once it comes to a boil, remove from heat and place the bottom of the pan in a bowl of water to cool
24
Coat with icing
Coat the air-dried decorative chestnuts with the icing and remove immediately, snipping the sugar threads with scissors
25
Finish decorating
Remove the paper clip, fill the remaining whipped cream into a piping bag, pipe round decorations onto the cake, top with the decorative chestnuts, and the cake is complete
