Chocolate Roll with Cappuccino Cream

My 17th birthday was Tuesday. It actually snowed, and because everything was cancelled or closed, I had time to bake my birthday cake.

I make the best birthday cakes.

This is the first roulade I'd ever made, and it suprisingly wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.

The cake itself was flourless, so it had a very decadent, smooth texture, and with the capuchino cream.....Needless to say I had two slices, because you know what? IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY.

Plus because the cake is a FREAKING LOG it makes for very exciting candle blowing-outing:

Chocolate Roll with Cappuccino Cream

from The Gourmet Cookbook

For Cake:

7 ounces good bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup water

6 large eggs separated

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For Filling and Rolling Cake:

1 cup very cold heavy cream

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

5 1/2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

For Garnish:

1/3 cup very cold heavy cream

1 teaspoon espresso powder

pinch ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

chocolate-covered coffee beans

Make the cake:

Make sure rack is in middle of oven, and preheat to 350 F. Lightly butter a 15x10x1 inch baking sheet. Line with foil, butter foil and line foil with wax paper, butter paper.

Melt chocolate with water in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely boiling water, stirring until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Beat yolks with 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until mixture is thick and pale and forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla.

Beat egg whites with salt in another large bowl with cleaned beaters until frothy, then add cream of tartar and beat until whites hold soft peaks. Add remaining 1/3 cup sugar a little at a time, beating until whites just hold stiff peaks.

Stir one quarter of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently but throughly fold in remaining whites. Pour batter into lined sheet and spread it evenly with a metal spatula. ake until cake is puffed and just set, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely on sheet on a rack. ) Cake will sink as it cools.

Make the filling while the cake cools:

Beat cream with espresso powder and cinnamon in a medium bowl with electric mixer until it holds soft peaks. Add 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) confectioners' sugar and beat until cream holds stiff peaks. Refrigerate filling, covered, for 10 minutes.

Fill and roll the cake:

Stir together cocoa powder and remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Sift about half of mixture evenly over cake. Cover cake with a sheet of wax paper, invert a baking sheet over paper and invert cake onto baking sheet. Carefully remove foil and wax paper. Spread filling on cake, leaving a 1-inch border on short ends and a 1/2 inch border on long sides. With a long side nearest you, and using wax paper as an aid, roll up cake jelly-roll style, keeping it wrapped in wax paper (cake will crack but still hold together). Refrigerate cake, in wax paper, on baking sheet for at least 1 hour.

Garnish the cake:

Beat cream with espresso powder, cinnamon, and confectioners' sugar in a small bowl until it just holds stiff peaks. Transfer to pastry bag and pipe decoratively on and around cake roll. Top with chocolate-covered coffee beans if using.