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Dessert

Chocolate Roll

A chocolate roll made with a sponge base and a chocolate filling.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Ramblers' club, Minneapolis. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Chocolate and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Chocolate Roll

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Beat 1 small cup of sugar, 1 large cup sifted flour, and 3 eggs, beating the whites first then adding the yolks and beating thoroughly.

  2. Add 2 tablespoons cold water, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

  3. Bake in thin layers.

Make the filling

  1. Melt 2 squares chocolate, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon corn starch, and 3 tablespoons sugar to prepare the filling.

  2. Cook until like custard.

  3. Spread the filling while hot.

Make the second batter and bake

  1. Sift 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 3 teaspoons baking powder, and a pinch of salt together four times.

  2. Pour 1 cup boiling milk into the sifted mixture and stir until smooth.

  3. Fold in the well-beaten whites of 2 eggs.

  4. Do not grease tin or flavor.

  5. Put 3 eggs in a dish and add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder, and 1 cup cold water.

  6. Beat until thin and bubbling, then add flavoring.

  7. Bake in 2 pans.

Assemble

  1. Spread with jelly and roll.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

886Calories
29 gProtein
23 gFat
137 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Ramblers' club, Minneapolis. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,128 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  3. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  5. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Whipped whites trap air, giving the sponge its light, airy structure.
Flour
Provides the starch and gluten framework that holds the sponge together.
Sugar
Sweetens the batter and helps keep the sponge tender and moist.
Baking powder (in the method)
Releases gas during baking, making the batter rise.
Chocolate
Gives the filling its main flavor and deep color.
Corn starch (in the method)
Thickens the chocolate filling so it sets to a custard-like texture.

The step that matters

Fold in the well-beaten egg whites. Whites hold air that lifts the batter. Stirring them in vigorously knocks out that air, so the sponge bakes up flatter and denser.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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