This cake has become quite popular lately. The method isn't difficult, just a few steps are a bit time-consuming, but seeing the finished product is satisfying.
Materials
Chestnut Crepe Roll Chocolate Cake Recipe Steps
The quantity was too small to handle easily, so I made chestnut puree first, based on the amount needed for two cakes. Boil 380g of cooked chestnuts and 700g of water in a pot until the chestnuts are soft and easily crushed. These are ready-to-eat cooked chestnuts; you don't actually need to add a tea bag for color. This is an incorrect example (raw chestnuts should be added; see the tips for details).
Pour the chestnuts into a blender/mixer while they are still hot.
Pour in the water used to cook the chestnuts and blend the chestnut puree until smooth. Mine is a bit darker in color because I used black tea bags, which isn't a good example.
Heat 25g of unsalted butter in a non-stick frying pan over low heat until it boils.
Pour in the chestnut puree and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Turn off the heat when the water has evaporated and the chestnut puree has a textured consistency. Let it cool before using.
Mix 30 grams of warm water and 8 grams of cocoa powder, then emulsify and mix with 25 grams of corn oil.
Add 35 grams of low-gluten flour and mix well.
Separate the egg whites and yolks from 2 eggs (about 60 grams each). Pour the yolks into the liquefied cocoa corn oil and mix well.
Whisk egg whites with 30g of granulated sugar until soft peaks form.
Mix egg whites and cocoa batter together.
Pour into a 15cm/6-inch springform pan, bake in a preheated oven at 140 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 125 degrees Celsius and bake for another 30 minutes.
Invert the baked cake to cool completely, then slice it into two pieces and set aside.
Mix 1 egg, 10g granulated sugar, 120g milk, 10g corn oil, 35g cake flour, and 3g cocoa powder (or Earl Grey tea powder) until smooth and sift.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Pour in about 50 grams of batter and fry until it puffs up slightly. Turn off the heat and let it cool for about 3 minutes before removing it from the pan. This recipe makes 4-5 chocolate crepe layers.
Whip 200g of heavy cream and 10g of granulated sugar until stiff peaks form. Reserve 10-20g for the chestnut puree cream topping (if the chestnuts are the right color, you don't need to reserve any cream). Whip the remaining cream with 30g of caramel to make caramel cream. Alternatively, you can add 10g of melted dark chocolate and whip to make chocolate cream; I used chocolate cream.
Put the chocolate buttercream into a piping bag and spread it evenly on the trimmed crepe layers.
Then roll it up into a crepe and refrigerate for half an hour;
Put 160g of milk, 10g of granulated sugar, and a black tea bag into a small saucepan and heat over low heat until the tea turns a dark brown color.
Simmer for 3 minutes until the color is right, then remove the tea bag and add 9 grams of gelatin sheets that have been softened in cold water. Stir with the residual heat until melted.
Pour the milk jelly mixture into a 13cm mousse ring that has been sealed with plastic wrap and wrapped with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for 2 hours to set.
Whip 380g of heavy cream and 20g of granulated sugar until it is partially set, then add 200g of chestnut puree and whip to make chestnut cream;
Assembled in layers of cake, chestnut cream, and black tea milk jelly.
Pipe chestnut cream around the edges and top of the panna cotta, then place the second slice of cake on top.
Spread a layer of chestnut cream on the cake, then place a crepe roll inside.
Spread chestnut cream in the middle, around, and on top of the crepe roll. After it has set slightly, refrigerate for 4 hours.
Mix 100g of chestnut puree with 10-20g of whipped cream, put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a Mont Blanc nozzle, and pipe a ring around the surface of the cake. My technique isn't great, so the piped pieces are all crooked.
Decorate the cake surface with whole chestnuts and chocolate chips.
The cake's cross-section looks beautiful, and the texture is very layered. I'm happy.
Tips for making chestnut crepe roll chocolate cake
1. If using raw chestnuts, use 1000g of water and 2 black tea bags. I used pre-cooked, ready-to-eat chestnuts, which are already sweet and colored, so you don't actually need to add 2 tea bags. I didn't think it through beforehand and followed the original method, resulting in a darker color. 2. I used 5 bags of cooked chestnuts, 100g per bag. I reserved about ten pieces for decoration, and used the remaining 380g to make chestnut puree. 3. Pure chestnut puree is best for the surface, but because my chestnut puree was too dark, I mixed 30g of whipped cream with 150g of chestnut puree to lighten the color. I didn't use all the chestnut puree, so I adjusted the steps a bit.
