Valentine's Day Desserts
For the chocolate sponge:
For the raspberry jelly hearts:
For the whipped cream filling:
Equipment:
An eye-catching Valentine's Day dessert featuring a soft chocolate sponge wrapped around a light whipped cream filling with a hidden surprise: a row of raspberry jelly hearts. With its beautiful heart-shaped centre revealed in every slice, this elegant Swiss roll is a lovely way to celebrate Valentine's Day or any special occasion.
Prepare the jelly hearts. Dissolve both packs of raspberry jelly in 400 ml of hot water. Pour the mixture into a saucepan or container deep enough for the jelly to set to approximately the same height as the heart-shaped cutter. Leave until completely set. Place the saucepan over a low heat for a few seconds to release the jelly from the bottom, then carefully turn it out onto a board.
Using the metal heart-shaped cutter dipped in warm water, cut out small jelly hearts. Dip one side of each heart into warm water and join them together to form a continuous row of hearts. Melt the leftover jelly pieces again and leave to cool.
Prepare the sponge. Mix the flour with the baking powder and cocoa powder. Beat the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy, then add the flour mixture and gently combine.
Line a flat baking tray with baking parchment. Spoon the batter onto the parchment and spread evenly into a square, with sides matching the length of the loaf tin (30 cm in this recipe). Place in an oven preheated to 180°C and bake for approximately 10 minutes.
Place the sponge on a damp tea towel, with the baking parchment facing upwards. Remove the parchment, place it back on the sponge and roll everything up together with the parchment and tea towel.
Prepare the filling. Pour a few tablespoons of cream over the gelatine and leave to bloom. Once swollen, dissolve the gelatine over a bain-marie. Whip the remaining chilled cream with the icing sugar until stiff peaks form. Towards the end of whipping, slowly pour in the cooled raspberry jelly in a thin stream, mixing gently. Finally, add the cooled dissolved gelatine.
Unroll the sponge and place it on a sheet of baking parchment cut to fit the loaf tin. Transfer the sponge and parchment into the tin, leaving the overhanging edges of the sponge intact. Spoon half the whipped cream filling into the sponge-lined tin. Place the row of jelly hearts on top, with the wider part of the hearts facing downwards. Cover with the remaining whipped cream filling. Fold the overhanging sponge and parchment over the filling. Press down gently with a small board and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Before serving, remove the Swiss roll from the tin, peel away the parchment and cut into slices. Dust with icing sugar.
