“Oregon” Swiss Roll with Hazelnuts, Marionberry, and Dark Chocolate

If you’ve read our “About Us” section, you’ll know that we’re Oregonians, born and raised. We both were born in Ashland, Oregon, a small town nestled in the folds of the Siskiyous and celebrated for its theater (Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a must if you haven’t seen one of the dozen shows they put on a year), beautiful parks, extensive hiking trails that you can hop on anywhere in town, and a tiny but growing culinary and wine scene. If you’re ever driving up I5 (for international folks, this is the interstate freeway that connects everything from the Mexico-California border up to Canada) and need a rest in an idyllic Oregon town, Ashland is one we highly recommend. Ashland is one of those Dandelion Wine towns of deep summers, filled with childhood memories in the park at dusk, dancing in the bandshell, and afternoons walking the 1-street downtown to grab an ice cream at Zoey’s or Mix.

Zoey’s is, quite relevantly, the inspiration for this “Oregon” Swiss roll. One July or August afternoon, my sister and I were wandering around downtown and stopped in the old ice cream parlor to see if any flavors sparked out interest. The “Oregon Trail” ice cream, with heaps of toasted Oregon hazelnuts, marionberry or boysenberry jam swirled through, all held together by deep dark velvety chocolate, was my pick. Let me tell you, if the actual Oregon Trail was as delicious as that ice cream, I would have readily walked the 2,100 miles (though after years of playing the Oregon Trail computer game as a kid, there is no ice cream in the world that would offset the snakes, disease, broken axels, and attacking war parties that seemed to plague my wagon train every single time).  This cake is an ode to that afternoon in Zoey’s with the most satisfyingly Oregon flavor of ice cream.

Now, Oregon is so much more than just these flavors: it’s plump salmon berries found in the lush and wild coast, it’s buckets full of freshly-picked summer peaches or bushels of Harry & David pears; it’s zucchini from the garden as big as my arm or huckleberry flavored salt water taffy that sticks to your teeth for days; it’s handfuls of warm blackberries, dusty from the patch at the side of the road or apronfuls of burgundy cherries picked by cousins standing on kitchen stools in grandma’s backyard; it’s still-hot-hot-chocolate kept in a thermos that you drink in the perfect silence of snow in the forest after cutting down this year’s Christmas tree, or samples of the best (literally, it’s won so many awards) blue cheese at Rogue Creamery that you sneak two of. It’s all of these things and more, stuffed away in folded-up memories that obligingly unpack themselves every time you find that smell or that taste again. While this recipe is perfect for my memories, take liberties, as always, and do what tastes good!

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5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free “Oregon” Swiss Roll with Hazelnuts, Marionberry, and Dark Chocolate

A delicate but rich Swiss roll that blends the flavors of Oregon hazelnuts with dark chocolate and marionberry

Prep Time50 minutes mins

Cook Time16 minutes mins

Freezing time45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: chocolate, hazelnut, marionberry, oregon, swiss roll

Servings: 16 people

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cookie sheet
• Piping bag and piping tips
• Frying pan

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3/4 Cup packed roasted hazelnut flour whole unsalted roasted hazelnuts ground – instructions below
• 1/4 arrowroot starch
• 6 large eggs separate yolks from whites into clean large bowls
• 2/3 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 Cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup seedless marionberry or boysenberry jam
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 Cup powdered sugar

For the dark chocolate sauce:

• 1/4 Cup salted butter
• 1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt

For the roasted hazelnuts:

• 1 cup whole unsalted roasted hazelnuts

Instructions

• First, roast your hazelnuts. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Spread whole, unsalted hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the outer skin peels away a bit. Remove and pour into a kitchen towel. Let cool a few minutes, then vigorously rub towel so that some of the hazelnut skins are removed, then let cool completely. Once the nuts are cool, blitz up in a food processor in small batches (1/2 cup MAX per blitzing round or else you’ll end up with hazelnut butter) or nutribullet until you have roasted hazelnut flour. Save some whole roasted hazelnuts for the decoration
• Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Prep a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan: grease with butter or spray, line with parchment paper, then grease the paper. Using an electric mixer with clean beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add 1/3 of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, set aside. In the egg yolk bowl, add the other 1/3 cup of sugar and beat until thicker and lighter, about a minute. Add the hazelnut flour, starch, salt, and vanilla and beat. Fold in the egg whites 1/3 at a time until smooth and combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 14-16 minutes until spongy to the touch, then remove and let cool slightly.
• When cake has slightly cooled, lift parchment paper and cake out and place on a dampened kitchen towel. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and carefully roll entire cake using parchment paper and towel. Let sit, rolled with the towel inside, until completely cooled.
• While cake is rolled and cooling, make the filling! Using the electric mixer, beat the heavy cream and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and 1/3 cup of the seedless jam and continue to beat until stiff peaks form – reserve the other 1/3 cup of jam to spread on unrolled cake. Reserve 1 cup whipped cream in a piping bag for the topping. When cake is cooled, carefully unroll. Spread the 1/3 cup of extra jam evenly over the cake, then use a spatula to spread the remaining whipped cream evenly across the entire cake. Carefully re-roll the cake and wrap in the parchment paper – chill in fridge or freezer for 30 minutes to an hour.
• Remove cake from freezer or fridge and unwrap. While cake is thawing, make the fudge sauce! In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add in cocoa powder and whisk until smooth, then add in sugar and whisk until combined. Add the milk and continue to whisk until thick – if it needs more liquid, add a bit more milk. Remove from heat and let sit until slightly cooled. While cooling, roughly chop the extra roasted hazelnuts.
• Plate the cake and pour the chocolate hazelnut sauce over the top, then pipe the reserved whipped cream on top of the chocolate sauce. Top whipped cream with the roughly chopped roasted hazelnuts, then serve! Cake can keep in the fridge or freezer for up to two weeks.

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber