Coffee Ice Cream Roulade Recipe

A cross between an arctic roll recipe and a frozen swiss roll, this light almond sponge cake from food-lover Rosana, encases the strong flavour of rich and creamy coffee ice cream. You could make your own ice cream at home, or use a good quality shop-bought version.

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I was asked to come up with a recipe using, or complementing, Häagen-Dazs' new coffee ice cream. That's a tall order, since their ice creams are already pretty tasty in their own right.

I like pairing flavours and playing with textures. In this recipe, I married the simple light almond sponge scented with vanilla, with the cool, soft and prominent coffee flavour of the ice cream. The roulade recipe was inspired by TV cook Anna Olsen, who has a great recipe for a lemon sponge roulade.

Once roasted, coffee has a slightly 'nutty' flavour anda deep complexity to it. One of the most famous pairings is coffee and walnut, like a classic coffee cake. Almonds are another classic match with coffee. The idea to add vanilla to the recipe comes from the classic Italian affogato; vanilla ice cream topped with espresso – a coffee dessert served along with your favourite coffee. Enjoy!

Roulade
4 large eggs
55g of caster sugar, plus 5 tbsp
1 vanilla pod
60g of plain flour
25g of ground almonds
200g of icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 handful of sliced almonds
1 pinch of salt
Filling
ice cream, 1 tub of Häagen-Dazs coffee flavour

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Preheat the oven to 175°C/gas mark 4. Line a 28cm x 40cm roulade (or swiss roll) tin with parchment paper, then grease and dust the parchment with flour, tapping our any excess

Begin by separating two of the eggs into yolks and whites, discarding one of the yolks so you are left with two whole eggs, one yolk and two whites

Add the two whole eggs, egg yolk and 55g of caster sugar to a metal bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water (making sure the bowl does not touch the water). Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape in the seeds

Whisk together until the mixture comes to just above body temperature, then remove the bowl from the heat and continue to whisk for 4 minutes until doubled in volume

In a separate, clean bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt. Start on a low speed until foamy, then increase to high, adding the remaining 5 tbsp of caster sugar gradually. Continue to whisk until the whites hold a medium peak when the beaters are lifted

Sift the flour and ground almonds over the whole egg mixture and fold in using a whisk. Add some of the egg whites and gently fold in, then fold in the rest until combined

Spread the batter out in the prepared tin, being sure that it is level. Bake for about 10 minutes until it springs back when gently pressed, then allow the cake to cool in the tin for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, take the ice cream out of the freezer to soften slightly

Loosen the sides of the warm cake with a spatula, and sift a layer of icing sugar over the top of the cake. Cover the cake and tin with a clean tea towel and place a large cooling rack or tray over top. Hold together tightly and quickly flip over, so that the cake comes out of the tin onto the tea towel and tray

Remove the baking tin and carefully peel off the parchment paper from the base of the cake. Cover the exposed surface of the cake with a layer of icing sugar, then use the tea towel to help you roll the two shorter sides in towards the centre of the cake. Allow the cake to cool this way so that it 'remembers' the rolled shape

Once cooled, gently unroll the cake and remove the tea towel. Spread the softened ice cream over the cake with a spatula, leaving a 3cm border at both of the shorter ends. Roll up the cake again and wrap the rolled roulade in cling film

Freeze this way for a minimum of 2 hours, or until ready to serve. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving, then remove the cling film, dust in a final coating of icing sugar and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Serve with your favourite coffee

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