Retro Arctic Roll
This is a real showstopper of a bake that anyone can do. The decoration looks impressive, but you can use greaseproof paper like it is tracing paper so you don't need to be arty to give this a go.
Of course, you can also keep it classic and forget about the design altogether, but where’s the fun in that?
How To Make an Arctic Roll
Time: 30 mins + cooling/freezing
Skill: Medium
Serves: 8
Ingredients
70g butter, melted and left to cool
150g plain flour, sifted
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs + 1 egg white
145g caster sugar plus 2 tbsp extra for decorating
1 tsp vanilla extract
170g of your favourite jam (roughly half a jar)
8 Scoops of vanilla ice-cream
Food colouring if you want to make patterns
Method
To create the pattern on the sponge, line a 30cm x 21cm tin baking tray with non-stick greaseproof paper. If you have a specific design in mind you can put a sheet of paper underneath the baking paper and trace over the pattern or just freestyle.
To make your ‘paint’ make a mini amount of batter with one egg white, 20g of flour, 20g of sugar and 20g softened butter in a small bowl. Use food colouring to create your desired shade and then either use small piping bags or a sandwich bag with the corner cut off to pipe on a pattern.
Put the tray in the fridge to set and pre-heat the oven to 180C. To make the sponge, start by sifting the flour into a mixing bowl from a height to add as much air as you can without making a mess and then add the salt.
Separate the eggs into two medium bowls and add the caster sugar and vanilla to the yolks. First, whip the whites to a soft peak, and then whisk the yolks and sugar until pale and voluminous - you have to do it this way around as you want the whites to be in a clean bowl with a clean whisk.
Stir the melted butter into the yolks and then fold the flour taking care to keep as much air as possible in the mixture as you can. Then, fold in a little of the whites to loosen the mixture, then fold in the rest.
Gently spoon the sponge mixture on top of your decorated parchment taking care not to mess up the design. Then tip in the remaining mix and gently tilt the tin so the mix goes into the edges and then lift and gently drop the tin onto the work surface a couple of times to get rid of any big air bubbles. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden-brown and springy.
Meanwhile, cut a piece of greaseproof a little larger than the tin and dust with the extra caster sugar. When the sponge is cooked, loosen the sponge around the edges and then invert on to a try and then again onto the paper (so the decoration is on the sugar)with one of the short side facing you. Roll up the warm sponge sound something round (I used a water bottle) and leave to cool.
Lay out some clingfilm and quickly scoop 8 scoops of ice cream (two rows of 4) and roll up into a sausage shape. If it’s starting to melt put the rolled-up clingfilm back into the freezer to firm up.
When you’re ready to roll, gently unroll the sponge and spread the blueberry jam all over. Place the ice-cream sausage into the middle (remove the clingfilm) and roll it back up again from the short side. You might need to cut a little off the end depending on the size of your ice cream. Use a serrated knife to trim off each end so it looks nice and neat.
Either serve immediately or pop back in the freezer until you want it.
