Those who follow my blog regularly will know that I’m recreating a recipe from The Great British Bake Off every week and making them vegan-friendly! I’m ashamed to say I missed last week because a) I wasn’t keen on any of the recipes featured on the show and b) I ran out of time… BUT I hope I can make up for last week’s lack of recipe with this incredible Black Forest Arctic Roll. The last episode was right up my alley. Refined sugar-free cakes, gluten-free bread and Arctic rolls using dairy free ice cream. Being the author of a dairy-free ice cream book, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to use my coconut milk ice cream in a new and delicious way!

So the ice cream part I had pretty much down. I used the basic vanilla ice cream recipe from my book and rolled it into a log. Making a vegan chocolate sponge that was “roll-able” was the real challenge. It took me three attempts to get a recipe I was happy with and although there were still a few cracks, it was nothing a bit of melted chocolate couldn’t fix! This Arctic roll turned out better than I could have hoped for. If you love black forest gateau… you need to try this dessert. Cherries aren’t currently in season so I used shop-bought cherry jam but would have loved some fresh cherries to decorate the roll with!

[device]

[/device]

Vegan Black Forest Arctic Roll

Name: Vegan Black Forest Arctic Roll
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 720 ml / 3 cups coconut milk, full fat; 2 tbsp arrowroot powder; 120 ml / 1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup; 2 tsp vanilla extract; optional 1 tbsp alcohol such as vodka (to keep it freezing too hard); 2 cups spelt flour, or plain wheat flour; 4 tbsp cocoa powder; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 160 ml / 2/3 cup agave nectar or maple syrup; 120 ml / 1/2 cup melted coconut oil; 240 ml / 1 cup water; 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar; Cherry jam, shop bought or homemade; 100 g dark dairy-free cooking chocolate; 1 tbsp coconut oil

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Creamy, delicious vegan ice cream with a sweet, tart cherry jam, enclosed in a wheat free, moist, chocolatey sponge. What more could you want in a dessert?

Ingredients

For the vanilla ice cream

720 ml / 3 cups coconut milk, full fat
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
120 ml / 1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
optional 1 tbsp alcohol such as vodka (to keep it freezing too hard)

For the chocolate sponge cake

2 cups spelt flour, or plain wheat flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
160 ml / 2/3 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
120 ml / 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
240 ml / 1 cup water
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar

For the filling and decorations

Cherry jam, shop bought or homemade
100 g dark dairy-free cooking chocolate
1 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

To make the ice cream:

Mix 60ml / 1/4 cup of the coconut milk with the arrowroot powder in a small bowl and set aside.
Pour the rest of the coconut milk and the sweetener into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, stir in the arrowroot mixture to thicken the liquid. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and alcohol, if using.
Chill the mixture in the fridge until cold and then churn.
Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours or until set but still slightly soft.
Turn the ice cream out onto a sheet of parchment paper (about the size of a baking tin) and mold into a log shape. Use the parchment paper to roll the ice cream into a cracker shape, about 25cm long, and secure the edges.
Put the log into the freezer to set whilst you make the sponge.

To make the chocolate sponge:

Preheat the oven to 180c / 350f and line a Swiss roll tin or baking sheet with edges with some parchment paper.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into the Swiss roll tin and spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes until spongy.
Leave to cool completely.

To assemble:

Spread a generous layer of the cherry jam onto the sponge, leaving a 1 inch border around the edges.
Next, carefully unwrap the ice cream and place lengthways onto the sponge. Gently but firmly, using the parchment paper, roll the sponge around the ice cream cylinder until the sponge meets the other side. Wrap in an extra layer of parchment paper and foil. Leave to set in the freezer for at least one hour.

To decorate:

Melt 3/4 of the dark chocolate with the coconut oil. Leave to cool slightly before removing the Arctic roll from the freezer and drizzling the chocolate on top. It should set very quickly.
Grate the remainder of the chocolate and sprinkle on top.
Serve immediately! To keep the rest, wrap back up in parchment paper and foil to keep in the freezer.

Notes

Hopefully your sponge should be perfect but if you notice a few cracks on the outside of the sponge, just cover up with some melted chocolate or cocoa powder! Or even cover with some coconut cream.