Baileys and chocolate roulade recipe

Our Baileys and chocolate roulade is the perfect treat centrepiece for any festive celebration.

Christmas is the perfect time to bring out the Baileys Irish Cream - but, if you're looking for another excuse to indulge in your favourite tipple (not that you need one!), try this festive dessert. This Bailey and chocolate roulade is a made in heaven. For an extra wow factor at Christmas, we decorated with clementines and physalis gooseberries flowers, but you could use sliced strawberries, your favourite chocolates or Christmas fondant cake decorations if you preferred. Love Irish cream? Try these other Bailey treats.

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 100g caster sugar1tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
• 2tsp white wine vinegar
• 2tbsp toasted flaked almondsfor the Baileys cream:
• 200g mascarpone
• 55ml Baileys Irish Cream
• 25g icing sugar
• 1tbsp chocolate spread
• 3 clementines, peeled and broken into segments
• physalis, to decorate

you will need:

• 33x21cm Swiss roll tin, lined with oiled baking parchment; sparklers

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170C/Gas 3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, gradually add the caster sugar and whisk until thick. Sift the cocoa powder over the top, add the vinegar and fold in.
2. Spoon the meringue into the lined tin and level the surface. Bake in the centre of the oven for 50 mins, or until just firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 mins, then turn out onto a clean tea towel and peel away the lining paper. Allow to cool completely.
3. For the Baileys cream, whisk the mascarpone, Baileys and icing sugar until thick. Warm the chocolate spread in the microwave for 10 secs, until runny.
4. To assemble, spread the Baileys cream mixture over the sponge and drizzle over the chocolate spread, reserving a little. Remove as much of the outside of the clementine sections as possible, so that you are left with just the flesh. Reserve a few. Arrange the clementines on top of the cream and use the tea towel to help you roll up the roulade lengthways.
5. Dust with cocoa powder and half-dip the physalis and reserved clementines in the remaining chocolate spread and arrange on top, along with sparklers.