Ice-Cream Month: Arctic Roll, a Retro Classic? (Wheat Free, with Dairy-Free Option)

For my final Ice-Cream Month offering, I present to you my finest frozen achievement: Arctic Roll!

I will admit I've been dying to share this one with you, because it was a big challenge. I've been waiting for the moment the calendar turned up the July 26th so I could make this for my companion's birthday and show it off on my blog.

My companion says he remembers eating this as a boy and how much he enjoyed it, so I said I'd make him one for his birthday at his request. This birthday was full of DIY projects: I made him a die earring (which he's wearing), some cherry schnapps (which I'll probably make again at some point, and then blog about it), and this cake.

Happy birthday, my lovely!

I decided I'd research this one quite heavily: I watched a lot of videos, and read a lot of recipes online. I decided to turn to a trusted resource: I watched a Jamie Oliver video on YouTube, and the woman who is demonstrating makes it look fussy as Hell. In the video, she spreads the ice-cream directly onto the cake like you would do with whipped cream and makes a valiant attempt to wrap it up. It's a mess, and I thought I could do that better!

Spoiler alert: I couldn't. My advice: do a  Rich Harris and ROLL THE ICE-CREAM INTO A LOG FIRST (but ignore the rest of the video: he makes it look far more difficult than it actually is). Don't be a hero and try and roll it up like you would do with whipped cream in a rolled cake; it's possible but it's messy.

So the roll you see pictured here has had a few issues: it froze as an oval from the ice-cream being too soft, the jam mixed into the ice-cream a bit, and to add insult to injury I froze it upside down so the seam was on top.

However, the family enjoyed it, and my companion loved it: they didn't seem to think there was a single thing wrong with it. Maybe I'm just my own harshest critic! But, even though mine turned out very nicely despite the faffing around, I've written the below recipe instructions to include the proper and less messy way to do it.

 So, here's what you'll need to make it.

INGREDIMENTS
For one cake that serves about 10 people

• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) whole milk, or milk alternative
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour, or gluten free flour mix
• 3 to 4 tablespoons (45 to 60 millilitres) seedless raspberry jam
• 2 pints (1·140 litres) good quality vanilla ice-cream, preferably one with visible vanilla seeds, or dairy-free ice-cream
• Icing sugar, for dusting

METHOD

• Take the ice-cream and let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. You'll need to shape the ice-cream into a log before you wrap it. Don't make the same mistake I did and try and roll the swiss roll with soft ice-cream in it: it won't work.
• Take a big piece of non-stick paper and mark out the short width of the cake tin you'll be using for the swiss roll cake: this will be the length of your ice-cream log. I used a  9x13 inch (22x33 centimetre) rectangular tin, which would have made my ice-cream log about 9 inches (22 centimetres) long. Turn it upside down so the pen is on the outside.
• Place the ice cream in a pile at one end, then roll it up in the paper, leaving a little for holding onto while shaping. Use the paper to squish the ice-cream into a log shape as wide as your guidlines, making sure it's the same thickness all the way through the log. If the ice-cream is getting too soft, just pop it into the freezer for 10 minutes, then continue working on it.
• Roll the ice-cream log up completely in the paper, then twist the ends. Wrap in cling film, and place in the freezer to freeze solid, about an hour.
• Line the bottom of the cake tin you're using with non-stick baking paper. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4), with the rack in the centre.
• Prepare the cake to these instructions, using the ingredients listed above. Bake for 17 or 18 minutes, until golden on the surface and springy to the touch. Any longer, and the cake will be too dry to roll; any less, and it will squish when you roll it.
• Using another piece of non-stick paper. Trim and roll up in the paper as directed and allow to cool completely. Carefully unwrap and spread the surface with the jam.
• Take the ice-cream log out of the freezer and let it sit for about 5 minutes to soften ever so slighyly. Place the ice-cream log at one end of the cake, and roll up. Twist the ends of the paper like a sweet wrapper; discard the paper used to roll the log.
• Freeze for a full hour at least before serving (make sure you freeze it seam side down, like I didn't), then allow to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving. The cake insulates the ice-cream, so it won't melt as quickly.

THIS DAY IN 2015: Danish Pastries: Dinosaur Paws (Wheat Free with Dairy Free Option)

THIS DAY IN 2014: Mini Chocolate "Melkterts" (Wheat Free)

There were no blogs on this day in 2013 nor 2016.