Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls | Bake Off Box #8

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls | Bake Off Box #8

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Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls

It’s already time for the 8th Bake Off Box recipe! This month we had a very fun and challenging recipe for Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls.

This month’s Bake Off Box, as well as those for October and November, are inspired by the 2021 season of the Great British Bake Off! The September Box included a recipe for Mini Rolls, which the bakers were tasked to make for their signature bake in week 1 which is notoriously known to be cake week! The bakers had a lot of interesting ideas for flavour combinations, and I think this salted caramel and chocolate version from the Bake Off Box is a really good version indeed! Definitely worth a try if you ask me!

For more information and a proper review of this month’s Bake Off Box check out my review post here. Also, make sure to check out this month’s unboxing and baking video below!

Check out the Unboxing and Baking Video below:

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls – Bake Off Box #8

I loved that there were multiple elements to this bake giving the Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls lots of different ‘dimensions’ and textures… Soft and fudgy chocolate sponge, smooth and creamy salted caramel buttercream, crunchy caramel chunks and a crisp chocolate coating.

Therefore the main elements for preparing these Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls are the sponge, a caramel crunch, a salted caramel buttercream and the chocolate coating.

Salted Caramel Mini Rolls

What to look out for when making the Mini Rolls:

When making the caramel, you must be very careful not to burn it. Luckily – you get to practice making caramel twice in this recipe! The first caramel is poured onto a tray and left to harden, before chopping it and scattering it into the inside of the Mini Rolls. The second has double cream, butter and salt added into it making a thick salted caramel sauce with which the Mini Rolls are decorated, and the buttercream is flavoured. Don’t forget to wait until the salted caramel has cooled before adding it to the buttercream or it will melt the butter. If you would like to learn more about how to make the perfect buttercream, make sure to check out my Baking Basics post here.

The chocolate sponge is fairly straightforward to make, however, the only raising agent is the egg so you must make sure to fold in the egg whites carefully to knock out as little air as possible. Once the sponge is baked, you must work quickly to turn out the sponge and cover it with the salted caramel buttercream and scatter over the chopped caramel.

Mini Rolls Bake Off Box

Rolling and decorating the Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls

The rolling of the sponge is probably one of the most difficult parts of this recipe. I think the main reason for potentially cracking the sponge when rolling is if the sponge is over-baked. So keep a close eye on it in the oven! Try and roll the sponge as tightly as possible to make sure you get a swirl inside, rather than just a fold! This is definitely easier said than done though, and I ended up with 4 Mini Rolls that had a swirl and 4 that had more of a fold! Paul Hollywood would not have been impressed!

To cover the mini rolls in chocolate, the base is covered first and left to set, before more chocolate is drizzled on top. I found it best to use a palette knife to make sure the chocolate covered the entire mini roll. It is then important to leave the chocolate to set at room temperature so that it doesn’t loose it’s shine before drizzling over some of the remaining salted caramel sauce!

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls

Check out the other Bake Off Box Recipes

I cannot believe that I have already received and made 8 Bake Off Box recipes! That seems crazy! I have uploaded a review, recipe and video for all of them, so make sure to check out some of the other posts below:

Bake Off Box - Salted Caramel Mini Rolls

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls – Bake Off Box #8

Recipe

Ingredients:

FOR THE CARAMEL CRUNCH

  • 60g caster sugar

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL

  • 80g caster sugar
  • 80ml double cream
  • 10g unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp salt

FOR THE FILLING

  • 80g unsalted butter, softened
  • 140g icing sugar

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SPONGE

  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 30g plain flour
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • 20g icing sugar, for dusting

TO DEOCRATE

  • 400g dark chocolate
  • 4 tsp vegetable oil

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

  • baking tray or silicone baking mat (36.5 x 26cm)
  • baking paper
  • electric hand whisk
  • heat-proof (glass) bowl
  • palette knife
  • wooden spoon
  • (heat-proof) measuring jug

Method:

  1. To make the caramel crunch, put 60g caster sugar into a small saucepan and set over a low heat. Gently warm the sugar until melted, swirling the pan but not stirring, and is amber in colour.
  2. Pour the caramel onto a piece of baking paper set on a baking tray and tilt it so that the caramel spreads out into a thin, even layer. Leave the caramel to cool for about 5 minutes until set. Once the caramel has hardened, peel it off the baking paper, transfer to a chopping board and chop it very finely. Then set aside until needed.
  3. Next, make the salted caramel filling. Tip the 80g of caster sugar into a saucepan and make a caramel as in step 1. Reduce the heat to low and carefully add the cream and the mixture might bubble and spit.
  4. When the bubbles settled, stir in the salt and butter until melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the salted caramel from the heat and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes.
  5. Once the salted caramel has almost completely cooled, you can make the filling. Using an electric hand whisk, beat the softened butter for 3-4 minutes until pale and cream. Add the icing sugar a little at a time, and beat until the mixture is white, fluffy, and the icing sugar has been fully incorporated.
  6. One third at a time, add in two thirds of the cooled salted caramel, beating well between each addition until well combined. Cover the filling until ready to use and pour the remaining third of the salted caramel into a small piping bag. Set aside for later.
  7. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a baking tray or silicone baking mat (36.5 x 26cm) with a little vegetable oil. If using a silicone mat, place it on a baking tray to have a sturdier base for it.
  8. Separate the 4 eggs, placing the egg yolks in one bowl and the whites in another. Add 40g of caster sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until the mixture is smooth and paler in colour. Then whisk in 2 tsp of vegetable oil. Finally, sift the flour and cocoa powder over the top of the egg-yolk mixture and carefully fold it in until fully incorporated.
  9. Use an electric hand whisk to whip the egg whites until they become foamy. Continue whisking while adding the remaining 40g of caster sugar 1 tsp at a time. Whisk the egg whites until they form medium peaks (you should see ridges at the top of the mixture when you lift out the whisk).
  10. Mix a quarter of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to loosen, then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites.
  11. Pour the batter onto the prepared baking mat/tin and spread the mixture out in an even layer with a palette knife or back of a metal spoon. Bake the sponge in the oven for 10-11 minutes, until it starts to shrink away from the sides of the tin and bounces back when lightly pressed.
  12. Transfer the tray to a wire rack and run a small sharp knife around the sides of the sponge to release it. Sift the 20g of icing sugar over a sheet of baking paper (covering an area roughly the same size as the sponge) and turn the sponge on top of the icing sugar. Use the sharp knife to score a line down both long edges of the sponge, about 5mm from the edge, without cutting all the way through the edge.
  13. Spread the salted caramel buttercream filling in an even layer over the top of the sponge, leaving only a slight border. Then sprinkle the finely chopped caramel over the top in an even layer.
  14. With a scored long edge of the sponge closest to you, roll the sponge towards the middle, as tightly as you can, stopping halfway. Turn the sponge 180 degrees and repeat the roll from the other long edge until both rolls meet the middle.
  15. Cut down the centre between the rolls to create two separate rolls. Place these, seam-side down on another piece of baking paper set on a baking tray, and chill the rolls in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.
  16. Once chilled, trim the ends of the rolls to neaten, then cut each roll into four equal pieces to create eight mini rolls. Wipe down the knife after every cut to keep the edges of the sponge clean.
  17. Break the dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of gently simmering water. Gently warm until the chocolate has melted completely, stirring as you go. Remove the bowl from the pan and carefully pour the melted chocolate into a heatproof jug (be careful that no water from the underside of the bowl drips into the chocolate or it may split).
  18. Pour a little bit of melted chocolate onto a shallow plate and carefully dip the base of each mini roll in the chocolate to coat. Scrape off any excess on the rim of the plate and place the mini rolls back onto the baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for another 10-15 minutes to set.
  19. Peel the mini rolls off the baking paper and place them on a wire rack with the paper underneath. Mix 4 tsp of vegetable oil into the remaining melted chocolate and pour it over the tops of the cakes to coat the top and sides. Use a small palette knife to make sure everything is smooth and covered. Leave the mini rolls at room temperature to set completely (this will take about an hour).
  20. Snip a small hole in the end of the piping bag and pipe fine stripes of salted caramel back and forth across the top of each mini roll to decorate.
  • Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mini Rolls
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2 comments

  • These are adorable. I am so envious! I wish I had the option of buying the bakeoff box where I stay! >_< Thanks for sharing

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