Mary Berry's ultimate chocolate roulade

Method

1. Lightly grease a 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 inch) Swiss roll tin and line with non-stick baking parchment, pushing it into the corners. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Melt the chocolate slowly in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Measure the sugar and egg yolks into a bowl and whisk with an electric whisk on a high speed until light and creamy. Add the cooled chocolate and stir until evenly blended.
4. Whisk the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until stiff but not dry. Stir a large spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, mix gently and then fold in the remaining egg whites, then the cocoa. Turn into the prepared tin and gently level the surface. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes until firm to the touch.
5. Remove the cake from the oven, leave in the tin and place a cooling rack over the top of the cake. Place a clean damp tea towel on top of the rack, and leave for several hours or overnight in a cool place, don't worry it will sink slightly. (If the tea towel dries out, simply re-dampen it).
6. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Dust a large piece of non-stick baking parchment with icing sugar. Turn the roulade out on to the paper and peel off the lining paper. Spread with the whipped cream and roll up like a Swiss roll, starting with one of the short edges, roll tightly to start with and use the paper to help. Don't worry if it cracks - that's quite normal and part of its charm!

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By Andrea Mann