[RECIPE] Moo Moo Japanese Roll Cake

Many people bake and cook for different reasons. I've heard of people who don't eat the stuff they bake themselves. So strange as I love to eat the stuff I bake and I bake the stuff which I love to eat. One example is roll cakes, or more commonly known as swiss rolls. I'm not talking about the western style of swiss rolls or jelly rolls filled with overly sweet jam. Neither am I referring to those local swiss rolls from neighbourhood bakeries that are usually filled with buttercream and canned fruits.

Here, I am talking about but the soft, fluffy and creamy Japanese style rolls. I love to eat roll cakes but it is so hard to find good ones in Singapore.  It's deliciously simple in taste but making it is not easy. There are many stages where one needs to be careful, otherwise the roll cake will not turn out to be what you expect. As the name implies, it should be in a "roll" shape, with a distinctive round swirl and not flat. 

This originates from a Japanese recipe calls only for egg whites and not egg yolks, which is a good way to use up any leftover egg whites instead of super-sweet macarons or dacquoise. However do note that this cake has its pros and cons. While it can bring a white complexion, you might encounter some slight rubbery texture on the black prints section and relatively more creases than other roll recipes. Nonetheless, it is a very pliable roll and this will make your life a lot easier if it is your first time rolling one. So why not give it a try if you enjoy eating roll cakes too? :) 
My Moo Moo Roll Cake (adapted from cookpad.com)

Ingredients 
Cow Sponge
65g pastry flour 
180g egg white (about 5) 
65g sugar
50ml milk 
25g salad oil (I use olive oil) 
Black cocoa powder (start with 1 tsp and adjust according to your desire shade of black) 

Vanilla Chantilly
150g whipping cream (at least 35% fat)
15g icing 
1 Tsp or so vanilla (depends on your liking) 

Steps:
1) Line a 28cm x 28cm baking tray with parchment paper 
2) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and sift flour
3) Place milk, oil and 1/3 of the sugar in a bowl. Whisk till emulsify. 
4) Sift the flour into this bowl, gradually mixing until the batter is smooth and even. There should be no lumps but do not over mix. 
5) Prepare meringue: add sugar gradually to the egg whites in 3 stages and whip at medium speed until soft peaks start to form. Add remaining sugar and beat at high speed till stiff peaks. Continue to beat at low speed to stabilize the meringue 
6) Add a dollop of meringue into stage (4) and whisk till evenly mix. Fold the remaining meringue gently till it is even without deflating the meringue too much 
7) Place about a cup of this mixture into another bowl and sift the black cocoa powder. Fold with a spatula till it is even and pour into a piping bag.
8) Pipe the cow prints onto the lined baking tray. Bake for 2 min at 200 degrees Celsius. 
9) Remove from oven and cool down the tray. Pour the remaining batter into the tray and spread evenly. Tap the tray 3 times to remove air bubbles before sending it into the oven for 12 min at 170 degrees Celsius. 
10) Make Vanilla Chantilly:
Whisk icing sugar and a dash of vanilla into whipping cream. 
Chill well before you start to whip and store until ready to roll.
11) To roll: transfer cooled sponge to a clean parchment paper. Spread cream evenly (more towards the starting line). 

Epilogue: 
On my second trial with this recipe, the roll became softer and more refined. However, I still prefer the recipe of a Japanese chef's recipe which I came across after making this. The latter is closer to my ideal standards of a fuwa-fuwa Japanese roll. But not to worry as this is still a very delicious and quite a fool-proof recipe.