Black Forest Swiss Roll Cake

My favorite cake and what I always request as my birthday cake is a Black Forest Cake.  I also have an affinity for Little Debbie Swiss Roll Cakes on my cheat days.  So it makes sense that I would combine these two wonderful treats.  This is not only a unique cake to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions with, but it is the perfect finale to my Romantic Night in the Swiss Alps dinner dish.

Ingredients:

Olive oil cooking spray

Parchment baking paper

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp cocao powder, divided

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

4 eggs

1/2 cup truvia sugar (or other preferred sugar or sugar substitute

4 tbsp butter

1 cup lite whipped cream

3/4 cup cherry pie filling

small bottle of Hershey's shell chocolate topping (7.25 oz)

Optional:

canned whipped cream or white icing in a piping bag

5-6 maraschino cherries

chocolate sprinkle or dark chocolate shavings

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Prepare a baking sheet with laying down parchment paper and generously greasing it with cooking oil spray.
   
3. Bring about 2 inches of water to a simmer in a pot that can hold a glass dish without the glass dish touching the water (to make a de facto double broiler, see pic).
4. While water comes to a simmer, mix 1/4 cup cocao powder, 1/3 cup flour and salt in a separate mixing bowl.
5. In your glass dish, quickly blend eggs and sugar with a whisk over the simmering water for approximately 5 minutes or until egg mixture is a pale yellow and warm to the touch.
6. Remove glass dish from simmer water, heat, and melt butter and add into egg mixture and continue to beat with a hand mixer until it thickens slightly.
7. Gradually add in cocao and flour mixture, until batter is smooth and thick (approximately 8 minutes) like a box batter mix (add additional flour if mix is too thin).
8. Pour batter on prepared baking sheet/ parchment paper. Bake in oven for about 5-6 minutes or until it is springy to a light touch.
9. Remove cake from oven, and lay out a second sheet of parchment paper and dust with cocao powder.
10. Flip the cake onto second parchment paper and roll the cake up as you would if it had the filling in it just in the parchment paper (provides shaping to cake) and allow to completely cool.
11. Unroll the cake/ parchment paper (Note: this will leave cocao powder on the surface that you unroll it on, lay down towels or a cutting board to keep counter tops clean).
12. Using a silicone spatula, spread whipped cream over the cake leaving a 1" border. Then layer cherry pie filling over the top of the whipped cream.
13. Then re-roll the cake (without the parchment paper) and if the cake roll ends are uneven or scraggly this is the time to cut them to make it even. 
14. Transfer cake to a wire rack over a plate or baking sheet (depending on the room in your fridge).
15. Pour the shell chocolate topping over the entire cake roll, using a silicone spatula to even out the coating of the top shell and cover the cake roll ends.
16. Place in the refrigerate to solidify the shell topping. (With this shell topping it should only take about 5-10 minutes but I usually let it set for approximately 30 minutes.
17. When ready to serve cake, using canned whipped cream (with piping end) or white icing in a piping bag, make a ruffle row down the center of the Swiss roll cake. Sprinkle the whipped cream/ icing with chocolate sprinkle or chocolate shavings. Then top ruffle with maraschino cherries.
    
18. Keep leftovers refrigerated.