Pam's Original Chocolate Tiramisu Roll

Preheat the oven to 375°F and adjust the rack to the center of the oven. Grease a 10x15 jelly roll pan, line with waxed paper or parchment and grease the parchment also. Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Set aside.
In your mixer bowl, beat the eggs until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in the sugar and when blended, turn mixer to low and add water and vanilla.

Blend the dry ingredients into the wet mixture on low speed just until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the top springs back when touched lightly.

Remove cake from oven and turn upside down immediately on a clean, smooth textured "tea towel" which has been liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar (and cocoa if desired) Remove the parchment carefully and with a serrated knife, trim any crusty edges from cake. Roll up using the tea towel to help. Set the cake, rolled with the towel on a rack to cool completely.

While cooling, make your "paint" and filling for the roll. For the "paint" just mix the liquids and sugar together in a bowl until sugar is dissolved and set aside to use later.

For the filling, mix together the amaretto, superfine sugar, and egg yolks in the top of a double boiler (or over very low heat) until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly. Add the diced Almond paste, stirring until blended with the egg mixture. Place egg mixture in a large bowl and cool to room temperature.

When eggs have cooled, carefully fold the mascarpone into the whipped cream in a second bowl. Then gently stir in about 1/4 of the cooled egg mixture. Gently fold the remaining egg mixture into the whipped cream. Chill.

To Assemble the roll:
Carefully unroll the cake on the countertop, Brush the surface with the "paint" using a pastry brush to cover the entire cake surface well. You will probably not need the entire amount of paint. Make sure it is well moistened but not soggy.

Spread with the mascarpone mixture and re-roll carefully. Chill for at least an hour.

Make your ganache by heating the cream in a medium saucepan (or a microwavew safe bowl) to where it is starting to steam. Remove the pan from the heat and put in the chocolate, chopped into small pieces. Let this sit for about 5 minutes and then stir. If the chips are melted enough, keep stirring until smooth and blended. If not, wait a few more minutes. If still not melted, place back on stove over low heat stirring constantly until blended. Let cool. The ganache needs to be soft enough to pour over the roll, but not hot. If it gets too stiff, warm the bowl by wrapping it in a towel that has been wet with hot water and wrung out well. (DO not get water in the ganache) Alternately, you may briefly chill the ganache and spread it over the roll with an offset spatula. This method will give you a more rustic look and is suitable for Yule Logs.

Place the chilled roll either on a cooling rack over a jelly roll pan, or on the serving platter with large pieces of waxed paper tucked just beneath the edges all around. Pour cooled ganache over the roll to cover and let the ganache set up.

If on a rack, use one or two long spatulas to move the roll to the serving plate. If on the platter, use a sharp knife to cut the set up ganache on the wax paper as close to the roll as possible and carefully pull out the paper with the extra ganache on it. (You will probably need to clean the plate a little using this method.) Chill until serving.

To serve, Use a serrated knife that has been dipped into warm water to cut about 1" slices. Place flat on serving plate and decorate. I have used a sprig of holly, a few edible candied violets, or even a spritz of Amaretto whipped cream with a tiny bit of cocoa dusted over it.