Whenever I think of quintessential beach treats, chocolate-covered bananas always come to mind. Mostly because of Arrested Development. I love the idea of taking nostalgic things like that, and recreating them in something more in my style. In this case, that would be a roll cake. Using a fluffy chocolate chiffon, blonde chocolate, and Korean banana milk, I took an American classic, and gave it a fun, Asia-American spin! For the components, we have a chocolate chiffon cake, a blonde chocolate and banana mousse, and a banana milk-chocolate mirror glaze. Chiffon cake is one of my absolute favorites to make, just because all of the whipped egg whites make it airy, light, and almost as if you’re inhaling air. It’s honestly the perfect kind of cake to serve to an Asian family.

So there is one thing about the finishing of this cake that I wanted to point out that makes it different from a standard cake roll. Usually when I assemble a roll cake, I just uncoil my cooled down cake, place in the filling and re-roll it. With fillings like jams or whipped cream, that technique is perfect. But because I’m using a mousse that requires gelatin to set it, that filling remains relatively liquidy until it is refrigerated for at least an hour. Just so that I can have the best of both worlds in a flavorful and delicious filling with a fluffy cake, I changed the assembly up a little bit. I still uncoil my cooled down cake and layer on the filling, but instead of re-rolling the cake, which would result in the still-liquid filling squishing out the sides, I freeze it for about 30 minutes first, just enough so the filling is less liquidy, but not enough that it’s fully set, then re-roll it so that the filling doesn’t just ooze out the sides.

For the banana mousse:
1 banana
1 teaspoon gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup banana milk
a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup blonde chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream

Place the banana into your freezer. Freeze for at least 1 day, or until the banana peel is completely black. Thaw and peel the banana. In a bowl, mix gelatin with water. Place the gelatin into a pot with the banana milk and salt and begin to heat up. In another bowl, whisk the cornstarch with egg yolks. Pour half of the banana milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture and whisk. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot with the rest of the banana milk, then whisk on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened considerably. Transfer to a blender and puree with the banana and blonde chocolate until completely combined and smooth. Pass through a sieve to remove any lumps and allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature. Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold that through the banana pudding mixture to form your mousse.

For the chocolate chiffon cake:
4 egg whites
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup banana milk
2 tablespoons canola oil
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Whip egg whites with half of the sugar to stiff peaks. Whip egg yolks with remaining sugar, banana milk, canola oil, and salt until combined. Sift the remaining ingredients together. Fold your three mixtures together to form your cake batter. Spread onto a lined half sheet tray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes. While the cake is still warm, roll it up into a coil, rolling up the cake along the longer side. Allow the cake to cool down completely before unrolling. Pour onto the cake your mousse. Place into the freezer for at least 30 minutes before re-rolling up the cake – as the mousse is more liquidy until it is fully set, letting it sit in the freezer for 30 minutes first will allow it to solidify and not run out the sides when attempting to roll it. Roll up the cake and keep in the freezer until it is time to glaze.

For the chocolate glaze:
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder + 2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup banana milk
a pinch of salt

Mix gelatin and water first. Place the gelatin mixture into a pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a simmer, then take the pot off heat. Stir gently until everything is fully melted together. Pour through a sieve to remove any lumps. Keep the glaze at 90 degrees F before using on the cake. After glazing the cake, trim the ends off so that you have a clean finish on the cake roll.