Among the quick summer desserts without baking, the no-bake chocolate roll is certainly one of the most delicious, perfect for those who can’t give up the pleasure of chocolate even in the middle of summer. The recipe is really easy and the result is extraordinarily satisfying: the cold chocolate roll has a soft and compact base, made with crushed cookies, butter, and milk, reminiscent of shortcrust pastry but requires no baking. The filling is made from a quick mascarpone cream and a generous layer of Nutella, for a creamy and irresistible combination.
This no-bake dessert is easy to prepare and store: it can be portioned and kept in the freezer for a quick and fresh snack. Furthermore, it can be easily adapted to a gluten-free version by substituting the cookies with specific ones. It’s also a recipe perfect to make with kids, who can have fun helping in the preparation during the summer holidays.
If you’re looking for a summer chocolate dessert, simple and delicious, this no-bake chocolate roll is the right choice to surprise everyone with a few ingredients and without turning on the oven!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 Pieces
- Cooking methods: No-bake
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 454.10 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 42.40 (g) of which sugars 24.05 (g)
- Proteins 4.07 (g)
- Fat 31.04 (g) of which saturated 20.75 (g)of which unsaturated 4.37 (g)
- Fibers 2.00 (g)
- Sodium 163.83 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 103 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a filled cold roll (about 8 slices)
If you are celiac, you can use gluten-free chocolate cookies. In this case, the amount of milk needed will probably be slightly higher. Also, check that the unsweetened cocoa, Nutella, and powdered sugar are labeled as “gluten-free”.
- 10.5 oz chocolate cookies (gluten-free for me)
- 3.5 oz butter (at room temperature)
- 2 tsps unsweetened cocoa powder
- as needed milk (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup)
- 8.8 oz mascarpone
- 1 oz powdered sugar
- 3.5 oz Nutella®
Tools
- 1 Blender
- 1 Bowl
- Parchment paper
- Aluminum foil
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Knife
How to Prepare the No-Bake Chocolate Roll
To prepare the no-bake chocolate roll, start by placing the cookies in a blender (1). Grind them very finely until you get a flour-like mixture (2). Add two teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to intensify the chocolate flavor (3).
Add the soft but not melted butter (4). I recommend leaving it at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, or 5 minutes in an off oven with the light on. Add about 1/4 cup of milk (5). Blend again for about a minute and check the consistency: the mixture will probably still be uneven and crumbly, so add a little more milk (6) and blend again.
Remove the blade from the blender and mix with a spoon: if the dough is sticky, compact, and workable with your hands without breaking, it is ready (7), otherwise, you will need to add more milk, but do it little by little. Consider that generally for regular cookies (pan di stelle), 1/3 cup of milk is sufficient. For the same type of gluten-free cookies, which are drier and less buttery than the glutenous equivalents, I had to use 1/2 cup of milk. Set the dough aside and prepare the mascarpone cream: in a bowl, combine the mascarpone and powdered sugar (8). Work them quickly with a spoon or a spatula, until you get a creamy mixture (9).
Next, roll out the base for your cookie roll: place a large sheet of parchment paper on the work surface. Form a ball with the dough and place it in the center of the sheet (10). Lay another sheet of parchment paper over it and roll out the dough with a rolling pin (11). You need to achieve a rectangle not too thin, about 1/4 inch, otherwise, it will break when rolled (12).
Use a spatula to spread a layer of Nutella over the dough (13). Cover it with the mascarpone cream (14). Using the parchment paper, start rolling the dough on itself, gently squeezing to compact it (15).
When you form the roll, press well on the seams to seal it (16). Wrap it in parchment paper and then in a sheet of aluminum foil (17) and let it firm up in the freezer for an hour, or in the refrigerator for 6 hours. Once firm, unwrap it and cut it into slices about 1 inch thick (18).
Serve the no-bake chocolate roll immediately, as a dessert after a meal or for a snack.
Storage
You can store the cold chocolate roll in the refrigerator for a couple of days. If you firmed it in the freezer and it hasn’t thawed when you slice it, you can freeze the already portioned slices and keep them for a month. Otherwise, if the dessert has thawed, it cannot be refrozen and should be kept in the fridge (for this reason, I prefer to let it rest in the fridge for 6 hours and freeze it later if there are leftovers).
Variations
If you prefer, you can make the no-bake cold roll using plain white cookies, without chocolate, and add another 2 teaspoons of cocoa to the dough. Adjust the amount of milk needed, always considering that the dough should have the consistency of a soft shortcrust pastry.
You can fill the no-bake roll in many different ways: instead of mascarpone, for example, you can use ricotta or Greek yogurt for a lighter dessert. You can skip Nutella and add chocolate chips or shredded coconut to the cream. You can add fresh fruit cut into pieces and well dried (but in that case, I suggest against resting in the freezer, as the fruit would freeze).
