MAKE THE CAKE

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 

Brown the butter. Leave to cool.

Separate the eggs. Whisk the whites with 1/2 cup of sugar until stiff peaks form. I like to start on low until it begins to turn white, then I increase speed to high. Remove to a standby bowl. (I used a wide, flat bowl – about double the volume needed so I would have room to stir the egg mixtures together.)

Whisk the egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, COOLED browned butter, and vanilla until light yellow and creamy.  Pour over the whipped egg whites and gently fold together. It will mix further when you add the dry ingredients. 

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together into the egg mixture. Fold together gently, being careful not to over mix and knock all the air out of the eggs.

Pour into the sheet pan and smooth even and flat. The batter will be a light brown and look very airy.

Bake for 15 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Don’t over bake or it will crack when rolling. (Although, if it does crack, it will still taste delightful, and you can cover any cracks with the ganache!)

After pulling cake from oven, dust a new section of parchment paper with cocoa powder and move the cake carefully onto the new parchment. Roll tightly and leave rolled while making the remaining elements. 

WHIPPED CREAM FILLING

Whisk together heavy cream and powdered sugar. Once the cream thickens, add remaining ingredients.  

GANACHE

Chop the chocolate until relatively small chunks. Warm the heavy cream until simmer, don’t boil. Pour cream over the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool until thick enough to spread. This took about 30 minutes. I had some trouble spreading on the cake due to the cocoa powder I used to keep the cake from sticking to the parchment paper when rolling. So, take your time and don’t lose your patience! It will come together beautifully!