Cole Yarbrough’s passion for cooking runs in his family, which has led him to cook up a dream of someday owning an Italian restaurant in New York City. To prepare, Yarbrough (10) worked as a prep chef at Ray’s Gourmet Country Restaurant in Houston this past summer. He is also enrolled in the restaurant management course. After high school, he plans on attending LSU’s culinary program to earn his degree. Yarbrough will then work in gourmet restaurants as either a prep chef, assistant chef, or any other job that will lead him to becoming a head chef at a restaurant in his hometown. Yarbrough’s ultimate goal is to take his gourmet Italian restaurant to New York City.
An important part of being a prep-chef is not just to prep the food for the tables but also to make a form of art. “Garnishing is my main element to making the dishes I prep an art form,” Yarbrough said as he held the Chocolate-Cinnamon Cake Roll [recipe below] that he garnished with cocoa powder.
Yarbrough has already begun his journey to food fame in NYC by perfecting some of the most difficult pastries and cakes. He has perfected a classic New York dessert, the cheesecake. Yarbrough continues to work hard on perfecting his talent every time he goes into the kitchen.
Here, Yarbrough shares his own recipe for Chocolate-Cinnamon Cake Roll.
Ingredients:
3 Eggs
1 Cup sugar
1/3 Cup water
1 Teaspoon coffee-flavored liqueur
¾ Cup all-purpose flour
¾ Cup cocoa
1 Teaspoon baking powder
¼ Teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Cinnamon Whipped Cream Filling:
1 Cup chilled cream
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon coffee-flavored liqueur
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions for filling: Beat in chilled bowl until stiffened. Set aside.
Directions for cake:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1-inch jellyroll pan with aluminum foil. Grease generously. In a separate bowl, beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes, or until thick and fluffy.
Pour sugar into large mixing bowl; slowly mix in eggs. Mix in water and 1 teaspoon liqueur on low speed. Gradually add flour, ¼ cup cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Beat until batter is smooth. Pour into prepared jellyroll pan.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Immediately after removing cake from the oven, use a knife to loosen cake edges from pan. Transfer cake from pan onto a cocoa-sprinkled towel. Starting at the long end of the cake, carefully roll cake and towel together. Cool on cooling rack at least 30 minutes.
After cooled, unroll cake very carefully. Note: Edges of cake will be curved. DO NOT flatten the edges. Spread an even coating of Cinnamon Whipped Cream Filling onto cake. Roll cake into a spiral, using the towel as an aid. Refrigerate until ready to serve.