Recipe: Christmas Chocolate Yule Log (Bûche de Noël) + Merry Christmas 2013

Dear readers and friends, a very Merry Christmas to you all. Wishing you a wonderful celebration with your loved ones at home.

***************

A yule log or Bûche de Noël is a cake traditionally served during Christmas time. Last year, The Unc was home with us for Christmas and we decided that we should attempt making a chocolate yule log for Christmas Day.

Chocolate yule log and mini edible Christmas tree

It turned out easier than expected, all we had to do was bake a cake in a Swiss roll tin, then fill it with melted chocolate and whipped cream, then roll it up to resemble a Swiss roll . Do not worry if it cracks a little when you roll it, as you will be covering the imperfections with more chocolate frosting.

Get out your festive decorations - we topped our yule log with a snowman, candy cane, Christmas tree and Santa Claus, and not forgetting, a dusting of snow powder for a white Christmas. The yule log definitely added a festive air to our celebrations at home.

Last year, many of my blogger friends also made Christmas trees using mini ice cream cones and green frosting. This mini Christmas tree was decorated with some edible balls (for baubles) and topped with a red heart. The kids thought it was really cute!

The chocolate yule log was rich and I especially loved the filling. An indulgent cake, perfect for the Christmas celebrations. Everyone loved it and the cake was gone in no time! :)

Christmas Chocolate Yule Log
Recipe adapted from James Martin "The Collection"
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients
Sunflower oil, for greasing
175g good dark chocolate, broken into pieces
6 medium free-range eggs, separated
Generous 3/4 cup caster sugar

For the filling
85g good dark chocolate, broken into pieces
Scant 1 cup heavy cream, whipped

For the frosting
100g good dark chocolate, chopped
Scant 1 cup whipping cream
Cocoa powder, for dusting
Snow powder, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Lightly grease a 12 x 8 inch (30 x 20 cm) Swiss roll pan with sunflower oil and line with parchment paper.

2. Put the chocolate into a small heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water (the bowl must not touch the water) and heat gently, stirring occasionally, to melt. Let cool.

3. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl until light and creamy. Place the bowl over a pan of hot water, add the cooled chocolate and stir to blend evenly.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Carefully fold into the chocolate mixture.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin, tilting it so that everything spreads evenly into the corners. Bake for 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch.

5. Remove from the oven. Place a dry tea-towel on the cake, and on top of this layer another tea-towel that has been soaked in cold water and well wrung out.

6. For the filling, melt the chocolate as above, then allow it time to cool.

7. Remove the tea-towels and turn the sponge out on to a piece of baking parchment. Peel the lining paper off the cake. Spread the melted chocolate over the cake, then spread the whipped cream on top. Roll up the cake from the long edge, using the paper to help lift and roll.

8. For the coating, melt the chocolate as above. Allow it to cool and add the cream. The mixture should turn smooth and glossy. Spread roughly over the Swiss roll, then dust with cocoa powder and snow powder (or icing sugar) for snow and decorate with Christmas figurines.

Note: During rolling, the cake may crack but this is normal. Simply cover it up with the frosting :)


For the Christmas Tree
30g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/4 tsp caster sugar
Green food coloring
1 mini cone
Edible balls for decoration (baubles)
Edible heart or star-shape (for top of Xmas tree)

1. Beat cream cheese in a mixer until very smooth, about 2 minutes, then add the sugar and beat for another minute. Add food coloring until blended.

2. Fill into a disposable piping bag with a star tip. Place cone on cake tray with end facing upwards. Pipe  frosting all over tree. Decorate with edible balls (as baubles) and place a heart on top of the tree.

I am submitting this to the "Baby Sumo's Christmas Recipes Collection 2013" event which I am hosting. You can link your recipes here.

I am submitting this to Bake-Along #56 : Theme - Christmas Log hosted by Lena, Joyce and Zoe.

I am also submitting this to Cook-Your-Books #7 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours .

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! Thanks :)

*This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel's FB page on 26 December 2013.