Yule Log

A chocolate yule log is a popular christmas dessert.

It is traditionally eaten in France and Belgium.
It is a chocolate sponge roll layered with cream.
The outside is covered with chocolate and decorated to look like a bark covered log!

Ingredients:sponge
Cake flour or all purpose flour-1/4 cup,
Cornflour-2 tbsp,
Cocoa pwd-2 tbsp,
White sugar-1/2 cup -divided-use 1 tbsp for the whipping cream,
Egg-2,
Egg yolk-3,
Egg white-2,
Vanilla essence-1 tsp,
Lemon jiuce -1/4 tsp.
Icing sugar for dusting the sponge cake.

Ganache frosting:
Chocolate-180 gms-coarsely chopped,
Milk chocolate-60 gms-coarsely chopped,
Whipping cream-3/4 cup,
Butter-2 tbsp.

Chocolate whipping cream:
Heavy whipping cream-1 cup,
White sugar-14 cup,
Cocoa pwd-2 tbsp,
Vanilla essence-1/2 tsp.

Method:
Separate the eggs white from yolk while the egg is still cold.
Cover  and leave it for half hour to come to room temperature.

Grease 10X14  baking sheet tray and layer the bottom with  butter paper.
Grease the butter paper and then dust the whole sheet with flour.
Remove the extra flour.

Pre heat oven to 230 C

Whisk flour,cocoa pwd  and cornflour in a bowl.

To beat egg whites,the blade of the beater and bowl should be fat free to get stiff peaks.

Take a bowl and pour the egg whites and beat for few seconds then add 1/4 tsp of lemon juice.
Beat until soft peaks form.

Increase the speed to high and gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaksform.

Keep aisde.
In another bowl,add 2 egg and 3 egg yolk along with the remaining sugar and vanilla essence.

Beat on high speed until pale yellow -5 minutes.

Sift the flour in three stages into the egg yolk batter.

Gently fold in the egg whites into the flour egg yolk batter in three stages.

Pour the batter into the sheet pan and even it with a spoon.

Bake for 10 minutes or until set.

Tooth pick inserted will come out clean and when you touch the surface it will not stick to your finger.
Keep a kitchen towel and some icing powder in a bowl.



Once the sponge is baked,take out and keep on the counter.
Loosen the sides with knife.
Using a sieve,dust the sponge cake with icing sugar.

Cover with a kitchen towel and place a wire rack and invert the sponge.

Remove the butter paper and again dust with icing sugar.

Gently roll the cake with towel and place it on wire rack to cool.

Chocolate ganache or frosting:
Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a bowl.

Heat cream in microwave for 1 minute.

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave it for 5 minute.
Gently mix with a spatula until smooth.

If there are still some chocolate which have not melted,then put the bowl in microwave for another 10 seconds.
Once the chocolate is smooth, leave it for an hour to thicken. It can take less time depending on the room temperature.The chocolate has to spread on the sponge.

Chocolate whipping cream:
Place whipping cream,vanilla essence,cocoa pwd in a bowl and whisk till combined.

Beat with beater on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Assemble:
Once the sponge has cooled,then gently unroll it.

Spread the chocolate whipped cream.

Start to roll again without using your finger on the cake but roll it by unwrapping the kitchen towel from the sponge.

Transfer the log onto your serving plate.

Cut 1 and 1/2 inch diagonal slice from the side and using a little frosting attach it to the top of the log.
If you like you can cut another slice from the other end and keep it side of the log.

Using a offset spatulla cover the whole log with chocolate ganache.

Run a fork  to make bark marks on the log.
Keep the log in the fridge for few hours to set.
Decorate with meringue mushrooms and before serving dust with icing sugar.

Christmas cake(dry fruits soaked in rum)

This is a christmas cake made using rum!

Assorted dry fruits and mixed peel are soaked in rum or brandy for a day.
The baked cake is then brushed with rum twice or thrice for 2 weeks!
christmas cakes are usually made two to three weeks in advance,with or without alcohol as it allows the assorted fruits and nuts to enhance the flavour of the cake.

Recipe from joyofbaking.com

Ingredients:
All purpose flour-2 cups,
Finely ground almond-3/4 cup or 75 gms,
Eggs-3,
Baking powder-1 tsp,
Mixed dried fruit-1 kilo-( prunes or figs or apricot,currants, small and big raisins,candied fruits,mixed peel,dried or glazed cherries,50 gms of chopped almonds and 50 gms of chopped walnuts- you can use any dry fruit of your liking- .

Juice of 1 orange or 1/3 cup,
Zest of 1 lemon,
Brown sugar-1 cup(powdered)
Rum or brandy-1 cup for soaking and 3 tbsp for brushing the cake after it is baked.

Note:  Christmas cake is made 2 to 3 weeks before christmas.
The longer it ages the flavour of the fruits penetrates the cake.

This can can be made without using rum or brandy.
Soaking will not be required then,just add 2 to 3 tbsp of flour from the recipe to avoid the fruits from sinking at bottom of the pan while baking.

Method:
Chop or slice if using prunes,apricot or figs in bite size pieces.
Soak the mixed dry fruits and chopped walnuts and almonds in 1 cup of rum or brandy in a bowl.

Cover with cling film and leave it for a day.

Soak 75 gms of almonds a day before.
Peel the skin and leave it to dry on a tissue paper overnight.
Grind into a powder form.


Pre heat oven to 160 C
Grease a 8 inch round springform pan.
Line the bottom with butter paper and brush with butter.
Cut out a long strip of butter paper for the side with 2 inch above the rim of the pan.

Butter the side strip too.

Whisk flour and baking powder in a bowl.

Toss the soaked mixed fruit with a spatula.

Mix 3 tbsp of flour to the soaked mixed fruit.

Beat butter with an electric beater till soft and creamy.

Add brown sugar and beat until light for a minute.

Add one egg at a time and beat for few minutes.

Scrape down the sides.

Add orange juice and lemon zest.

Add the mixed fruit in batches and beat just till they are mixed.

Mix almond powder and flour with wire whisk.

Fold in the flour almond mix with a spatula till they are evenly mixed.

It is a thick batter.

Evenly spread the batter in the springform pan

.

Place the pan in a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour in 160 C,
then reduce the oven temperature to 150 C and bake for another 80 to 90 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in it will come out with moist crumbs.
Since the baking time is more then 2 hour and every oven has different heating,so start checking after 2 hours and 15 minutes.

2 inch butter paper over the rim of the pan protects the cake from over browning.
Place the cake pan on wire rack to cool.

Loosen the clip from the side and remove the side butter paper.

While the cake is still warm,brush the top and side with 1 tbsp of rum if using.


Let it cool completely.
Remove the butter paper from the bottom.

Once the cake is completely cool,wrap the cake with butter paper and then double wrap with foil.

Finally wrap with cling film and put in the fridge.
Brush twice to 2 to 3 weeks with 1 tbsp of rum. 

Keep wrapped in the fridge until christmas.
Leave it at room temperature the day to serve.
Leftover cake can be kept wrapped in a container at room temperature.
Makes for -16 people!