Fri, 23 December 2022
Krissy Gibson's Yule Log
INGREDIENTS:
For The Chocolate Sponge Cake:
30g self-raising flour
10g cornflour
25g unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
5 eggs, room temperature
100g caster sugar
5 mls pure vanilla extract
For The Whipped Cream Filling:
300mls heavy cream
20g icing sugar
5 mls pure vanilla extract
For The Whipped Chocolate Ganache:
115g dark chocolate, chopped (morsels also work well)
120mls heavy cream
METHOD:
1. For the sponge, preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and keep the fan low.
2. Use the largest baking tray you have – ideally 17x12 (smallest you want is 15x10)
3. Spray it with vegetable oil and line it with greaseproof paper. Spray the paper as well, to make it easier to remove after baking. Set your tray aside.
4. In a small bowl, blend the flour, cornflour, cocoa and salt. Set aside. Measure your caster sugar into another small bowl and remove two tablespoons from it. Set them both aside.
5. Separate your eggs into two separate bowls – the yolks go into a large bowl, and the whites go into a medium bowl. Add the vanilla extract to the egg yolks.
6. Next add your caster sugar to the large bowl but leave those remaining two tablespoons to use for your meringue.
7. Beat your egg yolk mixture together on high speed on high speed until fluffy and pale, about 4 minutes.
8. Fold your dry ingredients into the yolk mixture and combine.
9. Take your medium bowl with your room temperature egg whites and beat them with an electric hand mixture. Make sure there is no yolk on your beaters. Whip your whites until soft peaks form and add those two teaspoons of sugar.
10. Whip again for another 4 minutes. Fold the egg whites into the batter with a spatula until just combined. Your batter will look fluffy.
11. Pour your fluffy batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread gently and evenly. Bake for only 8 minutes. It will be puffy when you take it out, but it will shrink down.
12. Loosen the cake from the pan after a minute and sift icing sugar all over the top of the cake. Flip the cake over onto a clean kitchen towel. Carefully remove the parchment paper. Sift this side of the cake with icing sugar so it won’t stick to your towel.
13. While the cake is still warm, gently roll it from the narrow end with the towel until it is completely rolled inside the towel. Completely cool the cake for about an hour.
14. In a medium bowl, whip your cream with the icing sugar and vanilla until it is nice and firm. You don’t want your cream to be runny. Don’t over-mix it though, or you’ll end up with butter. Set aside in fridge until you are ready to use it again.
15. Unroll your cooled cake gently and slowly. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake, leaving an inch around the sides. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
16. Be sure your chocolate is broken into small pieces and place them into a medium bowl. To make your whipped ganache topping, heat your cream in a saucepan on low heat. Do not allow it to boil, but let it start to steam. Pour the cream into the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then use a spoon to slowly stir until combined.
17. Cool the ganache in the fridge for 20 minutes until firm, but still soft. Use your hand mixer to whip the ganache for 3 minutes until fluffy. Set aside, but do not refrigerate the ganache since you’ll soon be using it to frost your cake.
18. Remove the cling film from your cake. Cut the edges off each side. Slice 4 inches off one end, at a diagonal. Place it on the side of the roll to look like a tree branch.
19. Spread the whipped ganache evenly over the cake. Next draw lines with a fork to give it a wooden texture like tree bark. Refrigerate until serving. This lasts up to three days in the fridge when covered with cling film.
