Chocolate Yule Log

A chocolate yule log, or “Bûche de Noël” is a classic French Christmas cake, that doesn’t require the love and attention of a British Christmas cake, so it’s a great choice for those less organised, or those who just feel suddenly inspired to make a little something festive.

The meringue mushrooms are a traditional touch, but not completely necessary; I rather enjoy the annual ritual of making them though, and it’s not anywhere near as difficult as you might imagine.

The kids always love this one!

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4 from 4 votes

Chocolate Yule Log

A French Christmas classic – a chocolate cake, playfully dressed up to look like a winter woodland scene. And best of all, a Christmas cake you can rustle up at the last minute!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time2 hrs

Total Time2 hrs 30 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings: 16

Calories: 312kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Chocolate cake:

• 4 large eggs
• 100 g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 75 g self-raising flour
• 50 g cocoa powder

Chocolate buttercream:

• 100 g egg whites
• 200 g caster sugar
• 300 g unsalted butter (softened)
• 100 g dark chocolate (70% )

Meringue Mushrooms:

• 1 large egg white
• 80 g caster sugar
• a little cocoa powder

Decoration:

• a little icing sugar
• sprigs of rosemary
• redcurrants
• a little caster sugar

Instructions

Chocolate cake:

• Preheat the oven to 200c /180c fan
• Spray a Swiss roll tin with oil, and line with baking parchment. Spray more oil on top of the parchment.
• Crack the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the sugar and cold water, then whisk for approximately 5 minutes, until the eggs are foamy and voluminous.
• Meanwhile, weight out the self-raising flour and cocoa powder into a small mixing bowl.
• Once the egg mixture is ready, use a fine mesh sieve to sift about half of the flour mixture over the eggs.
• Use a spatula to carefully fold the flour into the eggs.
• When the flour is mostly incorporated, sift the reckoning flour on top, and continue folding until there are no more dry spots.
• Gently scrape the cake mixture into the prepared Swiss roll tin, then tilt and shake the pan to encourage the batter into the corners.
• Place into the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, until the cake has some structure but is still a little soft to the touch.
• Immediately cover the cake tightly with aluminium foil, and leave to cool completely.

Chocolate buttercream:

• Place the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl, and set over a bain-marie.
• I use the bowl of a stand mixer, to make everything cleaner and easier.
• Stir gently over a medium heat until the sugar has all dissolved.
• Whisk the meringue mixture for about 7 minutes, until cool and thick.
• Add the butter, a little at a time, and continue whisking until the buttercream is smooth.
• Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave, in short bursts, stirring regularly.
• Allow the chocolate to cool a little, then add to the buttercream and whisk again.

Meringue mushrooms:

• Preheat the oven to 90c/75c fan
• Whisk the egg white until it is foamy and starting to hold its shape, then slowly sprinkle in the sugar, a little at a time.
• Keep whisking until the meringue is glossy and stiff.
• Place the meringue into a piping bag with a large round opening.
• Pipe an even number of mushroom caps and stalks onto a lined baking sheet.
• Use a moistened finger to smooth over the tops of the mushroom caps.
• Place into the cool oven for 90 minutes.
• When the meringues are cool, assemble the mushrooms by simply pushing the stalks into the caps.
• You can make the mushrooms look more realistic by dusting them with cocoa powder.

Assembly and decoration:

• Remove the foil from the Swiss roll tin, and pull the cake and parchment out completely.
• Spread a layer of the buttercream all over the top side of the cake, leaving a 1-2cm gap along one of the long edges.
• Take a breadknife and cut off that 1-2cm piece of cake, and fold it completely over onto the buttercream.
• Use this ‘cut and fold’ to start the roll tightly, and pull the parchment up and over to help keep things even and together.
• Once the roll of complete, cut the top quarter off the cake at a 45 degree angle.
• Arrange the chocolate roll on your presentation plate, with the smaller piece positioned to look like a branch.
• Place the remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip, and pipe straight lines up and down the branches.
• On the log ends, swirl the nozzle to create circles.
• Feel free to play with the buttercream bark using a fork of skewer to make it look more natural.
• Give the yule log a generous dusting of icing sugar to give the impression of snow.
• Decorate the yule log with the meringue mushrooms.
• Add sprigs of rosemary, and redcurrants dusted with caster sugar to give the appearance of foliage.

Nutrition

Calories: 312kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 5gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 38mgPotassium: 135mgFiber: 2gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 545IUCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

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