Yule Love this Recipe!

Snowflakes swirl down gently in the deep blue haze beyond the window. The outside world is a dream. Inside, the fireplace is brightly lit, and the Yule log crackles with orange and crimson sparks. There’s a steaming mug in your hands, warming your fingers. There’s a friend seated across from you in the cozy chair, warming your heart. There is mystery unfolding.

Vera Nazarian

Over the years I’ve blogged about stuff I traditionally cook over the festive period, I thought I’d covered them all however, looking back I don’t seem to have covered a very important staple in the Figueroa household – The Yule Log!

I’ve blogged about strange Christmas oddities however, there aren’t many Christmas traditions stranger than eating food specifically made to look like a dead tree! I’ll bet you’ve never even thought about it before but our classic Yule log (or bûche de Noël) is full of symbolism from its ritualistic past. The history of Yule log dates all the way back to before the medieval era. The Celts & Gaelic Europeans would gather to welcome the winter solstice. It was a time of feasts & celebration of the days becoming lighter & longer.

To usher in the spring, they would burn massive logs, often decorated with holly, pinecones & ivy or anointed with wine & salt. They believed that burning the logs would vanquish the darkness associated with winter and cleanse the air of the previous year’s events.

With the advent of Christianity, the Yule log remained a festive tradition, albeit on a much smaller scale. As hearths became smaller in the home though, it became impractical to burn such massive logs. Those smaller hearths, however, were perfect for a spot of baking. Soon, cakes began to appear on medieval tables in the shape of wooden logs, often decorated with marzipan & meringue.

These days, a Yule log is a light, airy sponge made by whipping up eggs, filled with either fresh, whipped cream or chocolate buttercream before rolled up & smothered in even more chocolate. My memories of Yule log revolve around my mum and my sister. My sister was born on the 21st of December. She was a choc-a-holic from a very early age so, one year, my mum decided to do a Yule log as her birthday cake. It was a HUGE success and became a household tradition, even today when I tuck into the first slice of the Yule log, I smile and remember those family birthdays with Love in my heart!

I’ve tried a few different recipes over the years however, this quirky but delicious version is a household favourite!

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

4 large eggs
100g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour
40g cocoa powder

For the filling:

284ml double cream
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the ganache covering:

284ml double cream
185g dark chocolate (70%)
100g milk chocolate

To finish:

1 tbsp icing sugar
A sprig of holly
A couple of cranberries

Method:

To make the sponge, place the eggs & sugar into a large, clean bowl & beat together using a hand mixer or whisk until the mixture becomes frothy, light & pale in colour.
Place a sieve over the bowl & sift over half of the flour & cocoa powder before using a large spoon or spatula to carefully fold into the whisked eggs.
Sift over the remaining flour & cocoa powder, again carefully folding though until fully incorporated & no pockets of dry flour remain.
Pour the mixture into a 40cm x 27cm Swiss rolls tin, greased & lined with baking parchment.
Carefully use a spoon or spatula to tease the mixture into the corners & edges of the tin.
Bake the sponge on the middle shelf of the oven at 180C (160C Fan, Gas Mark 4) for 10-12 minutes, until well risen & springing back when pressed lightly with a finger.
Whilst the cake is baking, measure & cut out a piece of baking parchment slightly larger than your sponge, lay it out flat & sprinkle all over with 2 tbsp of icing sugar.
Once baked, remove the cake from the oven & immediately invert it out onto the sugar sprinkled parchment.
Remove the original lining from the cake & use a sharp knife to score a line 1 inch from the long edge of the cake all the way along the length (be careful not to fully cut through the cake though!).
Starting with your scored edge, begin to roll up your sponge with the sugar sprinkled parchment, rolling it up inside of the cake as you go.
Place the rolled-up cake, seam side down onto a cooling rack to cool.
Whilst the cake is cooling, make the filling by placing the cream, sugar & vanilla into a large, clean bowl & whip up using a whisk or hand mixer until it becomes stiff enough to hold its shape.
Once the cake has completely cooled, slowly & careful unroll it (it doesn’t need to roll out flat, just enough so that you are able to spread the cream inside).
Next, spread the whipped cream over the sponge in an even layer, going right up to the edges of the sponge.
Starting with the same edge you originally began rolling from, carefully re-roll your cake, trying not to press down too much to avoid squeezing out any of the filling.
Use a sharp knife to trim off the edges of the roll for neatness & make a diagonal slice two thirds of the way down the log.
Place the largest roll at a slight angle onto your serving dish before placing the smaller piece halfway along to create a sort of ‘Y’ shaped log, like a branch coming away from the trunk.
Next, make the ganache topping by gently heating up the cream in a small saucepan, it needs to be warm but not so hot that you can’t place your finger comfortably in the warmed cream.
Once warmed, remove from the heat & add the chocolate into the pan.
Stir the two together until everything is melted & glossy.
Leave to cool to room temperature before popping in the fridge to firm up for a while (about half an hour – 1 hour).
Once the ganache has thickened, use a small palette knife to spread it all over the cakes, using is as a glue to seal the two pieces of log together & covering the exposed ends.
Once covered use the palette knife to rough up the texture a little to create a bark effect, you can also use a fork for some finer lines if you prefer.
Finally, dust the log with the icing sugar & garnish with a sprig of holly & some berries – done!

It sounds complicated, it’s really not, I’ve broken it down into easy-to-follow steps, it usually takes me a couple of hours to finish but some of that time is simply waiting for things to cool. Go on, give it a go!

What’s on this week?