Italian meringue (where the egg whites are ‘cooked’ by whisking with a hot sugar syrup) creates the perfect snow-covered bark effect in this twist-on-a-classic yule log. Underneath the soft peaks you’ll find a subtly spiced sponge filled with boozy chestnut purée and white chocolate cream
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
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Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst ’s recipes
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Ingredients
6 medium eggs
150g golden caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp to dust
150g self-raising flour
1 tsp ground mixed spice
For the filling
100g white chocolate, chopped
200g chestnut purée
4 tbsp cream liqueur (we used Disaronno Velvet Liqueur)
1 tbsp icing sugar
200ml double cream
For the toasted meringue
200g caster sugar
4 medium egg whites
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Assemble to the end of step 4 up to 6 hours ahead. Cover with meringue and blowtorch up to 2 hours before serving. Best eaten on the same day.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6 and grease and line a large Swiss roll tin (about 26cm x 38cm) with baking paper. Put the eggs and 150g golden caster sugar in a free-standing mixer or large bowl and whisk for 6-8 minutes, or until tripled in size. The mixture should leave a ribbon trail when you lift the whisk out. Sift the flour and mixed spice together and slowly fold this through the mixture, taking care not to knock too much air out. Pour into the prepared tray, smoothing to ensure it reaches all the corners and is level. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the sponge feels springy to the touch.
Lay another sheet of baking paper on your work surface and sprinkle with the extra tablespoon of caster sugar. When the sponge is cooked, turn it out on the sugar-dusted paper. Carefully peel the lining paper off the base of the sponge, then gently roll up the sponge with the baking paper inside and leave to cool completely.
To make the filling, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, then remove and leave to cool. Loosen the chestnut purée with 2 tablespoons of the liqueur and add the icing sugar. Whip the double cream to soft peaks. Fold a couple of tablespoons of the whipped cream through the white chocolate to loosen it and then fold the remaining white chocolate through the cream.
Unroll the sponge and spread the surface with the chestnut purée, then drizzle over the remaining liqueur. Top with the white chocolate cream and spread out, leaving a slight border all around as the cream will squidge to the edges as it is rolled up. Carefully roll up the filled sponge and place on a serving plate, with the seam on the underside. Chill while you make the meringue.
For the meringue, put the sugar in a pan with 75ml of water and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar reaches 117°C, at which point start whisking the egg whites in a large bowl or stand mixer. When the syrup reaches 120°C, remove from the heat and slowly pour it into the whisking egg whites, avoiding the whisk. Continue to beat for around 5-6 minutes as it cools, until you have a stiff, smooth, glossy meringue.
Cover the log all over with the meringue, peaking it to look like bark using a palette knife, or for a more finely grained appearance use a closed-tip star nozzle and piping bag. Using a cook’s blowtorch, toast the peaks of the meringue all over to give a snow-covered log effect.
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winWin tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera, and a night at a four-star London hotel
Santa's elves may be able to work all day and night to get Christmas ready, but that doesn't mean you need to do the same. The beauty of festive layer cakes, chocolate-coated yule logs, and yes, even the traditional fruit cake, is that they can all be made ahead and decorated or wrapped up whenever you're ready.
Break into squares and place in a heatproof bowl. Heat on medium for 1 minute, then stir gently and heat for a further 30-60 seconds until melted. The yule log will keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge, loosely covered with foil. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
Spread some of the icing thinly over the sponge, going right out to the edges. Start rolling from the long side facing you, taking care to get a tight roll from the beginning, and roll up to the other side.
Butter and line a 23 x 32cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment. Beat the eggs and golden caster sugar together with an electric whisk for about 8 mins until thick and creamy. Mix the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together, then sift onto the egg mixture. Fold in very carefully, then pour into the tin.
The original yule log was just that — a large, heavy piece of wood that was burned during the festive season. It was lit on Christmas Eve and rekindled each day until Twelfth Night was reached.
Is this the same as a swiss roll? The main difference between the two cakes is the way the cakes are decorated. The Yule log cake, or buche de noel, is made to look like the logs burned on Christmas eve, whereas the exterior of a swiss roll is decorated much more simply, such as with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
Whilst people always make a big deal about how to prevent the roll cracking, the answer is simple: don't let it dry out!Avoid overcooking the sponge and make sure to place the damp towel over it while it cools. That's all you need to do!
But alas, that's what I had to do: The secret to making a roll cake that doesn't crack is to roll it up, unfilled, while it's still warm from the oven and at its most pliable. Then let it cool, unroll and fill, and roll right back up.
The Yule log cake is a rolled Genoise sponge cake, filled with buttercream and decorated with chocolate frosting or ganache, which is combed with a fork to create a bark-like texture.
Vin doux naturels (natural sweet wines) are good candidates to accompany the traditional log. Among the different options available, try the log with Muscat-Beaume-de-Venise, white Banyuls, Sauternes, Coteaux du Layon, Quarts de Chaume or sweet wine from Alsace, such as Vendange Tardive or Sélection de Grais Nobles.
A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple hoping to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth. In our house, we usually make our Yule log out of pine, but you can make yours of any type of wood you choose.
Just be careful with it - don't over mix the chocolate if its melting over a double boiler, but if you're doing it in the microwave and then adding the water after, beat like crazy so that its smooth! This cake will last for 3 days in an airtight container, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months!
The yule log will last for 2-3 days stored in the fridge. You can freeze the undecorated sponge. Wrap it well in cling film and freeze for up to 3 months. Unfortunately, only fully decorated, I do not recommend freezing the yule log.
Just before supper on Christmas Eve (where furmety is eaten), while the Yule log is burning, all other lights are put out, and the candles are lit from the Yule log by the youngest person present. While they are lit, all are silent and wish.
You want your cake to be light, airy, and moist so that it's flexible enough to roll easily. If you overbeat the batter or bake the cake too long, it could become dense, gummy, or dry — and thus more likely to crack.
Introduction: My name is Aracelis Kilback, I am a nice, gentle, agreeable, joyous, attractive, combative, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Prep time: 1 hr 5 mins
