Looking for a recipe to make your Yule cool?

Try this beautiful Chocolate Yule Log. A light chocolate sponge cake is slathered with whipped cream, rolled up, and covered with a rich chocolate ganache icing. So good and very festive.

Chocolate Yule Log

Ingredients for the chocolate sponge:

4 large eggs
100g/3½oz sugar (about 1/2 cup)
65g/2½oz self-rising flour (about 1/3 cup)
40g/1½oz cocoa powder (about 1/2 cup)
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Ingredients for the chocolate ganache icing:

300ml/½ pint heavy cream
300g/10½oz dark chocolate (that contains 35-40% cocoa solids), chopped

Ingredients for the cream filling:

300ml/½ pint heavy cream, whipped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200℃/400℉. Lightly grease a 33 x 23cm/13 x 9inch Swiss roll tin, and line with parchment paper.

2. For the sponge, in a large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar using an electric mixer until the mixture is pale in color. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and carefully fold in, using a spatula, until all the cocoa and flour are incorporated into the egg mixture. (Be careful not to over mix).

3. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread evenly out to the corners.

4. Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until well risen and firm to the touch and the sides are shrinking away from the edge of the tin.

5. Place a piece of parchment paper larger than the Swiss roll tin on a work surface. Dust with some confectioners’ sugar. Carefully invert the cake onto the paper and remove the bottom lining piece of parchment paper.

6. Starting on one of the longer edges, begin to tightly roll up the sponge using the paper. Roll with the paper inside and set the roll on top of its outside edge to cool completely.

7. While the cake is cooling, make the ganache icing. Heat the cream in a pan until hot, but not boiling. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until it is melted. Cool then put into the fridge to firm up (this icing needs to be very thick for piping).

8. Unroll the cooled cake and remove the paper.

9. Spread the whipped cream on top of cake and re-roll tightly. Cut a quarter of the cake off from the end on the diagonal.

10. Transfer the large piece of cake to a serving platter and angle the cut end in to the middle of the large cake to form a branch.

11. Put the chocolate icing into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe long thick lines along the cake, covering the cake completely so it looks like the bark of a tree. Cover each end with icing or leave unfrosted so you can see the cream filling. Alternatively, instead of piping the icing on you can spread it over the cake and use a fork to create the bark texture.

Serves 8 t0 10

Recipe from The Great British Bake Off

Judging from the long list of things that Winter Witches eat, I think that they would love some Chocolate Yule Cake. And I know you will love this synth-heavy, 1980s-style dance song.

Check out Winter Witches on Facebook where you can learn of an upcoming show in Adelaide, Australia. You can buy their music on Bandcamp.

Cheers!