How to make a Christmas Chocolate Yule Log

How to make a Christmas Chocolate Yule Log

Forget Christmas Cake, a Christmas Chocolate Yule Log is clearly the pudding EVERYONE loves – and even in these challenging times financially, did you know it’s possible to make your own Christmas Chocolate Yule Log for less than £1.60?

I made it to the age of 40 before even attempting to make a yule log. I always thought it would be too difficult. Turns out it isn’t. Why not give this recipe a go and make a delicious and relatively inexpensive treat that the whole family will love? A perfect centrepiece for the evening Christmas buffet (if it lasts that long!)

This recipe comes courtesy of the Cookery in Hoddesdon, where I attended a Christmas Chocolate Yule Log baking evening a few years ago, with extra instructions based on what I learnt.

Ingredients for Swiss Roll

 125gr                                                   Eggs (should be 2 eggs!)

75gr                                                       Caster Sugar

63gr                                                       Plain Flour

15gr                                                       Cocoa

15gr                                                       Warm Water

Ingredients for Butter Cream

85g                                                        butter

175g                                                      icing sugar

2 tbsp                                                   cocoa powder

1 tbsp                                                   milk

The Christmas Chocolate Yule Log Method:

1. 1. Put the eggs, sugar and water in a mixing bowl and whisk until a stiff sponge is formed. We used a fancy mixer but you could use a hand blender or even a whisk for a bit of a workout. We whisked for maybe 4-5 minutes before the stiff mixture formed. It wasn’t stiff as in stiff peaks, it was where you could draw a line in the mixture and it would hold.
   2. Sieve the flour & Cocoa together and carefully fold them into the egg/sugar sponge. Fold gently to keep the air in the mixture as we want the sponge to be light and fluffy when cooked.
   3. Use a baking tray that has an edge all the way around, grease it with a little butter and line it with baking paper.
   4. Pour the mixture into the tray and spread it out so that the mixture is about 5mm thick.

1. 1. Bake at 190c for 10 mins, or until the sheet of the sponge is firm to touch.
   2. Now for the tricky bit of removing the sponge from the tray and the paper. Use a clean tea towel, lay it flat on a tabletop and sprinkle it with caster sugar. Turn the baked sponge out onto the tea towel so that it is upside down. This will make sure the top is coated in sugar.
   3. Brush the baking paper with cold water (this makes it easy to remove the grease-proof paper) and leave it to cool.
   4. Once cool, peel off the baking paper and spread the sponge with jam, cream, buttercream, lemon curd, choc spread or whatever you like.
   5. Next is the roll, which is probably the trickiest bit. Roll up the far edge of the sponge towards you and then using the T Towel, pull the towel towards you so the sponge rolls underneath it forming a tight Swiss roll. Don’t worry too much if it cracks, you can put that bit underneath!
   6. Next you need the chocolate buttercream for the log decoration. Mix the butter and icing sugar together until smooth, add the cocoa powder and milk and mix again until smooth.

1. Put the mixture into a piping bag for ease and pipe the mixture over the log. Cover the log then use a fork to make the bark like design. Sprinkle a bit of icing over the top to look like snow
2. We then decorated our logs with festive pictures. I went for a snowman and my fellow baker Emma went for holly.

The yule log tasted amazing, so light and fluffy. And it lasted approximately 5 minutes when it got home to the boys. It was easy to make, so why not have a go yourself, get the kids involved and be creative with your decoration?