We have a little bit of freedom with the recipe.
We can flavor the cake with any flavor as long as we use the original recipe.
I chose chocolate!
We may also fill it with anything we want.
I choose coffee cream filling!
We must use mushrooms to decorate, whether meringue or marzipan.
I choose almond flavored meringue!
So lets get started, shall we?
I made the mushrooms first. I always feel better if I can get those out of the way. I just put the cap and stems, unassembled in Tupperware till I’m ready for them. Now, I’m ahead of the game. At least in my mind!
Next came the cake. It always seems intimidating whenever I see eggs over hot water and heat till warm, but all went well. I added a big spoonful of unsweetened cocoa into the flour mixture but wasn’t sure how much to add without drying the cake out. I was Conservative! I also rolled my warm cake in a dish towel covered in powdered sugar to cool. Once cooled, I wrapped it in cling wrap. That way, I could finish the next day. I usually always make the cake over a two day period. That way, I can fill and frost it the day I serve it. So far, Success is knocking at my door
Now comes the filling. Easy peasy! Just whip up some heavy cream with instant coffee crystals and powdered sugar till stiff. Unroll the cooled cake and gently spread cream evenly over the surface. Reroll cake.
If it breaks a little, don’t stress! Once you put the frosting on, its glued back together. No one will ever know and you look good
A few people have had problems at this stage of the game. If you let the eggs cool to much before adding the butter, it can curdle.
A.O.K. Everything went fine with the buttercream. Ya Whooo!!!
Home run for the ball team. Score!
Now for the funnest part. Frosting and decorating. I always cut a little bit of my Christmas tree in the back where no one will notice. I use these few branches to decorate. They also help nestle the mushrooms and keep them upright. A bird and a sprinkle of snow (powdered sugar) finish off my Christmas yule log.
Sources: Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri and The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Dessert
Plain Genoise:
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup cake flour – spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off (also known as cake & pastry flour)
¼ cup cornstarch
one 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again
1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.
3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger – it should be warm to the touch).
4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.
5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.
6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.
7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
I love your Christmas tree twig and bird touch
Your cake looks moist and delicious! Mine turned out a bit dry and I never thought of flavoring the meringue! Brilliant! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I love your whole Yule scene. Your a old hand at this I see. Very Nice. Happy Holidays.
If I didn’t know it was a cake, I would’ve said it was a Christmas centerpiece. Great job on it
beatiful! cute little birdy:-)
well done on your DB challenge. happy holidays!
Oh I love the bird on the log…makes it realistic. Beautiful log.
Oh Well done Megan! I love the leaves and the bird is just fantastic! Have a Blessed Christmas.
Beautiful decoration – clever to add the real tree to it!
Isn’t the buttercream delicious?
Happy Christmas
How lovely! Really like the touches of greenery and the bird!
Ann
megan, I can’t believe you do this every year. Although the practise really shows, it’s gorgeous. Merry Chrismtas
All I can say is “wow!”
Looks beautiful!!
Wow, you have so many great ideas for creating a successful Yule Log! Thanks for the tips! Yours looks great (and I bet it tasted good too)!
You did such a good decorating job! Well done!
I love the decorations, Megan! It is so cute with the bird and the pine sprigs!
So how did this recipe compare to the previous ones you’ve used? Looks stunning!
beautiful! I am jealous because I thought we had another week…::sniff::
yours is fabulous!
Your bûche de Noël is truly lovely.
Merry Christmas to you.
Julius from Occasional Baker
It’s beautiful! I love the little bird–so adorable!!!
I love how you have decorated the log, it looks so authentic. Mmmm almond meringue.
wow, you really went to great lengths decorating your log! well done. you deserve a quiet christmas away from blogging now
Excellent job – your decorations are wonderful!
Great job on the log Megan! I love your creative touch for decorating!
Happy holidays to you and your family!
Awesome log, you decorated it beautifully!
That’s beautiful! Great job =)
Beautiful! I love the decoration with the branch.
It is gorgeous!!!
Just gorgeous! I can tell you are a veteran at making yule logs. Yours is artful and tasty-looking, too.
It looks ever so pretty! Very well done!
Happy Holidays!
Rosa
Great job–your yule log is gorgeous. I love how it looks so natural. Very cool.
Great job. Love the way you decorated your log!
I love that your Christmas tree made its way onto the presentation plate for the cake! Lovely! Great Job!!
Your yule log looks great! Well done!
This is one of the prettiest logs I’ve seen…and over the last several days I’ve looked at a lot of ‘em. Great job with this challenge. I hope you had a joyous and peaceful holiday celebration, and that 2008 brings you nothing but the best!
Very nicely done! What a lovely yule log you created. I’m sure it was delicious. Happy new year!
jen at use real butter