This year was just the worst. I decided the worst year deserved a special dessert to follow Christmas dinner, so I made my first ever Yule log aka bûche de Noël. A Yule log is a thin sponge cake rolled up with a cream filling and decorated to look like an actual log. I based my creation on a couple different recipes, and have combined them here just in case I endeavor to make this again or even turn it into a yearly tradition. I made this over 2 a day period. The first day I made the cake and filling, rolled it up, covered it, and refrigerated it overnight. I also started the cranberry and rosemary garnish. The next day I made the frosting and mushrooms, finished the garnish, and assembled everything. It's quite a time consuming dessert, and I had a few little helpers which was nice. I absolutely love how it turned out. It might be the most beautiful dessert I've ever made. See a few helpful notes and more pictures following the recipe.
Chocolate Yule Log with Mascarpone Cream Filling and Peppermint Meringue Mushrooms
adapted from lifeloveandsugar.com and allrecipes.com
Cake
3/4 cup all-purpose flour1/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 TBSPs sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened, but still chilled
Frosting
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Meringue Mushrooms (Optional)
3 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
4 ounces chocolate chips
Sugared Cranberries and Rosemary (Optional)
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
4-5 sprigs rosemary
Cake -
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 17×12 inch jelly roll sheet pan with parchment paper. Make sure the parchment paper sticks up at least an inch above the sides of the pan on all sides. You’ll use the parchment paper later to lift the cake out of the pan and roll it up.
2. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk together until well combined. Add the sour cream, melted butter and vanilla extract and whisk together until well combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients and gently whisk together until well combined, then set aside.
5. Add the egg whites to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
6. Gently fold about 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen up the batter. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold together until well combined.
7. Spread the cake batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when toughed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment paper and place it on the counter.
9. While the cake is hot, use the parchment paper the cake was baked in and start at the shorter end of the cake to slowly roll the cake up. Set the cake aside to cool completely.
Filling -
1. When the cake has cooled and is ready to be filled, make the filling. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until soft peaks form.
2. Add the mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream and whip until stiff peaks form. It will happen fairly quickly.
3. Unroll the cake roll very carefully, looking out for areas where it may be sticking to release it. You can use an offset spatula or something similar and run it along the parchment paper as you unroll the cake to help release it as it unrolls.
4. Spread the filling evenly onto the unrolled cake, then roll it back up without the parchment paper. Wrap it up in plastic wrap with the seam side down and refrigerate for at least an hour to firm up or overnight.
Sugared Cranberries and Rosemary -
1. Place cranberries and rosemary in small separate bowls; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water and 1/2 cup of sugar and to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Remove pan from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Pour sugar syrup over the cranberries and rosemary, dividing it evenly between bowls. Cover the bowls and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
5. Drain the cranberries and rosemary from the syrup. Place the cranberries and rosemary in a large zip lock bag and add 1 cup of sugar to the bag. Toss to coat.
6. Pour the sugared cranberries and rosemary out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and let them dry for at least 2 hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Frosting -
1. To make the frosting, in a small saucepan, bring whipping cream to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add chocolate chips. Do not stir.
2. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, stir until smooth.
3. Refrigerate for 30 min.
4. Transfer to a medium sized mixer bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
5. Mix on high speed until thick enough to spread adding an extra 1/4 cup of powdered sugar if needed.
6. To decorate the cake, use a large serrated knife to gently cut off a piece of the log about 3-4 inches in length. Make the cut with a slight diagonal. Arrange logs pieces on a platter or cake stand.
7. Use some of the frosting to attach the small log to the side of the larger log.
8. Spread the remaining frosting to cover the cake.
9. Using a fork, create bark-like lines by dragging the fork from one end of the cake to the other, wiping off the extra frosting that builds up on the fork.
10. Place in refrigerator uncovered to set frosting while making meringues.
Meringues -
1. Preheat the oven to 225°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, use an electric mixer to whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar, salt, and peppermint. Continue whipping until the whites hold soft peaks.
3. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar so that it does not sink to the bottom, and continue whipping until the mixture holds stiff shiny peaks.
4. Place a round tip (I used size 2A) into a pastry bag, and fill the bag half way with the meringue. To pipe the mushroom caps, squeeze out round mounds of meringue onto one of the prepared cookie sheets. Pull the bag off to the side to avoid making peaks on the top. For the stems, press out a tiny bit of meringue onto the other sheet, then pull the bag straight up. They should resemble candy kisses.
5. Dust the mushroom caps lightly with cocoa using a small sifter or strainer.
6. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the caps are dry enough to easily remove from the cookie sheets. Set aside to cool completely.
7. Melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave at half power, stirring occasionally until smooth.
8. Poke a small hole in the bottom of a mushroom cap. Spread chocolate over the bottom of the cap. Dip the tip of a stem in chocolate, and press lightly into the hole. When the chocolate sets, they will hold together. Repeat with remaining pieces. Store at room temperature covered and in a dry place until ready to decorate.
Decorate with mushrooms, sugared cranberries and rosemary, if desired. I even threw on a little of the extra sugar to look like snow and sprinkled some on the top. I also added some tiny pine cones. Go wild.
Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.
A few notes:
1. I definitely recommend making this over a 2 day period and eating it the 2nd day. I wrote my steps in the order that I did things. Cake, filling, and start sugared cranberries and rosemary the first day. Frosting, meringues, and finish sugared cranberries and rosemary the second day.
2. When I originally made this, I followed a recipe where the cranberries and rosemary sat overnight together in a bowl. This made the cranberries taste like rosemary, so if you want to eat the sugared cranberries, you should separate them from the rosemary (which I changed in this recipe) if not, then you can combine them in one bowl.
3. I changed the original meringue recipe from vanilla to peppermint. If you prefer vanilla meringue, use 1 tsp of vanilla extract instead of 1/2 tsp of peppermint.
4. After cutting the piece of the diagonal piece off of the log, I also cut a small slice off the other end of the large part of the log to make it look nice at both ends.
