The Yule log cake, or buche de noel, is an essential part of Christmas. Alongside other seasonal treats such as puddings and fruit cakes, try your hand at this lavish looking log cake that would fit right into a hotel restaurant catalogue. The delicious vanilla sponge meets creamy hazelnut filling in each swirl, overlaid with chocolate ganache and tuile leaves.
Yield: Serves 8
Prep Time: 50 mins
Cook Time: 75 mins
Difficulty Level: 5/5
Ingredients
- 150 g dark (semi-sweet) eating chocolate, melted
- ½ cup (75 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 3 tsps ground ginger
- 3 tsps mixed spice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup (150 g) caster (superfine) sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) hazelnut-flavoured liqueur
- 1 tbsp icing (confectioners') sugar
HAZELNUT FILLING
- 250 g mascarpone cheese
- 250 g cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (25 g) cocoa powder
- ½ cup (165 g) chocolate hazelnut spread
- ¼ cup (60 ml) hazelnut-flavoured liqueur
- TUILE LEAVES
- 30 g butter, softened
- ¼ cup (55 g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 egg white, beaten lightly
- ⅓ cup (50 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
Steps
01. Preheat oven to 220 C (200 C fan-forced). Grease two 25 cm x 30 cm swiss roll pans; line bases with baking paper, extending paper 5 cm over long sides.
02. Spread chocolate in a thin layer in one of the pans. Refrigerate about 7 mins or until chocolate is firm but slightly pliable. Tear chocolate into small pieces; refrigerate until required.
03. Meanwhile, sift flour and spices into small bowl. Beat eggs and ½ cup of the sugar in another small bowl with electric mixer about 5 mins or until thick and creamy. Transfer to large bowl; sift flour mixture over egg mixture, then fold into the egg mixture. Pour into pan; bake about 15 mins. Reduce oven temperature to 180 C (160 C fan-forced).
04. Place large sheet of baking paper on wire rack; sprinkle paper with remaining sugar. Turn cake onto baking paper, remove lining paper, immediately roll up cake from short side; cool.
05. To make hazelnut filling; beat mascarpone, cream cheese, sifted cocoa, spread and liqueur in small bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy. Reserve 1½ cups.
06. TUILE LEAVES Using a leaf-shaped cutter as a template, trace around cutter on thick cardboard. Cut out the centre of the shape, leaving a stencil. Line oven tray with baking paper. Stir butter and sugar in medium bowl; stir in egg white. Stir in sifted flour until smooth. Drop 1 tsp of mixture into leaf cut-out on tray. Spread mixture thinly to make leaf. Carefully lift template from leaf, position on tray about 3 cm away from the first leaf; make two more leaves. Make and bake three leaves at a time. Bake in 180 C (160 C fan-forced) oven about 8 mins or until browned lightly. Working quickly, slide a spatula under tuile to loosen, then place over a rolling pin to form curved shapes. Cool on rolling pin 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining mixture.
07. Unroll cake, brush with liqueur; spread with remaining filling, leaving a 3 cm border on one short side. Roll up from opposite short side, using paper as a guide.
08. Transfer to serving platter. Spread reserved filling over cake. Decorate with chocolate pieces. Using a skewer make spiral patterns on each end of log. Refrigerate 1 hr. Dust log with sifted icing sugar just before serving. Decorate log with tuile leaves.
Photo: bauersyndication.com.au