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YULE LOG
by Nigella. Featured in NIGELLA CHRISTMAS

INTRODUCTION

I know the recipe looks finicky, and I can’t promise it’s a

doddle, but it works easily and you will soon find you are
rolling chocolate logs without a care. In fact, if you have a
lot of people coming round, and you can find a serving
dish or board long enough, it might be worth making 2
cakes and sitting them end to end, to look like a really
long log. But even if you’re making just one log, I advise at
least a freestanding mixer or a hand-held electric whisk: I
wouldn’t contemplate this by hand.
Photo by Lis Parsons

Now, it doesn’t look anything like a log when it is just a

bald roulade, but once you’ve spread on the chocolate
icing, made approximations of wood-markings on it (I use
the sharp end of a corn-on-the-cob holder for this) and all,
it does look quite impressive. I don’t go as far as the
French, and make sugar mushrooms to adorn it: this is not
only because I lack the talent, but also because a light
snowfall of icing sugar is all this yule log really needs to
complete its wintry perfection.

For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the

ingredients list.

INGREDIENTS

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 Makes: about 12 fat slices

FOR THE CAKE

6 large eggs (separated)

150 grams caster sugar
50 grams cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 teaspoons icing sugar (to decorate)

FOR THE ICING

175 grams dark chocolate (chopped)

250 grams icing sugar
225 grams soft butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/350ºF.

2. In a large, clean bowl whisk the egg whites until thick and peaking, then, still
whisking, sprinkle in 50g / ¼ cup of the caster sugar and continue whisking until
the whites are holding their peaks but not dry.

3. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until the
mixture is moussy, pale and thick. Add the vanilla extract, sieve the cocoa powder
over, then fold both in.

4. Lighten the yolk mixture with a couple of dollops of the egg whites, folding them
in robustly. Then add the remaining whites in thirds, folding them in carefully to
avoid losing the air.

5. Line a Swiss roll tin with baking parchment, leaving a generous overhang at the
ends and sides, and folding the parchment into the corners to help the paper stay
anchored.

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 6. Pour in the cake mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a
little before turning it out onto another piece of baking parchment. If you dust
this piece of parchment with a little icing sugar it may help with preventing
stickage, but don’t worry too much as any tears or dents will be covered by icing
later. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel.

7. To make the icing, melt the chocolate – either in a heatproof bowl suspended over
a pan of simmering water or, my preference, in a microwave following the
manufacturer’s guidelines – and let it cool.

8. Put the icing sugar into a processor and blitz to remove lumps, add the butter and
process until smooth. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and the tablespoon of
vanilla extract and pulse again to make a smooth icing. You can do this by hand,
but it does mean you will have to sieve the sugar before creaming it with the
butter and stirring in the chocolate and vanilla.

9. Sit the flat chocolate cake on a large piece of baking parchment. Trim the edges of
the Swiss roll. Spread some of the icing thinly over the sponge, going right out to
the edges. Start rolling from the long side facing you, taking care to get a tight roll
from the beginning, and roll up to the other side. Pressing against the parchment,
rather than the tender cake, makes this easier.

10. Cut one or both ends slightly at a gentle angle, reserving the remnants, and place
the Swiss roll on a board or long dish. The remnants, along with the trimmed-off
bits earlier, are to make a branch or two; you get the effect by placing a piece of
cake at an angle to look like a branch coming off the big log.

11. Spread the yule log with the remaining icing, covering the cut-off ends as well as
any branches. Create a wood-like texture by marking along the length of the log
with a skewer or somesuch, remembering to do wibbly circles, as in tree rings, on
each end.

12. You don’t have to dust with icing sugar, but I love the freshly fallen snow effect,
so push quite a bit through a small sieve, letting some settle in heaps on the plate
or board on which the log sits.

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 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
MAKE AHEAD TIP: Make the Yule Log up to 1 week ahead and store in an airtight
container in a very cool place.

FREEZE AHEAD TIP: Make the Yule Log and freeze in a rigid container for up to 3
months. Thaw overnight in a cool room and store in an airtight container until
needed.

For gluten-free, check the packet of your cocoa powder and icing sugar to be certain
they are gluten-free.

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