The apple, speculoos and Tahitian vanilla Yule log is a dessert that brings together everything we love: crunch, meltingness, sweetness and a hint of spice. It’s a perfect dessert for the festive season, light and indulgent at the same time. This Yule log is made up of a speculoos crunchy layer, a soft vanilla sponge, a lightly spiced apple compote and a Tahitian vanilla bavarian mousse. A real delight that will thrill your guests!
What type of vanilla should you use?
To make this Yule log, I used Tahitian vanilla, which has a more subtle, floral flavour than Madagascar vanilla. It brings delicately fruity notes, almost of cherry or almond, which pair perfectly with the sweetness of the apple and the spice of the speculoos. You can of course use your favourite vanilla, but if you don’t know Tahitian vanilla, I strongly encourage you to try it. It costs more than Madagascar vanilla, it has to be said, but you can use my Valrhona promo code, which I give you further down 🙂
Finally, for the vanilla aromas to express themselves fully, I strongly advise you to infuse it. I’d go even further: I advise you to do a double infusion, first cold for 24 hours, then hot (covered and off the heat) for 20 min. According to Norohy, depending on the temperature, the vanilla aromas will express themselves differently.
- For the cold infusion: the development of the vanilla aromas won’t be masked by those of hot milk, and they won’t evaporate. On tasting (on a milk base), you’ll get more intense woody notes.
- For the hot infusion: bringing the milk or cream to a higher temperature won’t extract more aromas from the pod. On tasting (on a milk base), you’ll get rounded, woody notes with the hot milk note bringing indulgence.
What if I don’t have this mould?
I remember making this Yule log for the first time a few years ago, and I was so won over by the balance of flavours that I decided to make it again last year. I then wanted to change the presentation a little, so I went for the “Train” mould from Pavoni. This mould is perfect for getting a modern, elegant shape. I don’t know about you, but I think it makes quite an impression.
Of course, it’s quite likely that you don’t have this mould and that you don’t want to invest in a new silicone mould. The first time, I made this recipe in a traditional mould, so it’s not a problem. The only thing that changes is the quantity of bavarian mousse; I’ve given you a few pointers in the recipe steps.
In any case, this Yule log is a real success every time. It’s light, indulgent and full of freshness, and it will undoubtedly bring a refined touch to your festive meals.
Ingredients & preparation
6 components · Full recipe
Apple Compote (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 400 g (14.1 oz) Golden apples
- 10 g (0.4 oz) light brown sugar
- 10 g (0.4 oz) caster sugar
- 4 g (0.1 oz) pectin
- a pinch of speculoos spices
- ½ Norohy Madagascar vanilla pod
Preparation
1
Peel the apples and cut into small pieces.
2
Cook in a saucepan over low heat with the speculoos spices, vanilla and light brown sugar until soft, stirring regularly.
3
Add the pre-mixed caster sugar and pectin and bring to a boil for one minute.
4
Pour into an insert mould and freeze overnight.
Vanilla Soft Cake
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) ground almonds
- 30 g (1.1 oz) light brown sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) egg
- 11 g (0.4 oz) icing sugar
- 11 g (0.4 oz) double cream
- 47 g (1.7 oz) butter
- 25 g (0.9 oz) flour
- 2.8 g (0.1 oz) baking powder
- 50 g (1.8 oz) egg whites
- 8.3 g (0.3 oz) light brown sugar
- 1/2 Norohy Madagascar vanilla pod
Preparation
1
In a bowl, mix together the toasted ground almonds, the seeds from the half vanilla pod, light brown sugar, egg, icing sugar and double cream.
2
Melt the butter in a saucepan until it turns a hazelnut colour (keep stirring). The butter is ready when it smells deliciously of hazelnuts and stops “singing”. Add it still hot to the rest of the ingredients, continuing to mix.
3
Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder.
4
Whip the 50 g (1.8 oz) of egg whites to stiff peaks, gradually adding the 8.3 g (0.3 oz) of light brown sugar, then gently fold into the first mixture using a spatula.
5
Spread the batter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper to a thickness of 1 cm (the sponge will rise during baking).
6
Bake for 15 minutes at 180°C / 350°F. Once out of the oven, cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the parchment paper.
Speculoos Crisp
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) speculoos biscuits
- 20 g (0.7 oz) butter
Preparation
1
Melt the butter in the microwave.
2
Crush the speculoos into crumbs and add the melted butter.
3
On a sheet of baking paper, spread and press down the mixture, then cut into a rectangle slightly smaller than the yule log mould.
4
Set aside in the freezer until assembly.
Tahitian Vanilla Bavarian Mousse
Ingredients
- 400 g (14.1 oz) whole milk
- 1 Norohy Tahiti vanilla pod
- 95 g (3.4 oz) egg yolks (approximately 5 yolks)
- 65 g (2.3 oz) sugar
- 8 g (0.3 oz) powdered gelatine
- 48 g (1.7 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 400 g (14.1 oz) double cream
Preparation
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.
2
Heat the milk with the vanilla seeds and pod. Leave to infuse for about ten minutes, covered.
3
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
4
Heat the milk again, then pour it over the yolk-sugar mixture, straining through a chinois to remove the vanilla pod. Mix well and return everything to the heat.
5
Cook to 85°C / 185°F, stirring constantly with a spatula. Be careful not to let the cream boil.
6
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine. Leave to cool.
7
Whip the double cream to a Chantilly consistency, but don’t overwhip — it should be light and airy.
8
When the crème anglaise has cooled to 45°C / 113°F, gently fold in the whipped cream and set aside. If you are using a “traditional” yule log mould, you can reduce the quantity of Bavarian mousse (300 g (10.6 oz) milk) as the Train mould is more voluminous.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Preparation
1
Line a yule log mould with rhodoid if you don’t have a silicone mould.
2
Pour the Tahitian vanilla Bavarian mousse into the yule log mould (up to halfway). Freeze for 5 minutes to prevent the insert from sinking to the bottom.
3
Remove the frozen apple compote and gently press it into the mousse, then add the vanilla soft cake cut to the right dimensions. Cover with a thin layer of mousse.
4
Place the speculoos crisp on top and smooth the surface with a spatula.
5
Cover with cling film and freeze for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
Decoration
Ingredients
- 140 g (4.9 oz) Valrhona Caraïbe 66% dark chocolate
- 60 g (2.1 oz) cocoa butter
Preparation
1
Melt the dark chocolate and cocoa butter in a bain-marie or microwave. Stir with a spatula.
2
Strain, then pour the mixture into the reservoir of your spray gun (ideally use a smaller container inside the large reservoir, such as a jam jar).
3
Remove the yule log from the freezer, carefully unmould it and place it on a wire rack. Don’t forget to protect your work surface.
4
Spray the velvet effect from a distance of 30–40 cm (15.7 in).
5
Place on a yule log serving board, then leave to defrost in the fridge for 7–8 hours.
Gallery
