Only a few days left before Christmas! There may be some people who still haven’t found THE recipe for Christmas Eve, so I’m offering you a new one. It’s an exotic fruit Yule log that I made for a bit of a change. It’s made up of a coconut and lime dacquoise, a coconut mousse, a mango jelly and a mango passion fruit mousse. A real delight! I brought it to school last Friday to enjoy with my colleagues.
Like any entremets recipe, this one requires a bit of time and organisation, but nothing too complicated (apart from the mirror glaze, but you can very well skip that step). Speaking of which, let’s talk about the glaze! I wanted to make things easier for myself and try something new. Instead of making the traditional mirror glaze, I used a neutral glaze that I coloured. I used it in the same way but I had a funny surprise. It slid off the log, worse and worse as time went by… in short, it wasn’t a success. Here I’m giving you the mirror glaze recipe, no surprises! And if you think the photos turned out well all the same, I have to be honest and confess that I used Photoshop to put things right.
Ingredients & method
7 components · Full recipe
Yellow Mirror Glaze (can be made ahead)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) caster sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) glucose syrup
- 75 g (2.6 oz) water
- 100 g (3.5 oz) unsweetened condensed milk
- 150 g (5.3 oz) white chocolate
- 10 g (0.4 oz) powdered gelatine
- 60 g (2.1 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- a blend of yellow and red food colouring to achieve a colour close to that of passion fruit (more yellow than red)
Method
1
Ideally, make the glaze the day before (or in advance) and reheat it in the microwave when ready to use.
2
Rehydrate the powdered gelatine in the water.
3
In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and glucose and heat to 103°C / 217°F.
4
Meanwhile, in a jug, place the white chocolate cut into pieces, the unsweetened condensed milk, the rehydrated gelatine and the food colourings (more yellow than red to achieve a colour close to that of passion fruit).
5
When the water/sugar/glucose mixture reaches 103°C / 217°F, pour it into the jug, then blend with a hand blender until smooth — take care not to incorporate air into the glaze, as this will create unsightly bubbles.
6
If needed, pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside in the refrigerator.
Coconut Mousse (to be made the day before)
Ingredients
- 125 g (4.4 oz) coconut milk
- 4 g (0.1 oz) gelatine
- 125 g (4.4 oz) full-fat whipping cream
- 40 g (1.4 oz) caster sugar
Method
1
Soak the gelatine sheets in very cold water.
2
Heat the coconut milk with the sugar.
3
Remove from the heat and add the well-drained gelatine. Leave to cool.
4
Whip the whipping cream, but do not over-whip — it should remain light and mousse-like.
5
When the coconut milk has cooled to 45°C / 113°F, gently fold in the whipped cream.
6
Pour the mousse into your insert mould without filling it completely (leave about one centimetre for the mango jelly or the pineapple brunoise in jelly). Place in the freezer.
Mango Jelly (to be made the day before)
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) mango purée
- 10 g (0.4 oz) lime juice
- 2 g (0.1 oz) pectin
- 10 g (0.4 oz) caster sugar
Method
1
In a saucepan, heat the mango purée to approximately 40°C / 104°F.
2
Add the sugar and pectin mixture and whisk together (it is important to mix the sugar and pectin well together to avoid lumps).
3
Bring to the boil and cook for one minute.
4
Remove from the heat and add the lime juice (this helps the jelly set). Leave to cool slightly.
5
Remove the coconut insert from the freezer and pour the mango jelly over it. Smooth the surface and return to the freezer.
Coconut and Lime Dacquoise
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) egg whites
- 30 g (1.1 oz) caster sugar
- 75 g (2.6 oz) icing sugar
- 75 g (2.6 oz) desiccated coconut
- 15 g (0.5 oz) cornstarch
- the zest of one lime
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
2
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the sugar in 3 stages.
3
Sift together the icing sugar, cornstarch and desiccated coconut, then add the lime zest.
4
Fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites, mixing gently.
5
Transfer the batter to a piping bag, snip off the tip (1 cm (0.4 in) opening) and pipe the dacquoise onto a sheet of baking paper. I pre-drew rectangles on my baking paper — one the size of my mould (25 × 9 cm (3.5 in)) and a smaller one for the insert (23 × 4 cm (1.6 in)) — then turned the paper over.
6
Dust with icing sugar using a sieve.
7
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. The dacquoise should be dry to the touch and lightly golden.
8
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
9
Cut 2 strips: one measuring 24 × 8 cm (3.1 in) and another measuring 24 × 3 cm (for the insert).
Mango and Passion Fruit Mousse
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) passion fruit purée
- 150 g (5.3 oz) mango purée
- 50 g (1.8 oz) caster sugar
- 300 g (10.6 oz) full-fat whipping cream
- 12 g (0.4 oz) gelatine
Method
1
Soak the gelatine sheets in very cold water.
2
In a saucepan, gently heat half the fruit purée with the sugar.
3
Remove from the heat, add the well-drained gelatine, then the remaining fruit purée. Stir well and leave to cool.
4
Whip the whipping cream, but do not over-whip — it should remain light and mousse-like.
5
When the fruit purée has cooled to 45°C / 113°F, gently fold in the whipped cream, then set aside.
Assembling the Exotic Fruit Yule Log
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Line a yule log mould with acetate sheet or, if you do not have any, with baking paper (I use a silicone mould, so no acetate needed).
2
Pour the mango and passion fruit mousse into the yule log mould (to halfway up). Chill for 5 minutes.
3
Remove the coconut and pineapple jelly (or mango jelly) insert from the freezer and gently press it into the mousse. Add the small strip of dacquoise (24 × 3 cm (1.2 in)) and press gently to make it adhere to the fruit jelly.
4
Cover with another layer of mousse.
5
Finish with the large rectangle of dacquoise. Press lightly to embed the sponge. Smooth the surface with a spatula.
6
Cover with cling film and place in the freezer for a minimum of 3 hours, ideally overnight.
Decoration
Ingredients
- coconut flakes
- desiccated coconut powder
- the flesh of one passion fruit
- a few lime zests
Method
1
Remove the dessert from the freezer and unmould it.
2
Place the frozen dessert on a wire rack, with the rack resting on a plate or tray to catch the excess glaze.
3
Warm the mirror glaze to approximately 30°C / 86°F and pour it gently to coat the dessert completely.
4
Lift the dessert off the rack and place it on a serving dish.
5
Decorate the yule log as desired.
6
Leave to defrost in the refrigerator. Allow approximately 5 to 6 hours’ defrosting time as a minimum.
Gallery
