And so December has arrived, and with it, the cold! You can already feel the Christmas spirit, can’t you? As traffic on my blog is making a leap, I get the feeling I’m not the only one thinking about the Yule log. Chocolate, caramel, vanilla, red berries? The choice is agonising.
As it happens, I fell for the latest book by Christophe Felder and Camille Lesecq, Bûches. The contents page (made of pretty, mouth-watering little sketches) had caught my eye. The first Yule log I’ll be testing is the blueberry vanilla one (the insert is in the freezer, I just need to finish it).
In the meantime, I’m offering you the Yule log I made last year. It’s a Dulcey, vanilla, caramelised apple and speculoos Yule log. A pure delight!!
However, I reduced the amount of vanilla because, as you may know, the price of this black gold is now reaching new heights :O For this dessert, 1 and a half pods will be enough (half a pod for the apples and one pod for the mousse). Now, if you only use a little vanilla sugar for the apples and a single vanilla pod for the mousse, that will work very well too.
I took my inspiration from Couteaux et tire bouchons for the recipe.
Ingredients & method
8 components · Full recipe
Dulcey Glaze (can be made ahead)
Ingredients
- 75 g (2.6 oz) water
- 75 g (2.6 oz) sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) glucose
- 100 g (3.5 oz) unsweetened condensed milk
- 150 g (5.3 oz) Dulcey chocolate
- 10 g (0.4 oz) powdered gelatine
- 60 g (2.1 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
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 gelatine in 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 chopped Dulcey chocolate, unsweetened condensed milk and rehydrated gelatine.
5
When the water/sugar/glucose mixture reaches 103°C / 217°F, pour it into the jug and blend with a stick blender to smooth the glaze — be careful not to incorporate air bubbles.
Caramelized Apples (to be made the day before)
Ingredients
- 2 apples
- 40 g (1.4 oz) sugar
- 15 g (0.5 oz) butter
- 1/2 vanilla pod
Method
1
Peel and dice the apples into a brunoise (small cubes).
2
In a frying pan, heat the sugar with the butter over medium heat. When the mixture caramelizes, add the apples and the scraped vanilla pod.
3
Keep on the heat, stirring gently so the caramel coats the apples evenly.
4
Remove the vanilla pod and pour the apples into an insert mould (mine is shaped like a small yule log mould). Spread the apples evenly and press them down with the back of a spoon.
Soft Speculoos Sponge
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 40 g (1.4 oz) flour
- 60 g (2.1 oz) speculoos biscuits
- 20 g (0.7 oz) butter
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 165°C / 325°F.
2
Melt the butter and leave to cool.
3
Crack the eggs into a bowl. Whisk with an electric mixer while gradually adding the sugar, for about 5 minutes. The mixture will foam and increase in volume.
4
Meanwhile, blitz the speculoos biscuits to a powder. Mix with the flour.
5
Fold the flour-speculoos mixture into the whipped eggs in several additions, stirring gently with a spatula between each. Add the cooled melted butter.
6
Pour onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper (try to get a strip of batter slightly larger than your yule log mould) and bake for about 25 minutes (keep an eye on it).
Speculoos Crunch
Ingredients
- 70 g (2.5 oz) milk chocolate
- 20 g (0.7 oz) butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz) crushed speculoos biscuits
- 60 g (2.1 oz) feuilletine (crêpes dentelles)
Method
1
Melt the butter with the milk chocolate.
2
Add the crushed speculoos to form a paste, then add the crushed feuilletine.
Dulcey Vanilla Mousse
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 oz) Dulcey blond chocolate
- 130 g (4.6 oz) milk
- 270 g (9.5 oz) heavy cream
- 6 g (0.2 oz) gelatine (3 sheets)
- 1 vanilla pod
Method
1
Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water to soften.
2
In a bowl, break the chocolate into pieces and melt gently in the microwave.
3
In a saucepan, heat the milk with the scraped vanilla pods then, off the heat, add the well-drained gelatine.
4
Pour the milk over the melted Dulcey chocolate in three additions, stirring to create an emulsion.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Place a guitar sheet inside the yule log mould (this step is unnecessary if, like me, you use a silicone mould).
2
Pour three-quarters of the Dulcey vanilla mousse and bring it up along the sides for a neat finish.
3
Remove the caramelized apple insert from the freezer and gently press it into the mousse, right in the centre.
4
Cover with another layer of mousse (leave about 1 cm (0.4 in)).
5
Finish with the soft sponge + crunch base (crunch side facing the mousse). Press gently to embed it and smooth the surface with a spatula.
Decoration
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Remove the yule log from the freezer and unmould it.
2
Place the frozen yule log on a wire rack set over a plate or dish to catch the excess glaze.
3
Warm the mirror glaze to around 30°C / 86°F and pour it gently to coat the yule log completely.
4
Remove the yule log from the rack and place it on a serving dish.
5
Decorate as you wish.
Discover All Yule Log Recipes
Ingredients
- None
Method
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