Tonight, I’m offering you an easy Yule log recipe. Yes, really! I realised that there were very, very few easy-to-make Christmas desserts on the blog. They’re almost exclusively entremets — it’s true that’s what I prefer to make.
So, to please as many people as possible, I set about making a praline rolled Yule log: 2 preparations and that’s it!
Admittedly, I wanted to give this Yule log a little festive look and I tried the two-tone sponge. It’s rather simple to do and it looks impressive, doesn’t it? Anyway, I’m delighted with the result! For the sponge, I started from a tried-and-tested recipe, Christophe Felder’s from his book “Bûches”. The sponge is ultra-soft and very easy to roll — there’s no risk of breaking it.
The Yule log is filled with a praline mousseline cream, the same cream traditionally found in a Paris-Brest. I really advise you to make your own praline — the taste is incomparable and frankly, there’s no particular difficulty. You just need a good food processor. You’ll find the recipe here.
As for the decoration, I also wanted something very simple, since for me, it’s the two-tone sponge that does it all. No need to go overboard, then. I borrowed the idea of the little chocolate stars from the blog Olivia pâtisse.
Ingredients & method
4 components · Full recipe
Two-tone chocolate sponge
Ingredients
- 45 g (1.6 oz) egg yolks
- 75 g (2.6 oz) eggs
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sugar
- 90 g (3.2 oz) egg whites
- 25 g (0.9 oz) sugar
- 25 g (0.9 oz) flour
- 12 g (0.4 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F fan.
2
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, eggs and 50 g (1.8 oz) sugar.
3
Using an electric whisk at low speed, whisk the egg whites to incorporate as much air as possible. The whites will start to foam. Gradually add the remaining 25 g (0.9 oz) sugar. Pour half the whipped egg whites into the first egg-based mixture. Fold gently with a spatula. Add the remaining egg whites along with the sifted flour. Fold again gently.
4
Divide the mixture into 2. I recommend weighing the whole batter first then putting half into a separate bowl. Add the sifted cocoa powder to one of the 2 bowls.
5
Put each mixture into a piping bag without a tip.
6
Prepare a baking tray lined with a silpat mat (like mine) or a sheet of baking paper. The aim is to get a rectangle of 30 cm (11.8 in) by 40 cm (mine was probably very slightly smaller).
7
Pipe one colour of sponge first across the tray, leaving a gap to pipe the other colour.
8
Bake for approximately 12 minutes.
9
Leave your sponge to cool. To remove it, lay another sheet of baking paper on top then flip it over. Carefully peel off the first piece of paper (or the silpat mat).
10
Trim the edges of the sponge to get a clean rectangle. The larger your sponge, the bigger your rolled log.
Praline mousseline cream
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) milk
- 32 g (1.1 oz) egg yolks (about 2 yolks)
- 40 g (1.4 oz) caster sugar
- 8 g (0.3 oz) plain flour
- 8 g (0.3 oz) cornstarch
- 40 g (1.4 oz) cold butter
- 120 g (4.2 oz) softened butter
- 1.5 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatine
- 15 g (0.5 oz) water (to hydrate the gelatine)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) praline (recipe here)
Method
1
Hydrate the gelatine in the water.
2
Sift the flour and cornstarch.
3
In a bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks then add the flour and cornstarch.
4
In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Pour the hot milk in a thin stream over the mixture, whisking constantly, to loosen the cream. Pour everything back into the saucepan.
5
Whisk over medium heat until the cream thickens. Once the cream boils (bubbles appear), continue cooking for at least 2 minutes. Add the hydrated gelatine and mix with a whisk.
6
Add the 40 g (1.4 oz) cold butter and whisk again.
7
Pour into a wide dish. Cover with cling film and leave to cool at room temperature.
8
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the 120 g (4.2 oz) softened butter with the whisk attachment, add the praline then gradually incorporate the pastry cream (smoothed beforehand) and whisk until you obtain a «mousseline» texture. This takes a few minutes. If you find your mousseline is too soft, transfer it to a large dish, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. After an hour, whisk the cream again. It should have more consistency.
Assembly of the praline rolled yule log
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Spread the mousseline cream over the striped sponge, leaving 2 cm (0.8 in) without cream on one of the two short sides.
2
Roll the log gently, starting from the short side of the sponge. Don’t hesitate to use the baking paper to help you roll. Once the log is fully rolled, tighten it well using the baking paper and a baking tray. I recommend watching chef Michalak’s video which shows the technique clearly. The only difference is that he rolls his log from the long side. Refrigerate.
Decoration
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
For the decoration, I simply made small stars by melting dark chocolate. The rolled sponge was clearly the decorative element of this dessert.
Gallery
