After two light and fruity Yule logs, make way for a dessert that will delight the most indulgent among you: the coffee and hazelnut praline Yule log. A dessert as indulgent as it is comforting, which will warm your taste buds over the festive season. With its coffee pain de Gênes sponge, its crunchy layer, its chantilly insert, its coffee mousse and its hazelnut praline, this Yule log is a real delight. No room for lightness here, we’re going for comfort and indulgence, with all due subtlety of course!
Where does this recipe come from?
This coffee and praline Yule log is the recipe presented by Maud, the young contestant who won season 10 of the show Le Meilleur Pâtissier. It’s her creation for the final, which she then reworked in the form of a Yule log. I was immediately won over by its warm and comforting flavours. The combination of coffee and praline is perfect for the festive season, with a touch of softness brought by the chantilly insert. A real delight! The only difference from Maud’s recipe is that I replaced the almond praline with a hazelnut praline, I find it works very well with coffee.
Can you make a chantilly insert?
Incidentally, there’s a key element in this Yule log that deserves a closer look: the chantilly insert. Contrary to what you might think, chantilly cream freezes very well (I was a little sceptical at first) and keeps its light, airy texture once the log has defrosted. This insert brings a welcome softness in the middle of all this indulgence, ideal for counterbalancing the strength of the coffee and hazelnut praline.
Fun fact: I’m not a big coffee fan, but this Yule log won me over. The coffee mousse is perfectly balanced, between sweetness and slight bitterness. If you have doubts about coffee in desserts, this one might just change your mind, as it did mine!
Ingredients & method
7 components · Full recipe
Hazelnut praline (can be made in advance)
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) Pariani hazelnuts
- 150 g (5.3 oz) caster sugar
- 48 g (1.7 oz) water
- a pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 10 minutes at 150°C / 300°F. Once lukewarm or cold, rub them between your hands to remove the skin (a little remaining is fine).
2
Bring the water and sugar to the boil. At 118°C / 244°F, off the heat, pour the hazelnuts into the liquid sugar. Stir until the mixture turns whitish. Return to medium heat and stir until the sugar melts again and caramelises (this can take a little time).
3
Spread on parchment paper and leave to cool.
4
Add the fleur de sel and process in a food processor to a praline consistency.
Coffee pain de Gênes sponge (to make the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) eggs (about 3 eggs)
- 150 g (5.3 oz) 50/50 almond paste
- 30 g (1.1 oz) butter
- 4 g (0.1 oz) instant coffee
- 20 g (0.7 oz) grape seed oil
- 30 g (1.1 oz) flour
- 2 g (0.1 oz) baking powder
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F fan.
2
Melt the butter then add the instant coffee and leave to cool.
3
In a blender, blend the almond paste with the eggs to obtain a smooth and homogeneous batter.
4
Pour this batter into the bowl of a stand mixer while sieving it (a few small pieces of almond paste may remain). Whisk this mixture for 10 minutes to aerate it.
5
Add the melted butter and oil, then the sifted flour and baking powder mixture. Mix gently with a spatula.
6
Pour this sponge batter into a buttered 20×20 cm (7.9 in) frame and bake for about 20 minutes.
Whipped cream insert (to make the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) heavy cream
- 30 g (1.1 oz) mascarpone
- 10 g (0.4 oz) sugar
Method
1
Place the bowl and the electric mixer whisk attachments in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
2
Pour the cream and mascarpone into the bowl and start whisking at medium speed, then as the cream begins to firm up a little, increase the speed.
3
Add the icing sugar when the cream is almost whipped.
4
Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with an 18 mm plain nozzle.
5
Once the sponge has completely cooled, pipe cylinders of whipped cream along the entire length of the sponge.
6
To avoid wasting a new piping bag, place a very small nozzle over the existing nozzle and pipe a border of whipped cream around the entire edge.
Crispy layer
Ingredients
- 60 g (2.1 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate
- 40 g (1.4 oz) hazelnut praline (recipe above)
- 45 g (1.6 oz) crêpes dentelle
Method
1
Melt the Ivoire chocolate in the microwave or bain-marie.
2
Add the hazelnut praline and mix well to incorporate it into the melted chocolate.
3
Add the crumbled crêpes dentelle and mix with a spatula.
Coffee mousse
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 45 g (1.6 oz) sugar
- a handful of coffee beans
- 5 g (0.2 oz) instant coffee
- 4 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatine (= 2 sheets)
- 24 g (0.8 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) heavy cream
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
In a saucepan, heat the milk with the coarsely crushed coffee beans and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
3
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
4
Once the milk has infused, strain it then add the instant coffee. Heat again then pour over the egg/sugar mixture. Mix well and return everything to the heat.
5
Heat to 83°C / 181°F, stirring constantly. The cream will thicken. Just like cooking a crème anglaise, be careful not to exceed this temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, here is Chef Michalak’s trick: whisk the mixture quickly then stop. If the “swirl” stops abruptly, the cream is at the right temperature.
6
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine.
7
Whip the heavy cream but do not over-whip — it should be light and foamy.
Assembly
Ingredients
Method
1
Pour the coffee mousse into the yule log mould (up to 3/4 full) and, using a small spatula, push up along the sides for a neat finish. Freeze for 5 minutes (to prevent the insert from sinking to the bottom).
2
Take out the insert and gently press it into the mousse (praline side against the mousse).
3
Cover with a layer of mousse.
4
Finish with the crispy layer. Press gently to push it in then smooth the surface with a spatula.
Decoration
Ingredients
- 140 g (4.9 oz) Valrhona Caraïbe 66% dark chocolate
- 60 g (2.1 oz) cocoa butter
Method
1
Melt the dark chocolate and cocoa butter in a bain-marie or microwave. Mix with a spatula.
2
Strain then pour the mixture into the reservoir of your spray gun (ideally use a smaller container inside the 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
Whip 100 g (3.5 oz) of heavy cream with a teaspoon of icing sugar then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small Saint-Honoré nozzle.
6
Pipe the whipped cream over the top of the log to create a space for piping a little hazelnut praline.
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