I had to go and check but yes… it really is 3 and a half months since my last recipe. The end of my pregnancy was very hard to get through (with a short stay in hospital and the fear that baby would arrive too early). In the end, my second little boy made his appearance on 20 October, to our great joy. It’s now a new life as a family of 4 that begins <3We wanted to make something really indulgent for the festive season and I have to say it was a great success. For the assembly, we were inspired by Christophe Felder (and his rolled inserts). I’d discovered the concept in his book called « Bûches » and had in fact already tried this assembly with the chocolate, morello cherry and tonka bean Yule log as well as the dark chocolate and raspberry Yule log. In short, an afternoon among food lovers and pastry enthusiasts, just the way we like them!
This recipe does, admittedly, involve several steps, but it’s possible to organise yourself well to lighten the workload (for example, you can make the hazelnut praline and the mirror glaze in advance). You could also very well make the rolled insert a few days before and freeze it. Whatever happens, read the recipe carefully (as our dear Mercotte would say :D) and you’ll get a delicious Christmas dessert.
And we start with this incredible milk chocolate and hazelnut Yule log, made four-handed with my pastry buddy, aka MD’Rékréation.
I haven’t forgotten that Christmas is approaching all the same… I’ve always loved this time of year, the magic of Christmas and all the preparations that go with it. This rather unusual year will have somewhat tarnished the magic, I must admit. Luckily for you, even if I can’t get back in the kitchen, I still have several Christmas recipes to publish (last year’s), enough to keep you busy until New Year’s Eve.
Ingredients & method
9 components · Full recipe
Mirror glaze (can be made in advance)
Ingredients
- 120 g (4.2 oz) water
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 100 g (3.5 oz) full-fat cream
- 10 g (0.4 oz) gelatine
- 60 g (2.1 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Soak the gelatine in the water.
2
Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir together with a whisk.
3
Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
4
Add the soaked gelatine and blend with a stick blender.
5
Press cling film directly onto the surface and set aside in the fridge.
Hazelnut praline (can be made in advance)
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) hazelnuts
- 200 g (7.1 oz) sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) water
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 15 minutes at 150°C / 300°F. When lukewarm or cold, rub them between your hands to remove the skins. A little remaining skin is fine.
2
In a heavy-based saucepan or cast-iron casserole, bring the water and sugar to the boil. At 116°C / 241°F, remove from the heat, pour the hazelnuts into the liquid sugar and stir to coat them evenly. The mixture will turn white and sandy — this is normal.
3
Return to medium heat and stir until the sugar re-melts and caramelises (this takes around twenty minutes). Keep stirring throughout to prevent the nuts from burning.
4
At the end of cooking, the hazelnuts will be glossy and have turned a beautiful auburn colour. Spread on baking paper and leave to cool.
5
Once completely cold, break up the sheet of caramelised hazelnuts and put in a food processor with the fleur de sel.
6
Blend in short bursts (to prevent the paste from overheating) until you reach a praline consistency. The longer you blend, the more liquid it becomes. You can choose to keep it slightly grainy (“old-fashioned” style) or blend to a very smooth praline. Personally, I left some grains in and loved it that way! The detailed step-by-step recipe with pictures is in my earlier post “Homemade almond and hazelnut praline by Philippe Conticini”.
Hazelnut praline cremeux (make the day before, MD’Rékréation recipe)
Ingredients
- 110 g (3.9 oz) milk
- 20 g (0.7 oz) full-fat cream
- 25 g (0.9 oz) egg yolks
- 15 g (0.5 oz) sugar
- 10 g (0.4 oz) cornflour
- 120 g (4.2 oz) hazelnut praline (recipe above)
- 22 g (0.8 oz) butter
Method
1
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale.
2
Add the cornflour and mix.
3
Heat the milk and cream in a large saucepan. Pour three-quarters into the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly, then pour everything back into the saucepan.
4
Cook over medium heat like a crème pâtissière, then cook for one more minute after the first bubble appears.
5
Fold in the hazelnut praline and mix well, then wait for the temperature to drop to 40°C / 104°F before folding in the butter, cut into small cubes.
6
Blend, then pour into a cylindrical insert mould (I have a silicone mould of this shape, but you could also make one yourself).
7
Freeze overnight.
Cocoa sponge (Christophe Felder recipe)
Ingredients
- 45 g (1.6 oz) egg yolks (2 to 3 yolks)
- 75 g (2.6 oz) whole eggs
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sugar (1)
- 25 g (0.9 oz) sugar (2)
- 90 g (3.2 oz) egg whites
- 25 g (0.9 oz) flour
- 25 g (0.9 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F fan-assisted.
2
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, whole eggs and 50 g (1.8 oz) of sugar (1) together.
3
In the stand mixer bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, gradually adding the remaining 25 g (0.9 oz) of sugar (2).
4
Fold half the whisked whites into the egg mixture using a spatula.
5
Fold in the remaining whites, then the sifted flour and cocoa mixture. Fold gently again.
6
Spread the batter on a tray lined with baking paper (or a silicone mat) to form a rectangle of at least 30 × 40 cm (15.7 in). Bake for 12 minutes at 170°C / 340°F.
7
Leave the sponge to cool, then peel away carefully.
8
Cut a 7 × 30 cm (11.8 in) rectangle for the base of the yule log and another 30 × 30 cm (11.8 in) rectangle for the rolled insert. If your mould is smaller, always keep the insert at 30 cm (11.8 in) long and adjust the width to fit your mould.
Hazelnut crunch (MD’Rékréation recipe)
Ingredients
- 30 g (1.1 oz) milk chocolate (Valrhona Jivara)
- 20 g (0.7 oz) cocoa butter (or unsalted butter if you do not have any)
- 60 g (2.1 oz) crêpes dentelle
- 60 g (2.1 oz) toasted chopped hazelnuts
- 30 g (1.1 oz) hazelnut praline (recipe above)
Method
1
Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 10 minutes at 150°C / 300°F. When lukewarm or cold, rub them between your hands to remove the skins. A little remaining skin is fine.
2
Melt the chocolate with the cocoa butter in the microwave. Stir with a spatula.
3
In a bowl, mix together the crumbled crêpes dentelle, chopped hazelnuts, hazelnut praline and the melted chocolate/cocoa butter mixture. Mix gently with a spatula.
4
Spread the crunch in a not-too-thick layer over the sponge rectangle (7 × 30 cm (11.8 in)). Set aside.
Milk chocolate mousse
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) Azelia chocolate (Valrhona)
- 90 g (3.2 oz) milk
- 240 g (8.5 oz) full-fat cream
- 2.5 g (0.1 oz) gelatine
- 15 g (0.5 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Soak the gelatine in the water.
2
Make a ganache: melt the chocolate in a bain-marie until it just begins to melt.
3
Heat the milk, then off the heat, fold in the soaked gelatine.
4
Pour the milk over the milk chocolate in 3 additions, emulsifying each time. The chocolate should be smooth and glossy.
5
Whisk the full-fat cream until soft peaks — do not over-whip; it should be mousse-like.
6
Once the ganache has cooled to 20°C / 68°F, gently fold in the whipped cream, then set aside.
Assembly of the rolled insert
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Spread a thin layer of hazelnut praline over the large cocoa sponge rectangle using an offset spatula.
2
Unmould the hazelnut praline cremeux insert and place at one end of the sponge rectangle. Roll up, then set aside.
Assembly of the milk chocolate and hazelnut yule log
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Place a sheet of guitar paper in the yule log mould (this step is unnecessary if, like me, you use a silicone mould).
2
Pour in three-quarters of the chocolate mousse and push it up the sides for a clean finish.
3
Place the rolled sponge in the mousse (opening facing upwards) and gently press it into the centre of the mousse.
4
Cover with another layer of chocolate mousse (leaving about 1 cm (0.4 in) of space).
5
Finish with the hazelnut crunch / cocoa sponge base (crunch facing outwards). Press down gently and smooth the surface with a spatula.
6
Cover with cling film and freeze overnight.
Decoration
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Remove the entremet from the freezer and unmould.
2
Place the frozen entremet on a wire rack set over a plate or tray to catch the excess glaze.
3
Warm the mirror glaze to around 30°C / 86°F, blend once more with a stick blender taking care not to incorporate air bubbles, and pour over to coat the entremet completely.
4
Remove the entremet from the rack and place on a yule log board, then on a serving dish.
5
Decorate the yule log with tempered chocolate (here, stars dusted with gold powder and chocolate strips along the sides).
6
Leave to thaw in the fridge. Allow at least 6 to 7 hours for defrosting.
Gallery
