I think it’s time to start revealing a few Yule log recipes to you. I must admit I couldn’t wait to publish it, this pistachio, red berry and vanilla Yule log recipe! It’s been waiting patiently in my drafts for a year, since it’s the Christmas dessert I made last year.
And as always, I wait until the following year to finally be able to reveal the recipe to you. I’m particularly proud of this dessert, on the one hand because I think it has a really nice look (it’s an idea from Valérie), on the other hand because I made it in a kitchen that wasn’t mine. I had brought all my ingredients and utensils to my sister’s in Normandy, where we were spending the holidays.
There was still a small hitch in the making of this dessert. Luckily, I took the photos when the log was still beautiful and still frozen, because if I had done it after thawing, the recipe wouldn’t even be on the blog today… To tell you the truth, I started out with the idea of a pistachio crème brûlée as the insert, the kind of cream with pectin, so a crème brûlée with no oven baking, as you’ll have gathered. And that’s where there was a problem, since the insert didn’t hold. I had also made it a touch too long, so you could start to make out the ends of the insert through the red glaze. And as the hours went by, I watched my log liquefy, horror!
In the end, we enjoyed a log that, visually, didn’t make me proud at all, but which was nevertheless excellent. In the recipe I’m offering you here, I’ve replaced the pistachio crème brûlée with a pistachio crémeux. You won’t have the same disappointment as me, rest assured. I hope you’ll like this first Christmas recipe, there will be more of course!
Ingredients & preparation
8 components · Full recipe
Red Mirror Glaze (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) glucose
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 75 ml (2.5 fl oz) water
- 150 g (5.3 oz) white chocolate
- 100 g (3.5 oz) unsweetened condensed milk
- 10 g (0.4 oz) powdered gelatine
- 60 g (2.1 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- poppy red food colouring
- black food colouring
Preparation
1
Ideally, make the glaze the day before (or in advance) and reheat it in the microwave when needed.
2
Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.
3
In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and glucose and heat to 103°C / 217°F.
4
At the same time, in a jug, place the white chocolate cut into pieces, the unsweetened condensed milk, the rehydrated gelatine and the food colourings (about one very small teaspoon of red and the tiniest pinch of black).
5
When the water/sugar/glucose mixture reaches 103°C / 217°F, pour it into the jug then blend with a hand blender to smooth the glaze, being careful not to incorporate any air bubbles.
6
If needed, pass the glaze through a fine-mesh strainer and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap directly on the surface.
Red Berry Confit (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) red berry purée
- 40 g (1.4 oz) sugar
- 4 g (0.1 oz) pectin
- a little lemon juice
Preparation
1
In a saucepan, heat the red berry purée to approximately 40°C / 104°F.
2
Add the sugar/pectin mixture and whisk well (mix the sugar and pectin together before adding to prevent lumps).
3
Bring to a boil and cook for one minute.
4
Off the heat, add a little lemon juice (this helps it set).
5
Pour this mixture into your insert mold and place in the freezer while you prepare the pistachio crémeux.
Pistachio Crémeux (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 45 g (1.6 oz) sugar
- 250 ml (8.5 fl oz) full-fat liquid cream
- 15 g (0.5 oz) pistachio paste
- 3 g (0.1 oz) gelatine (1.5 sheets)
Preparation
1
Soften the gelatine in a bowl of cold water.
2
Heat the cream in a small saucepan.
3
In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with the sugar without whisking them pale.
4
Pour the contents of the saucepan over the egg yolk and sugar mixture, mix well with a whisk, then return everything to the heat.
5
Cook to 83°C / 181°F, stirring continuously with a spatula, making gentle figure-of-eight movements. Be careful not to let the cream boil (this risks curdling the eggs).
6
Off the heat, add the drained gelatine then the pistachio paste and blend with a hand blender.
7
Pour the pistachio crémeux into an insert mold and place in the freezer.
Pistachio Dacquoise (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) egg whites
- 40 g (1.4 oz) ground almonds
- 35 g (1.2 oz) ground pistachio
- 75 g (2.6 oz) icing sugar
- 15 g (0.5 oz) cornstarch
- 10 g (0.4 oz) pistachio paste
- crushed pistachios
Preparation
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
2
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks then gently fold in the dry ingredients (pistachio, almond, icing sugar, cornstarch and crushed pistachios).
3
Take a small amount of the batter and mix it with the pistachio paste. Mix well then fold back into the rest of the batter. Do not over-mix to avoid deflating the egg whites.
4
Place the batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain 12 mm nozzle. Pipe to form a square or rectangle. With this quantity of batter, I was able to make the yule log base (24×8 cm (3.1 in)) as well as a small strip for the insert (24×3 cm (1.2 in)). Dust the surface with icing sugar using a sieve.
5
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. The dacquoise should be dry to the touch and lightly golden. Set aside.
6
Once the sponge has cooled, cut it into 2 strips (one strip of 24×8 cm (3.1 in) and one smaller strip of 24×3 cm (1.2 in)). Set the large strip aside for the final assembly (wrapped, in the fridge) and place the small strip on top of the pistachio crémeux. Press down lightly.
Ivory Vanilla Mousse
Ingredients
- 116 g (4.1 oz) full-fat whipping cream
- 1 vanilla pod
- 116 g (4.1 oz) white chocolate
- 2.5 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatine
- 15 g (0.5 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) full-fat liquid cream
Preparation
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.
2
Make a ganache: melt the white chocolate in a double boiler until it just begins to melt.
3
Heat the whipping cream with the vanilla seeds and pod. Leave to infuse for about ten minutes, covered.
4
Reheat the cream then, off the heat, add the well-drained gelatine.
5
Pour the cream over the white chocolate in 3 additions, emulsifying each time. The chocolate should be smooth and glossy.
6
Whip the liquid cream but do not take it too far — it should be light and mousse-like.
7
When the ganache has cooled to 20°C / 68°F, gently fold in the whipped cream and set aside.
Assembling the Pistachio, Red Berry and Vanilla Yule Log
Ingredients
- None
Preparation
1
Pour three quarters of the vanilla mousse into the yule log mold and run a spatula up the sides for a clean assembly. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes to allow the mousse to firm slightly (and prevent the insert from sinking).
2
Remove the insert from the freezer (red berry confit / pistachio crémeux / dacquoise) and gently press it into the mousse, centred (confit side against the mousse).
3
Add the remaining vanilla mousse, leaving about one centimetre of space, then push in the large sponge strip. Press down lightly.
4
Smooth the surface with a spatula.
5
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight.
Coconut Marshmallow
Ingredients
- 125 g (4.4 oz) caster sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) water
- 25 g (0.9 oz) glucose (or honey as a substitute)
- 8 g (0.3 oz) powdered gelatine
- 48 g (1.7 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 60 g (2.1 oz) egg whites (about 2 whites)
- desiccated coconut
Preparation
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in the water for 20 minutes.
2
Prepare the syrup by placing the sugar, water and glucose (or honey) in a saucepan.
3
Place the egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer and, when the syrup reaches 118°C / 244°F, begin whisking the egg whites gradually.
4
Once the temperature reaches 121°C / 250°F, reduce the mixer speed and pour the syrup over the whisked egg whites together with the rehydrated gelatine.
5
Increase the mixer speed again to cool the marshmallow slightly.
6
Transfer the marshmallow to a piping bag fitted with a plain 15 mm nozzle.
7
Dust a sheet of baking paper with desiccated coconut then pipe long cylinders. Sprinkle with coconut and leave to dry for 2 hours. You can also pipe small marshmallow balls to decorate the top of the yule log. Personally, I found them tricky to handle once dried — they had lost the round shape I was going for. I ended up using white sugar paste that I dampened slightly then rolled in shredded coconut. I found this method much more practical 😊
Decoration
Ingredients
- the red mirror glaze
- the coconut marshmallow
- the coconut-coated sugar paste balls
Preparation
1
Remove the entremet from the freezer and unmold.
2
Place the frozen entremet on a wire rack set over a plate or tray to catch the excess.
3
Reheat the mirror glaze to approximately 30°C / 86°F, blend once more with a hand blender being careful not to introduce air bubbles, and pour gently to cover the entremet completely.
4
Remove the entremet from the rack and place on a serving dish.
5
Arrange the coconut marshmallow all around the entremet and press lightly against the mirror glaze to adhere. Place the coconut balls on top.
6
Leave to defrost in the refrigerator. Allow a minimum of 6 to 7 hours for defrosting.
Gallery
