Here we are. This is the last recipe before Christmas, and I wanted to finish this Yule log season on a gentle note. So I’m offering you a vanilla and muscovado Yule log, very indulgent, designed above all for vanilla lovers. It’s a generous Yule log, but with soft flavours, perfect for rounding off a festive meal.
It’s made up of a soft almond and vanilla sponge, a vanilla praline crunchy layer, a muscovado sugar crémeux, a vanilla bavarian mousse, a vanilla whipped ganache, a muscovado whipped ganache, and a vanilla praline for the finishing touch. Lots of elements, yes, but all built around the same idea: putting vanilla in the spotlight.
This Yule log is actually an adaptation of the vanilla and muscovado tart that I made two years ago. That dessert was itself inspired by chef Stéphane Bersia, and had been a real favourite, both to eat and to make. I liked the flavours so much that I wanted to give them a new, more festive form. The Yule log format therefore came naturally, to bring this dessert I love so much back to life, in a different way.
What is muscovado sugar?
A quick word about muscovado sugar, because I realise it’s still fairly little known. It’s an unrefined cane sugar, very fragrant, with notes of caramel, liquorice and almost molasses. It’s a sugar that brings roundness and complexity, without being cloying. In pastry-making, it works particularly well in creams, ganaches and mousses, where it melts completely and flavours the whole evenly. Paired with vanilla, muscovado is particularly interesting. It enhances the warm, indulgent notes of the vanilla without masking them.
Which vanilla should you use?
Precisely, when you make an all-vanilla dessert, the choice of vanilla is essential. Here, we can clearly forget supermarket vanilla. I use Norohy’s organic Madagascar vanilla, which you can find on the Valrhona website. It’s intense, aromatic and makes all the difference (I’m sharing my promo code with you a little further down).
For the look, I took inspiration from the world of Chiara Serpaggi and Nour Kandler, with a sleek and elegant Yule log where the piping makes all the difference.
All that’s left for me to do is wish you a wonderful festive season. Enjoy, treat yourselves, and above all… have fun baking.
Ingredients & Method
9 components · Full recipe
Vanilla praline (can be made ahead)
Ingredients
- 140 g (4.9 oz) Norohy Sicilian almonds
- 4 Norohy organic Madagascar vanilla pods
- 80 g (2.8 oz) sugar
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
Toast the almonds in the oven with the vanilla pods for about 30 minutes at 160°C / 325°F.
2
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, make a dry caramel with the sugar, adding it in 3 batches. You are looking for a deep amber caramel. Keep a close watch — it can darken quickly.
3
Pour the caramel onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Allow to cool.
4
Once the caramel slab is completely cold, break it up and place it in a food processor along with the almonds, vanilla pods, and fleur de sel.
5
Blend, taking regular breaks (to prevent the mixture from overheating), until you reach the consistency of a praline paste. The longer you blend, the more liquid it will become.
Vanilla whipped ganache (to start the day before)
Ingredients
- 45 g (1.6 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate
- 50 g (1.8 oz) whole liquid cream
- 1/2 Norohy organic Madagascar vanilla pod
- 100 g (3.5 oz) well-chilled whole liquid cream
- 1.2 g (0 oz) powdered gelatine (= 3/4 of a sheet)
- 7.2 g (0.3 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
Break the white chocolate into pieces in a bowl (you can melt it slightly in a bain-marie or microwave).
3
Heat the 50 g (1.8 oz) of cream with the split and scraped half vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then cover and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
4
Remove the vanilla pod and heat the cream again.
5
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine and stir to combine.
6
Pour one-third of the cream over the white chocolate and stir with a spatula to create an emulsion. Then add a second third, then a third, until the mixture is perfectly smooth and homogeneous.
7
Add the 100 g (3.5 oz) of cold cream and stir again. Blend briefly with an immersion blender to bring the mixture together completely.
Muscovado sugar whipped ganache (to start the day before)
Ingredients
- 45 g (1.6 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate
- 50 g (1.8 oz) whole liquid cream
- 15 g (0.5 oz) muscovado sugar
- 100 g (3.5 oz) well-chilled whole liquid cream
- 1.2 g (0 oz) powdered gelatine (= 3/4 of a sheet)
- 7.2 g (0.3 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
Break the white chocolate into pieces in a bowl (you can melt it slightly in a bain-marie or microwave).
3
Heat the 50 g (1.8 oz) of cream with the muscovado sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
4
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine and stir to combine.
5
Pour one-third of the cream over the white chocolate and stir with a spatula to create an emulsion. Then add a second third, then a third, until the mixture is perfectly smooth and homogeneous.
6
Add the 100 g (3.5 oz) of cold cream and stir again. Blend briefly with an immersion blender to bring the mixture together completely.
Muscovado cremeux (to make the day before)
Ingredients
- 175 g (6.2 oz) whole liquid cream
- 115 g (4.1 oz) milk
- 40 g (1.4 oz) muscovado sugar
- 65 g (2.3 oz) egg yolks (about 4 yolks)
- 1.8 g (0.1 oz) gelatine (= 3/4 of a sheet)
Method
1
Soak the gelatine in very cold water for 10 minutes.
2
Heat the cream, milk, and scraped vanilla pod together in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
4
Pour the contents of the saucepan over the yolk and sugar mixture, whisking well to combine, then return everything to the heat.
5
Cook to 83°C / 181°F, stirring constantly with a spatula in a figure-of-eight motion. Be careful not to let the cream boil, as this risks curdling the eggs.
6
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatin. Stir to combine, then blend briefly with an immersion blender.
Almond vanilla soft cake
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) almond flour
- 30 g (1.1 oz) light brown sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) eggs
- 11 g (0.4 oz) icing sugar
- 11 g (0.4 oz) whole liquid cream
- 47 g (1.7 oz) butter
- 25 g (0.9 oz) flour
- 2.8 g (0.1 oz) baking powder
- 50 g (1.8 oz) egg whites
- 8.3 g (0.3 oz) light brown sugar
- 1/2 Norohy organic Madagascar vanilla pod
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
2
In a bowl, combine the pre-toasted almond flour, muscovado sugar, egg, icing sugar, and whole cream.
3
Brown the butter in a saucepan until it turns hazelnut in colour, stirring constantly. The butter is ready when it smells deliciously nutty and stops sizzling. Add it while still hot to the rest of the ingredients, continuing to stir.
4
Add the sifted flour and baking powder.
5
Whip the 50 g (1.8 oz) of egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the 8.3 g (0.3 oz) of muscovado sugar, then fold gently into the first mixture using a spatula.
6
Pour the batter into a mould roughly the same size as your yule log tin (note that the sponge will rise during baking).
Praline crunch
Ingredients
- 30 g (1.1 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate
- 40 g (1.4 oz) vanilla praline
- 35 g (1.2 oz) dentelle crepes
Method
1
Melt the white chocolate in the microwave.
2
Add the vanilla praline and mix well until fully incorporated into the melted chocolate.
3
Add the crumbled dentelle crepes and mix carefully with a spatula.
Vanilla bavarian mousse
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) liquid cream
- 100 g (3.5 oz) milk
- 80 g (2.8 oz) egg yolks
- 40 g (1.4 oz) caster sugar
- 1 Norohy organic Madagascar vanilla pod
- 6 g (0.2 oz) powdered gelatine (= 3 sheets)
- 36 g (1.3 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 280 g (9.9 oz) whole liquid cream
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
Heat the milk with the vanilla seeds and pod. Cover and leave to infuse for about ten minutes.
3
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
4
Reheat the milk, then strain it through a fine-mesh sieve onto the yolk-sugar mixture to remove the vanilla pod, mix well, and return everything to the heat.
5
Cook to 85°C / 185°F, stirring constantly with a spatula. Be careful not to let the cream boil.
6
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine. Leave to cool.
7
Whip the whole liquid cream like a chantilly, but do not over-whip — it should be light and mousse-like.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Line a yule log mould with acetate if you do not have a silicone mould.
2
Pour the vanilla bavarian mousse into the yule log mould, filling to three-quarters, and push it up the sides for a clean finish.
3
Freeze for 5 minutes to prevent the insert from sinking to the bottom.
4
Remove the insert and press it gently into the mousse. Cover with a thin layer of mousse.
5
Place the sponge + crunch base on top and smooth the surface with a spatula.
Decoration
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Remove the yule log from the freezer, unmould it, and place it on a serving dish.
2
Whip the vanilla ganache with a mixer until it is firm enough to pipe, but do not over-whip.
3
Transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a size 18 icing nozzle and set aside.
4
Do the same with the muscovado ganache.
5
Pipe a line of vanilla whipped ganache starting from the bottom and working upwards, keeping it straight. Do the same with the muscovado ganache, layering the two creams.
6
Repeat these steps, alternating the two ganaches (this will require a little patience).
7
Finish by piping vanilla ganache along the top, then pipe a little vanilla praline into the groove formed.
Gallery
