Still looking for THE Yule log that will cause a sensation on Christmas Eve? It’s not as if the blog is short of recipes 😛 This one might just win you over with its really fun, not to say playful look, it will delight young and old alike.
Here is the “Ho ho ho” Yule log (yes, I’m doing my best to find them little names :D).
It’s a vanilla and red berry Yule log, a classic, admittedly, but one that works every time.
It is made up of a lemon madeleine sponge, a red berry confit, a vanilla bavarian mousse, all covered with a red mirror glaze and a few chocolate decorations evoking Father Christmas.
I fell for the look of the Father Christmas Yule log that can be found on the Condifa website, but I was won over by the beard/moustache decoration on the Yule log by Jean-Paul Pignol. As I’m nice and I really don’t want you to be put off by the supposed difficulty of making this famous beard, I’m even giving you the template to print so you can cut out your tempered chocolate correctly (at the end of the article). As for the belt, it’s far from perfect… I laid my strip of tempered chocolate inside the log mould, but as a result, it’s too narrow. I should have laid the chocolate strip over the top of the upturned log mould (are you following?). I use a silicone mould that didn’t allow me to do it that way, unfortunately. That said, I managed and it still does the job! A little more chocolate for the belt buckle, a few dark chocolate pistoles for the buttons and there you go 🙂
As for the recipe, I borrowed a few elements from Christophe Felder’s Myrtille coquine Yule log, such as the madeleine sponge, which is really delicious, and the vanilla bavarian mousse. The mirror glaze isn’t the most successful (even if you’re going to tell me it’s very good). I tested a powdered preparation for making a mirror glaze but I wasn’t very convinced, so I’m giving you my usual recipe 🙂
Apart from the mirror glaze, which may scare you a little (and that’s precisely why I file all my recipes with a mirror glaze under the “difficult recipes” category), the recipe is entirely accessible and can be made over 2 days (or more).
- D-2: prepare the mirror glaze (it keeps for several days in the fridge) and the red berry confit (it keeps in the freezer) –> so you can make it several days in advance
- D-1: prepare the madeleine sponge (but you could make it the day before and keep it wrapped in cling film) and the bavarian mousse, assemble the log, prepare the chocolate decorations
- D-day: glaze the log and decorate
It’s a truly delicious recipe, very fresh, and one I find ideal for the end of a fairly hearty meal (like Christmas dinner).
Ingredients & Method
6 components · Full recipe
Red mirror glaze (can be made in advance)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) glucose syrup
- 75 g (2.6 oz) water
- 100 g (3.5 oz) unsweetened condensed milk
- 150 g (5.3 oz) white chocolate
- 10 g (0.4 oz) powdered gelatin
- 60 g (2.1 oz) water (to bloom the gelatin)
- red food colouring with a tiny touch of black
Method
1
Ideally, prepare the glaze the day before (or in advance) and reheat it in the microwave when needed.
2
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
3
In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and glucose and heat to 103°C / 217°F.
4
Meanwhile, in a jug, combine the white chocolate broken into pieces, the unsweetened condensed milk, the rehydrated gelatine and the food colouring.
5
When the water/sugar/glucose mixture reaches 103°C / 217°F, pour it into the pitcher then blend with an immersion blender to smooth the glaze, being careful not to incorporate air which would create bubbles on the surface.
Red berry compote (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) red berry purée
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
- 4 g (0.1 oz) pectin
- a little lemon juice
Method
1
Pour the red berry purée into a saucepan and heat.
2
When the puree reaches about 40°C / 104°F, add the sugar and NH pectin that have been well mixed together. Bring everything to a boil while stirring with a whisk and continue boiling for one minute.
3
Off the heat, add a dash of lemon juice and stir.
Lemon madeleine sponge
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) butter
- 2 eggs
- 120 g (4.2 oz) sugar
- 25 g (0.9 oz) milk
- 5 g (0.2 oz) lemon juice
- 75 g (2.6 oz) virgin olive oil
- 125 g (4.4 oz) T45 flour
- 4 g (0.1 oz) baking powder
- zest of 1 lemon
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.
2
Melt the butter in the microwave and let cool.
3
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar for a good minute.
4
Add the lemon zest and melted butter, then mix again.
5
Add the milk, lemon juice and olive oil then mix.
6
Sift the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and add everything to the previous mixture. Mix gently until the batter is smooth and homogeneous.
7
Pour the madeleine sponge batter into a 30×20 cm (7.9 in) frame.
8
Bake for 18 minutes (keep an eye on the baking — adjust the time depending on your oven). The madeleine sponge is cooked when it is golden and does not stick to the finger.
9
Once out of the oven, cool on a wire rack.
10
Cut out a strip to the dimensions of your yule log mould (for me, 25 cm (9.8 in) long by 8 cm (3.1 in) wide). Ideally the thickness should be 1 cm (1.5 cm (0.6 in) maximum). If your sponge is thicker, trim it.
Vanilla Bavarian mousse
Ingredients
- 30 g (1.1 oz) egg yolks
- 30 g (1.1 oz) sugar
- 100 g (3.5 oz) milk
- 15 g (0.5 oz) heavy cream
- 1 vanilla pod
- 5 g (0.2 oz) vanilla extract
- 300 g (10.6 oz) heavy cream
- 4 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatin (= 2 sheets)
- 24 g (0.8 oz) water (to bloom the gelatin)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
Heat the milk with half the sugar and the split and scraped vanilla pod.
3
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar.
4
Pour the milk over the yolk-sugar mixture, mix well, then return to low heat.
5
Cook to 83°C / 181°F, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to boil the cream.
6
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatin. Allow to cool. You can pass this crème anglaise through a fine sieve or blend with an immersion blender to eliminate any lumps. Whisk the whipping cream to a soft, airy consistency.
Assembly
Ingredients
- Aucun
Method
1
Line a yule log mould with acetate or, if unavailable, with baking paper (I use a silicone mould, so I don’t need acetate).
2
Pour the vanilla bavarian mousse into the yule log mold (up to halfway). Freeze for 5 minutes (to prevent the insert from sinking to the bottom).
3
Remove the red berry insert and gently press it into the mousse.
4
Cover with a layer of mousse.
5
Finish with the madeleine sponge. Press lightly to embed it. Smooth the surface with a spatula.
Decoration
Ingredients
- Aucun
Method
1
Remove the entremet from the freezer and unmold.
2
Then place the frozen entremet on a rack, with the rack placed on a plate or dish to catch the excess.
3
Heat the mirror glaze to about 30°C / 86°F and pour it delicately to cover the entremet entirely.
4
Remove the entremet from the rack and place it on a serving dish.
5
Decorate the log as you wish (here, I tempered dark chocolate to make the belt and buckle, and white chocolate for the beard and the log end pieces).
Gallery
