Christmas Chocolate Yule Log

Happy Christmas Eve! Now it's totally against my usual policy to be posting on Christmas eve, but essentially this is the only time to be posting this recipe, and we always make it on Christmas eve. It's a tradition every year that I convince my dad to help me with making a yule log, and by the end of it we're not speaking and he's telling me to "be bloody careful with the folding". But hey, it's Christmas! Usually our log looks a little different, we don't tend to have bark and it's usually got some beautiful tacky decorations, but alas this year is different using a combo of different recipes including Nigella's recipe here and this recipe here; 
 

Ingredients:

For the Cake: 

- 6 Large Eggs (seperated)
- 150 grams caster sugar
- 50 grams cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 teaspoons icing sugar (to decorate)

For the Icing: 

- 175 grams of dark chocolate (chopped)
- 250 grams icing sugar
- 225 grams soft butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Bark:

- 170 grams of Dark Chocolate

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 160C Fan

2.  Firstly begin with making the bark as this will need time to harden up in the fridge. Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over hot water.

3. Spread the chocolate thinly (although not too thin!) onto parchment paper and then roll it up tightly. Refrigerate immediately.

4. Start making the frosting by melting the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Put your butter and icing sugar (sieved) in a mixer and mix until smooth.

5. Once the chocolate is completely melted, leave to cool. Add in the vanilla extract and cooled chocolate into the butter and icing sugar until it is smooth.

6. In a large bowl whisk your 6 egg whites until they are thick and peaking. Sprinkle in 50g of the caster sugar and continue whisking. Make sure the egg whites are still holding their peak and the colour is still glossy, don't over mix.

7. In a separate bowl, whisk the 6 egg yolks and remaining caster sugar (100g) until the mixture is pale and thick.

8. Add in the vanilla extract and sieve the cocoa powder. Fold the cocoa powder carefully.

9. Lighten the yolk mixture by adding a large dollop of the egg white and fold in carefully. Then add in the remaining whites in thirds ensuring to fold in extremely carefully whilst making sure the mixture is thoroughly combined.

10. Line a tin (15 x 11 inch) with baking parchment ensuring to have an overhang of the parchment on the sides.

11. Pour in the cake mixture, and bake for 20 minutes.

12. This is the difficult part! Controversially you do not roll this sponge and re-roll. Turn the cake out onto baking parchment.

13. Trim off the sides over the sponge to ensure there are not 'crusty' bits.

14. Spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting over the sponge.

15. Now the difficult bit. The rolling. Roll the sponge lengthways (i.e you should be rolling the longest part of the sponge)

16. Then cut off in a diagonal line about a quarter off the log. Place this in the middle of the other sponge.

17. Optional, but I also cut off a very small, about 5cm worth off the end of the main log piece and placed this on the time.

18. Once cooled, spread the remaining frosting over the cake and cover all over. Using a fork gently make long lines across the log.

19. Take your bark roll out of the fridge and carefully start unrolling it. Pieces of bark should start slowly coming off.

20. Place these over the yule log covering it, although leaving the end swirled bits uncovered.

21. Finally dust with icing sugar for that snow affect and decorate!

22. Devour the entire log in 10 minutes from excitement. Or wait until Christmas day... to share with friends and family, that's okay too!