Continuing with the seasonal Cakes & Bakes recipes, this week I made a Christmas Yule log. It’s the perfect sweet course alternative for people that don’t like dried fruit-filled Christmas pudding, Christmas cake or mince pies.
This cake is basically a chocolate Swiss roll with chocolate filling and chocolate icing on the outside. Apparently, a Yule log can trace its history back to the time of the Druids. It was later taken up by Christians: “As the fire grew brighter and burned hotter, and as the log turned into ashes, it symbolized Christ’s final and ultimate triumph over sin.”
I still don’t have a proper Swiss roll tin, so I used a rectangular, loose-bottomed tart tin. So that the sponge didn’t turn out too thin and biscuity, I didn’t allow the batter to spread all the way into the corners.
The trickiest part of the process was rolling up the still warm sponge with a clean, damp tea towel. It helps stop the sponge from cracking when rolling it up after filling. Don’t worry if it does though – it will be getting covered up with buttercream… which can hide a multitude of mistakes!
Serve it sliced with whipped or brandy cream. Save the recipe to Pinterest here.
- 3 eggs
- 75g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 50g plain flour
- 50g butter, softened
- 75g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa
- 75g butter, softened
- 75g icing sugar
- 75g dark chocolate
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C, 180°C (fan), 400°F, Gas mark 6
- Line a 23x32cm/9x13" Swiss roll tin with parchment
- Separate the eggs into two bowls and beat the whites until stiff
- Add the sugar to the yolks and beat until thickened
- Sieve the cocoa powder over the yolks and beat again
- Gently fold the egg whites into the yolks with a metal spoon, using a cutting and turning action
- Sieve the flour into the bowl and gently combine by cutting and folding with the spoon
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, spreading it out to the edges
- Bake for 10-12 minutes
- Slightly dampen a clean tea towel
- Slide the hot cake, still on its parchment, onto the tea towel
- Roll up the sponge, on the parchment, in the tea towel and leave to cool
- Put the filling butter into a bowl and beat it until it is light and fluffy
- Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa powder into the bowl and beat until combined and soft
- Gently unroll the cold sponge and loosen it from the parchment paper
- Spread the filling evenly over the inside of the sponge
- Roll up the filled sponge
- Put the topping butter into a bowl and beat it until it is light and fluffy
- Sieve the icing sugar into the bowl and beat until combined
- Gently melt the chocolate and mix this into the bowl
- Spread the topping over the rolled up sponge
- Drag a fork or skewer through the icing to create a log texture effect
Price Points: Swiss roll tins
You may remember that I made a coffee and walnut Swiss roll a couple of weeks ago. You may also remember that I said that the finished product would have been improved if I’d used a proper Swiss roll tin.
I’ve had a look online to see how much they go for… as it turns out, as little as £1.50! #1 is described as a Swiss roll tin. However, it doesn’t look quite deep enough for me – and perhaps not terribly sturdy. I’ve not tested it but, from past experience, it looks as though it may bend and warp from the heat of an oven. The other two Swiss roll tins seem to be made from stronger material. I really like #3, the OXO Good Grips, it’s non-stick and deep – good for a lovely thick sponge that doesn’t crack when it’s rolled.
- Cookshop Teflon-coated Swiss roll tray: £1.50, Dunelm
- Prestige 57904 Inspire Swiss roll tin, medium, black: £8.75, eBay
- OXO Good Grips non-stick pro Swiss roll tin: £21.99, Lakeland
shop Swiss roll tins
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Cakes & Bakes: Coffee and walnut swiss roll
Have you watched the first episode of Britain’s Best Home Cook on the Beeb yet? One of the contestants, Katie, made this gorgeous coffee and walnut swiss roll as her second-round, improvised dish.
I shared a swiss roll as a Cakes & Bakes recipe last year. However, coffee and walnut is such a favourite cake combo, I just had to make this version!
The trick to getting a perfect, tight spiral… and an un-cracked sponge, is to score the inner edge and give it a pre-roll in parchment paper while it’s still very warm.
I did this, but my sponge was a little thin and lacked the required flexibility – so there was still some cracking. I need to get a proper swiss roll cake tin and then that problem should be solved for next time.
As expected, the flavours all worked really well together and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it… cracks and all!
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 160g/5½oz walnut halves
- 140g/5oz caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 4 eggs
- 140g/5oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 30g/1oz unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
- 2tsp instant coffee granules
- 2tsp boiling water
- 170ml/6fl oz double cream
- 25g/1oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan/Gas mark 6
- Grease a 34 × 22cm/13 × 8½" Swiss roll tin and line it with baking parchment
- Roast the walnuts in the oven for 5 minutes, until a shade darker and aromatic. Allow to cool, then finely chop half of the walnuts
- Using an electric whisk or stand mixer with whisk attachment, whisk the sugar and eggs together until pale, thick and creamy and at least doubled in volume (this will take 8-10 minutes)
- Sift a few tablespoons of flour at a time into the bowl, and very gently fold into the mixture. When all the flour has been incorporated, gently fold in most of the chopped walnuts and the butter. Be patient and do not knock out too much air
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and smooth out using the back of a spoon
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and slightly springy to the touch. Don't leave to cool
- While the sponge is still warm, place a large sheet of baking parchment on your work surface and dust liberally with caster sugar. Supporting it with your hand, carefully invert the sponge onto the parchment. Gently peel off the top layer of parchment. Trim the very outer edge of the sponge with a sharp knife. Score a line 2cm/¾" in from the short end of the sponge closest to you, but don't cut all the way through. Using the parchment, tightly roll up the sponge and leave to cool, seam side down
- Mix the coffee and boiling water to form a paste
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, icing sugar and coffee paste until soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until needed
- Gently unroll the cooled sponge. Spread the cream over the surface, leaving a 1-2cm/½–¾" border all round
- Scatter over the remaining chopped walnuts. Roll up the sponge again and place on a serving plate, seam side down
- Arrange the whole walnuts on top and dust with icing sugar before serving
Cakes & Bakes: Swiss roll
Our food cupboard is full to bursting with last year’s home-made jams, jellies and other preserves. This year’s preserves have no place to live! One of the best ways to use up a fair amount of some of that jelly is to make a Swiss roll. Any excuse to make cake!
If you look on the internet, you’ll find a lot of debate about what constitutes a ‘proper’ Swiss roll. Vanilla sponge or chocolate sponge? Jam on its own or jam and whipped cream together? Whipped cream or buttercream?
For the purposes of this post (and our own personal preference) we’re going vanilla sponge with raspberry jelly.
You can buy a specialised Swiss roll cake tin for the job, but I’ve used a large, shallow baking sheet. I like my roll to have thinner, but a greater number of layers.
To attain a lovely, light sponge, cake flour is preferred. It’s much more widely available in the USA, but you can knock up a decent approximation yourself. For every 130 grams / 4¼oz of flour, remove 2 tablespoons and replace it with 2 tablespoons of cornflour. Just make sure you sift them together really well to combine.
There are a couple of tips for a successful rolling stage. Roll the sponge whilst it’s still warm, allow it to cool, unroll it, spread the jam/jelly/cream/buttercream and roll it back up again. The other tip is to make a straight, shallow groove along the entire width, about 1cm from the edge from which you begin the roll to help get it… rolling. Perhaps my photo above can better explain what I mean!
Delicious with an afternoon cup of tea – or served as a dessert with whipped cream.
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 4 eggs, separated
- 125g/4¼oz caster sugar + 2 tbsp extra for sprinkling
- ½tsp vanilla extract
- 50g/1¾oz butter, melted
- 130g/4½oz cake flour
- ¼tsp fine salt
- Almost a full jar of jam or soft-set jelly
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
- Grease and line the bottom and sides of a Swiss roll tin or large baking tray with parchment paper
- Sift the flour(s) and salt into a mixing bowl from a height to incorporate air
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the caster sugar, vanilla extract and the egg yolks until the mixture is pale, airy and shiny
- Whisk in the melted butter
- Fold the flour carefully into this mixture, trying not to beat too much air out of the mixture. Set aside
- In another mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks (use a stand mixer/electric whisk for ease and speed)
- Gently fold the whites into the mixture in three stages
- Pour the mixture into the lined tin and tilt from side to side to cover evenly
- Gently bang the tin on to the workspace a couple of times to get rid of any air bubbles
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and springs back when pressed with a finger
- Spread a clean, damp tea towel on a work surface
- Cut a piece of greaseproof a little larger than the tin, lay it on the tea towel and sprinkle over the extra caster sugar
- Loosen the sponge around the edges and then invert on to the paper with one of the short sides facing you
- Trim the 4 edges using a bread knife to neaten
- Gently score a straight line from end to end around 1cm from the edge closest to you
- Whilst still warm, roll the sponge up as tightly as possible, rolling the paper in with it using the damp tea towel as an aid. Leave rolled up tightly until cooled
- Unwrap, flatten gently and spread with jam. Roll back up without the paper
- Slice to serve (with whipped cream and fresh summer berries)