Christmas Yule Log Roll

I made this for the Christmas Dinner. It was very special and unique and, of course, finished the dinner perfectly! It is a traditional Christmas recipe served in many European countries. Inside this Yule log roll has sour cream and whipping cream icing and raspberry coulis. Outside it is iced with Chocolate Buttercream Icing. By the way, you can serve it not only on Christmas but also on a winter birthday or a party.

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Serves 8-10 people.

Step 1: the Ingredients

You will need:

1/2 cup cake flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

dash of salt

1/2 cup white sugar

3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup milk

#I didn't have cake flour at hand so I made my own:

Measure out 1/2 cup white all-purpose flour.

Remove 1 tablespoon flour and add 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Sift several times and measure to make sure you still have 1/2 cup total of flour mix.

Step 2: Part 1 of Making the Batter

-Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

-In another bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy.

-Beat the flour mixture alternating with milk, into the egg mixture.

-Beat the egg whites, with clean beaters, until stiff and peaks form.

Step 3: Part 2 of Making the Batter

Now add about 1/3 of whipped egg whites into the batter. Mix using folding strokes. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in until everything is smooth.

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Bake in a greased and parchment-paper lined pan. (I used 10×15 pan)

Bake for 12 minutes.

Step 4: Rolling the Roll

While the batter is baking, dust a clean kitchen towel with icing sugar.

Invert the baked cake onto the towel. Peel off the parchment paper. Starting from the long side, roll with a towel, jelly-roll style. The towel will help to tightly roll the cake without cracking it. Work quickly to be successful.

Cool on the cooling rack.

Step 5: Make Raspberry Coulis

You can skip this step, if you want.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

Combine in a small saucepan and heat over low, until the mixture starts to boil. Turn off the heat and strain.

The amount is more then you will use in the roll, so you can also use it as ice cream sauce or dilute with cold water to get a raspberry juice.

Step 6: Sour Cream-Whipped Cream Icing

You will need:

3/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/2-1/4 cup sour cream

Beat whipping cream with sugar until soft peaks form. Beat in sour cream.

Step 7: Assembling the Roll

Roll out the the cooled cake. Spread the icing inside leaving some space at the edges. Drizzle with raspberry coulis, as much as you like. Roll up again carefully. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and cool for 1 hour or up to overnight.

Step 8: Chocolate Buttercream Icing

You will need:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 and 2/3 cup icing sugar

8 teaspoons of milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat cocoa powder with softened butter. Add vanilla extract. Beat in icing sugar in small amounts alternating with milk. I have beaten in icing sugar and milk all at once and you could taste the sugar, so don't do it this way.

Step 9: Assembling and Frosting the Roll

Unwrap the roll. Make a slanted cut about 1/3 up the cake. This will resemble a chopped off part of the log cake. You can make it as small or as large as you want.

I made the other end of this part slanted too. Adhere this part to the main roll using toothpicks. Frost using Chocolate Buttercream Icing. I wanted the outside to look rustic and rough so I slopped on the icing to get this effect. You can also smooth the icing and use a fork to make bark designs. Cool unwrapped in the refrigerator to let it harden a bit.

Step 10: Decorating the Yule Log Roll

I moved the cake to the serving plate and then sprinkled the top with grated chocolate and sifted icing sugar to resemble snow. You can add berries or meringue mushrooms to decorate the finished cake.

Store in the refrigerator.