Yesterday I made lentil soup and today a yule log...I have my cooking hat on ready for christmas day!
I decided to attempt to make a Christmas Yule Log...second time lucky and this is the result! I am known for my cupcakes, and most definitely not a swiss roll. The first attempt was a disaster however I was very please with this one. The first one tasted fine just looked horrific!
Ingredients-
For Spring Roll
4 eggs
100g caster sugar
65g Self Raisig Flur
40g Cocoa Powder
For Icing-
175g Chocolate
175g butter
350g icing sugar
Just like my lentil soup recipe, I like to lay out all the ingredients before I start.
I have also laid out the utensils that I think I may need.
I am using a swiss roll tin (33x23 cm roughly).
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line the tin with baking parchment/grease proof paper making sure it goed right into the corners. Leave some hanging over th edge so it is easy to get out of the tin once it has been in the oven.
Mix in a bowl the eggs and sugar until a pale yellow color and frothy
I have measure out the flour and cocoa powder.
Then sieve the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl with the eggs and sugar. If you don't have a sieve then break up the lumps of cocoa with a fork and just put it in, it doesn't make a huge difference, sieving it can sometimes make the sponge lighter.
Fold it together gently
Dont mix it violently as you will knock the air out of the eggs and sugar, do it gently, takes a bit of patience!
Keep folding it until it is all mixed together and a smooth consistency
Then pour in into your tray making sure it goes right to the corners. Gently leveling it out with a spoon or knife .
Then put it into the oven for 8-10 mins. The edges may start to curl that is perfectly fine.
Layout a piece of baking parchment on a clear work surface, sprinkle with icing sugar and then tip your sponge onto the paper, straight after you take it out of the oven. Peel of the paper that went in the oven gently, it will stick to it and may crack that is okay you will be cover the outside!
Cut off the edges to neaten up the cake, as it may have curled up or slightly burnt the edges.
This part is hot on your hands so ask a parent for help or wear oven gloves. Sprinkle the sponge with icing sugar. Indent the cake all the way along the long side closest to you 2 cm away from the edge (not the edge I did in this picture as it is the short side! and i forgot to photograph the correct edge!!, and roll (whilst still hot) the sponge with the paper inside it. Make sure to roll it tightly.
Leave it 10 mins to cool a little and while you are doing that make the icing
Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl either in a microwave or over a pan of boiling water
Add in the icing sugar and mix together.I may have forgotten to photograph the next part....!
Unroll your sponge, it should still be warm, it is easier to roll when it is warm, and spread on a layer of the icing and roll the sponge back up, this time without the paper.
Leave to cool for a further ten minutes.
To create a log with a branch like mine below, cut a smaller chunk of the swiss roll off at a sharp angle and place it against the side of your main log.
Place the remaining icing in a piping bag with a star end, or you can spread it on and then use a fork for a similar effect. Pipe on the icing going along the log, and then along the branch and then on the ends pipe round in a circle, just like a tree log! Then dust with icing sugar and decorate to your delight! I used some sugar snowflakes.
I hope you like my little cooking/baking recipes and hopefully this one isn't too hard to follow. Sorry I forgot to photograph some of the steps I was concentrating to much on making the second one work!Christmas is so close! 2 sleeps and tomorrow is Christmas eve, which means the end of Blogmas *sobs* I have really enjoyed blogmas this year and I dont want it too end... I hope you have enjoyed my blogmas posts.
Laura x
