Chocolate Hazelnut Yule Log Recipes

Steps:

• Whip powdered sugar, butter, cocoa powder, salt, and coffee liqueur together in the bowl of a stand mixer on high speed. Transfer buttercream into a separate bowl and add mascarpone cheese. Mix until combined; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush a little melted butter over a 13x18-inch rimmed sheet pan. Line pan with parchment paper and brush remaining melted butter on top.
• Combine cocoa powder, salt, and flour together in a bowl; whisk or sift to break up clumps.
• Place eggs in the clean bowl of your stand mixer. Add sugar and whip until fluffy, thick, and very light in color. Add 1/2 of the cocoa powder mixture and vanilla extract; mix on low speed for a few seconds. Beat in remaining cocoa mixture on low for a few seconds. Switch to high speed; stop once mixture is moistened but not fully blended. Pull off the whisk attachment and whisk batter with it until evenly blended.
• Pour batter onto the prepared sheet pan and spread out with a spatula, leaving some room around the edges. Tap pan on the counter to knock out the large bubbles.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is dry and edges start to pull away from the sides, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Dust a clean kitchen towel with enough powdered sugar to cover an area slightly larger than the sponge cake. Remove cake from the oven. Run a knife around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top. Run a spatula under the parchment paper to make sure it's not stuck to the pan.
• Quickly flip pan on top of the sugared area to invert the cake. Remove parchment paper and dust cake with more powdered sugar. Gently roll cake up inside the towel; allow to cool for 15 minutes.
• Unroll cake and dollop buttercream on top, reserving some for later. Spread frosting to the edges. Roll cake up over the frosting, using the towel to lift it if needed. Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top. Wrap log in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• Combine chocolate chips and hot cream in a bowl. Let sit for 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate melts.
• Make an angled cut 3 inches from one end of the log. Place log on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Apply some buttercream to the angled slice and attach it to one side. Spread a layer of ganache all over the cake, except for the swirls. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up ganache.
• Carve lines into the ganache using the tip of a knife to create the appearance of tree bark. Refrigerate until completely chilled before serving. Dust with cocoa powder and powdered sugar.

Steps:

• Place egg whites in large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan with waxed paper; grease the paper and set aside. , Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup sugar. Sift flour, baking cocoa, baking powder and salt together twice; gradually add to yolk mixture and mix well (batter will be very thick). , With clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold into batter. Spread evenly into prepared pan. , Bake until cake springs back when lightly touched, 10-12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with cocoa powder. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in towel, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; cool completely on a wire rack., Meanwhile, for the filling, beat cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and almond extract, beating until stiff peaks form. Unroll cake; spread filling to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up again. , In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in chocolate, milk and vanilla until smooth. Frost the cake, using a metal spatula to create a bark-like effect.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan with nonstick cooking spray; line bottom with parchment paper. Coat paper with cooking spray; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks with 1/2 cup granulated sugar until pale yellow. Whisk in almond extract and flour just until combined (do not overmix); set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. While beating, slowly add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) and beat until stiff and glossy. Whisk one third of beaten egg whites into yolk mixture; gently fold in remaining whites with a rubber spatula. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan; bake until center of cake springs back when lightly pressed, 15 to 17 minutes.
• Immediately after removing cake from oven, run a knife around edge of pan. Dust top of cake with confectioners' sugar; invert cake onto clean parchment paper, and gently peel off the lining paper that's now on top of cake. Starting from a short side of cake, gently roll cake, along with clean paper, into a log; let cool, seam side down, 30 minutes.
• Once cake has cooled, prepare filling and frosting. Gently unroll cake, and spread with filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border; starting from a short side, carefully re-roll (do not roll paper in cake), and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet or serving platter. Spread log with frosting; sprinkle with almonds. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• To serve, use a serrated knife to slice off the ends of the log neatly, revealing interior. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and, if desired, garnish with Marzipan Mushrooms.

Steps:

• Brush a 30x35cm Swiss roll tin with oil or melted butter and line the base and sides with baking paper.
• Preheat the oven to 180C,.
• Sift the flour and cocoa powder together twice.
• Using electric beaters, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy and increased in volume.
• Sift the flour mixture over the eggs and pour the butter around the edge of the bowl. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold the mixture together to incorporate the flour and butter. Take care not to over mix and lose too much volume.
• Spread the mixture into th eprepared tin and bake for about 12 minutes, or until the sponge springs back to the light touch.
• Sprinkle the extra caster sugar over a clean tea towel.
• Turn the sponge out onto the tea towel, close to one end, leaving th epaper on the cake. Roll up the sponge and tea towel together and leave to cool completely.
• To make the filling, put the white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring a small pan of water to the boil, then remove from the heat. Add the cream to the chocolate and stand the bowl over the pan of water, making sure the the base of the bowl does not touch the water, until the chocolate is soft. Stir until smooth.
• Repeat with the dark chocolate and the cream for the topping.
• Leave the white chocolate mixture until it has cooled to room temperature and is the consistency of cream.
• Leave the dark chocolate mixture until it cools to a spreadable consistency.
• Using electric beaters, beat the white chocolate mixture until soft peaks form- do not overbeat.
• unroll the sponge, remove the tea towel and paper and spread with the filling, finishing 2cm from the end. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts. Re-roll the sponge, and trim the ends. Cut one end off on the diagonal and place it alongside the log to create a branch.
• Place the roll onyo a serving platter, and spread the dark chocolate topping all over it.
• Run the tines of a fork along the length of the roll, to give a 'bark" effect.
• Just before serving, dust generously with icing sugar. Decorate with fresh green leaves.

Steps:

• Preparing the cake: 1. If you don't have prepared hazelnut flour then read my recipe "https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/side/other-side-dish/blanching-and-pulverizing-nuts.html". 2. Heat the oven to 225°C. 3. Beat the egg whites and the smaller amount of sugar as a stable meringue. 4. In a separate bowl, beat the whole eggs as a froth with the larger amount of sugar. 5. Fold in the meringue. 6. Add the wheat flour through a sieve and fold it in until just combined. Finally, mix in the hazelnut flour and vanilla extract, then the melted butter. 7. Line a deep oven sheet with baking paper ja spread the batter on it evenly. 8. Bake the cake in the oven for 7 minutes. Immediately lay it in on a cool base and put another baking paper on top of it. Flip it over with the papers and let it cool.
• Preparing the chocolate mousse: 1. Beat the yolks and whole eggs even in a bowl. 2. Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Lower the heat to medium high and boil the syrup without stirring until the temperature reaches 118°C. If you don't have a thermometer then boiling it for about three minutes will do. 3. Keep whisking the egg mix while you pour in the hot syrup - not too close to the edge so the sugar won't stick to the bowl. The hot sugar will pasteurize the eggs. Mix until frothy and cooled. 4. In a separate bowl whip the heavy cream until it's stable and airy. 5. Cut the chocolate into pieces and and melt it in a double boiler. Pour it in a clean bowl and fold in about one third of the whipped cream. Then add the egg mix and the rest of the whipped cream in turns. 6. Let the mousse sit in the fridge if you want it to become more stable. This might be helpful if you want the log to appear rounder.
• Preparing the chocolate bark: 1. Chop the chocolate finely. 2. Temper the chocolate so it solidifies as shiny and snappy: First melt half of the chocolate in the double boiler. Take the molten chocolate out of the hot water bath and keep mixing the rest of the chocolate in until it has also been dissolved. Keep stirring until 32°C, the ideal temperature has been reached. 3. Spread the tempered chocolate evenly on a baking or parchment paper, just wide enough to cover the entire log. Let it solidify; it will only take a few minutes in the fridge. If some arching occurs it will be normal. 4. Snap the chocolate bark as strips by hand. Cut it into smaller pieces if needed.
• Assembly: 1. Peel the baking paper off the bottom of the cake. Spread from half to two thirds of the mousse on the skin side of the cake, leaving enough for the icing. 2. Roll the cake and rewrap it into the baking paper. Let it set in the fridge. 3. Once the log has cooled down cut off the ends slightly diagonally. 4. Paste them on top of the log with the mousse so they become cut off branches. Cover the rest of the log with the mousse except for the cutting parts. 5. Paste the chocolate bark pieces onto the uncovered mousse. 6. Add any details you want (rain of powdered sugar, more decorations etc).