Lindas 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:

• Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Put the mini marshmallows in the skillet with a flat side down. Cook, undisturbed, until golden brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Let cool in the skillet.
• Slice a thin piece off both ends of 6 of the Swiss roll cakes to reveal the swirls (discard the end pieces). These will be the logs. Next, slice off the end of one of the remaining cakes on a 30-degree angle, then slice the cake into thirds, making parallel cuts to the end angle and finishing by cutting the second end on the same angle. If the chocolate coating falls off, that's okay; discard it. Discard the ends. Repeat with another cake. These angled pieces will be the branches. (Note that you will have 2 unused cakes, in case you mess up; if you don't mess up, you can just eat them.)
• Cut out six 3-inch parchment squares. Flip a water glass upside down and place one of the parchment squares on the flat bottom. Place a cake log on the parchment. With a butter knife or small offset spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting over the chocolate coating. Run the tip of the knife or spatula down the length of the log to create wide ridges. Stick the end of one branch onto the side of the log and spread frosting over the chocolate coating (or where the chocolate coating would be). Stick 3 of the marshmallows, browned-side up, onto the side of the yule log. Carefully slide the parchment with the yule log off of the glass; set aside. Repeat with the remaining logs, branches, frosting and marshmallows to create 5 additional yule logs.
• Freeze the yule logs on their parchment squares until the frosting is set, at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days (in an airtight container). To serve, transfer each log to a plate, remove the parchment and arrange 2 sprigs of rosemary under each one. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make the cakes: Line two 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, and lightly coat with spray. Beat egg yolks with a mixer on high speed until pale yellow and thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
• Beat egg whites in a clean mixer bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Raise speed to medium-high; slowly add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
• Fold yolks into egg-white mixture using a rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate whites. Sift cocoa and flour over top; gently fold to combine. Pour into prepared sheets, and gently smooth tops using an offset spatula.
• Bake until cakes spring back when touched, 9 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line 2 wire racks with parchment paper, and lightly coat with spray. Remove cakes from oven, and immediately turn out each onto a prepared rack. Peel parchment from cakes. Let stand until cooled completely.
• Assemble the cakes: Place 2 clean kitchen towels on work surface, and transfer each cake (with parchment) to a towel. Divide caramel cream evenly between cakes. Spread, using an offset spatula, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges.
• Tightly roll 1 cake into a log, starting with a short end, removing parchment as you work. Tightly wrap log in kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining cake. Transfer wrapped logs, seam side down, to a baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• Unwrap each log. Lightly dust work surface with cornstarch or confectioners' sugar. Roll out half the fondant to 1/4-inch thickness. Place an 8-by-12-inch food-safe wood-grain texture mat on fondant, and press hard, using a rolling pin, to make an indentation. Gently remove mat, and generously rub fondant with cocoa. Brush off excess cocoa.
• Drape 1 cake log with fondant sheet. Shape fondant to fit log using your hands, and trim ends and cut away excess with a paring knife or a pizza cutter. Transfer to a serving platter. Repeat with remaining fondant, cocoa, and cake log. Serve with sugared white pine needles and milk-chocolate pinecones if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Line with waxed paper. Grease paper.
• Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
• Beat together sugar and egg yolks at high speed until light and fluffy. At low speed, alternately beat milk and flour mixture into egg mixture.
• Using clean beaters, beat egg whites at high speed until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Fold one third of beaten whites into batter. Fold in remaining whites. Spread batter in prepared pan; smooth top.
• Bake cake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until set, 12 minutes.
• Dust a clean cloth with confectioners' sugar. Turn cake out onto prepared cloth. Remove waxed paper. Trim cake edges. Starting with a long side, roll up cake, jelly-roll style. Transfer, seam-side down, to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.
• Unroll cake; remove cloth. Spread whipped cream over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Re-roll cake. Place, seam-side down, on serving plate.
• To prepare frosting, in a small saucepan, bring heavy cream, melted chocolate, and butter to a boil over medium heat, stirring vigorously until blended. Remove from heat. Let stand until set. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake.
• To prepare garnish, dust work surface with confectioners' sugar. Knead food coloring into marzipan until blended. Using a rolling pin dusted with confectioners' sugar, roll marzipan to a 1/8-inch thickness. Using a small knife, cut out leaves. Arrange leaves, cinnamon candies, and snowmen on top of cake and around plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Enjoy!

Steps:

• Line a 35 x 25cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment and heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Beat the egg whites with an electric whisk until just holding peaks, then add half the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until the peaks hold. Set aside. Beat the yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and fluffy in a clean bowl. Sift in the cocoa, spices and a pinch of salt and gently fold them through. Beat in a third of the egg whites, then gently fold through the rest until you have an airy mousse. Pour into the tin and spread evenly. Bake for 12-15 mins until springy.
• Sprinkle caster sugar over a large sheet of baking parchment. Turn the cake out onto the sugared parchment, then peel off the sheet you used to line the tin. Cover with a clean tea towel, then leave to cool completely. Trim the edges, then score along the inside edge of one of the short sides and roll it up from there, using the parchment to help.
• To make the filling, beat the butter, icing sugar, brandy and vanilla together with an electric whisk for 10 mins until light and fluffy. Unroll the sponge, then turn it so that one long edge is facing you. Spread the buttercream over the sponge using a palette knife, keeping the end furthest from you clean. Using the parchment, roll the sponge up again into a roulade.
• For the frosting, tip the chocolate into a large bowl. Put the cream and butter in a saucepan and heat gently until the butter melts and the cream reaches simmering point, then pour over the chocolate. Stir to create a smooth mixture, then leave to cool, stirring occasionally, until you can spread it over the sponge. Make bark lines using a fork, then chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
• To decorate with chocolate leaves, melt the white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and paint the underside of the bay leaves with it. Put in the fridge to set for 30 mins, then gently peel away the bay leaves. Arrange over the log, then lightly dust with the icing sugar and lustre.