Super Quick Mocha Yule Log Recipes

Steps:

• Whip together 1 1/2 cups of the heavy cream, the confectioners' sugar and espresso powder in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Spread a heaping tablespoon of the whipped cream onto one side of 39 chocolate wafer cookies (wipe the spoon clean with a rubber spatula between dollops). Spread the whipped cream out on the cookies with a small offset spatula. Stack 5 cookies on top of each other. Repeat with the remaining cookies (including the one without whipped cream) so that you have 8 stacks total. One of the stacks will have a cookie on top with no whipped cream; this stack will be the top stack.
• To build the log: Lay out a piece of plastic wrap about 20 inches long on the countertop. Working across the entire length of the plastic wrap, lay one of the cookie stacks on its side. Gently press the remaining 7 cookies stacks together, end to end, finishing with the top stack, to make one long cookie log that's about 15 to 18 inches long. Wrap the log up in the plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
• While your stack is chilling, make the ganache: Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the remaining 1 1/2 cups heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 10 minutes, then stir until completely melt. Pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer and refrigerate until completely cool, about 30 minutes. Just before frosting, whip the ganache until it just begins to loosen up, turns lighter in color and is spreadable, 30 to 45 seconds. It's important not to overwhip or it will become grainy.
• Cut a 2- to 3- inch diagonal piece from the top end of the log and place it on top of the log at an angle; this will be the branch. Spread the ganache over the log to cover it completely. Heat a metal fork. Use the tines and the back of a the fork to draw a bark pattern in the ganache, running it along the surface in short strokes.
• To make the mushrooms: Shave the tops of 6 of the meringues with a rasp grater until they are smooth and round and resemble mushroom caps. Smooth the tops with a wet finger. Mix together 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar with 1/4 teaspoon water in a small bowl to make a glue. Smear a little of the sugar glue on the bottom of each meringue and stick a marshmallow to it to make a stem. To make a shorter stem, simply cut the marshmallow in half with kitchen shears. Let the mushrooms sit for 30 minutes until the sugar water has hardened. Dust the tops with cocoa powder.
• Decorate the cake with the mushrooms, rosemary, mint and cranberries. Shave the remaining meringue over top of the cake to make snow. Slice the cake on a diagonal for serving.

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom of a greased 15x10x1-in. pan with parchment; grease parchment. Sift flour, cocoa and salt together twice. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until slightly thickened. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Fold in flour mixture., Add cream of tartar to egg whites; with clean beaters, beat on medium until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until soft glossy peaks form. Fold a fourth of the whites into batter, then fold in remaining whites. Transfer to prepared pan, spreading evenly., Bake until top springs back when lightly touched, 12-15 minutes (do not overbake). Cool 5 minutes. Invert onto a tea towel dusted lightly with cocoa. Gently peel off parchment. Roll up cake in the towel jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack. , For filling, in a bowl, dissolve coffee granules in cream; beat until it begins to thicken. Add sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Unroll cake; spread filling over cake to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up again, without towel; trim ends. Transfer to a platter, seam side down. Refrigerate, covered, until cold., For frosting, beat all ingredients until smooth. Spread over cake. Using a fork, make lines in frosting to resemble tree bark. Refrigerate until serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Add the bacon to a medium skillet, turn the heat to medium high and cook until browned and crispy on both sides, about 7 minutes. Drain on paper towels, then dice. Set aside.
• To a medium bowl, add the eggs, heavy cream, paprika, cayenne, Dijon and some salt and pepper; whisk to combine. Add the bacon, peas and Gruyere; fold to combine. Set aside.
• Unroll the pie dough and cut out 7 rounds using a 3-inch round cookie cutter. (If necessary, roll out the scraps and cut out more rounds.) Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray. Press each dough round into a muffin tin cup, crimping the edges.
• Divide the egg mixture between the 7 pie dough cups. Bake until just set, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

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:

• 1. Cake Place egg whites in a bowl and set aside. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll large jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper. Mix the flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl beat the egg yolks until slightly thickened. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the sugar. Beat until thick and lemon colored. Fold into the flour mixture. Add the cream of tarter to the egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. Add the other 1/2 cup of sugar and beat until glossy. Fold into the cake mixture. Spread evenly on prepared pan. Bake about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes then turn it out on a clean dish towel that is dusted with powdered sugar. Begin at short end and roll up jelly roll style. Let cool completely.
• 2. For the filling Dissolve the expresso powder in the heavy cream and beat until it begins to thicken. Add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Unroll cake and add the filling roll back up and trim the edges. Set on plate seam side down. Place in fridge to get cold
• 3. For the frosting. Beat all frosting ingredients together adding heavy cream until the desired consistency is reached. Frost the cold cake. Use a fork to make lines to resemble tree bark.

Steps:

• For the filling: Bring the cream to a ­simmer in a small saucepan over high heat. Off the heat, stir in the confectioners' sugar and espresso and let cool slightly. Gently whisk the cooled cream mixture into the softened mascarpone until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the frosting: Place the chocolate in a food processor. Bring the cream, corn syrup and salt to a boil in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave. Stir the mixture to combine.
• Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate in the food processor and process until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.
• Add the sugar and vanilla nad continue to process until combined, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add the softened butter, one piece at at time, through the feed tube. Continue to process until the frosting is smooth and no butter chunks remain, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the frosting to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until thick and spreadable, about 1 hour.
• For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, line the bottom with parchment paper, and grease the paper. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
• In a large bowl, whip the eggs with an ­electric mixer on medium-high speed and gradually add the sugar, about 1 minute. Continue to whip the mixture until very thick and voluminous, 4 to 8 minutes. Whip in the vanilla. Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until just incorporated.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared baking sheet and spread out to an even layer. Bake the cake until it feels firm and springs back when touched, 12 to 17 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
• Immediately run a knife around the edge of the cake and flip the hot cake out onto a large sheet of greased parchment paper. Peel off and discard the parchment paper baked on the ­bottom of the cake. Starting from a long end, roll the cake snugly around the large sheet of ­parchment into a log and let cool for 15 minutes.
• Beat the filling until stiff with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, 10 to 30 seconds. Gently unroll the cake. Spread the filling over the cake, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edges. Reroll the cake gently but snugly around the filling. Following the photos, cut a 2- to 3-inch piece off one end of the cake at an angle and reserve.
• Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment and arrange the chocolate roll on the platter. Frost the cake evenly with 2 cups of the frosting. Attach the reserved trim piece on top of the cake (to look like a stump) and frost with the remaining frosting. Using a fork, make a wood grain pattern in the frosting all over the cake.
• To decorate: If desired, lightly dust the entire cake with confectioners' sugar to look like snow. Remove the parchment strips before serving.