Mocha Yule Log Cake

Mocha Yule Log Cake 

Yield: 1 cake, serves about 6-8

Ingredients

For the cake

5 eggs, separated at room temperature

1 cup (220 g) brown sugar, divided in half

1/2 (70 g) cup cake flour

1/4 cup (20 g) cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp (3 g) cream of tartar

1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream

1 ounce (2 tbsp) almond liqueur or 1/4 tsp almond extract

A jar of seedless raspberry jam

Cocoa

For the Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

2 packs (500g) of cream cheese 

1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar

2 tsp (15 mls)  vanilla 

2 tbsp (34ml)   maple syrup

For decorating

Cranberries

Mint Leaves

Icing Sugar

Meringue Mushrooms

For the Meringue Mushrooms

3 large egg whites, at room temperature **see note at end of ingredient list

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Superfine sugar.  **see note at end of ingredient list

Cocoa

Chocolate Sauce

For the Chocolate Sauce

1/3 cup (75 g) brown sugar

1/3 cup (about 75 ml) water

1 cup (250 ml) milk

340g (12 oz) dark and milk chocolate, broken up

1 tsp (7 ml) vanilla extract 

** Meringue can be tricky, you need exactly double the amount of sugar to the amount of egg white you have, so if you have a kitchen scale, pull it out to measure your egg whites and your sugar.

Directions
Day 1

The Meringue Mushrooms

1. Preheat your oven to 200 F (90 C, 1/4 gas mark); place two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Have your piping bag ready.

4. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium low until soft peaks form.

5. Gradually add the sugar as you beat the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form.

6. Transfer the mix to your piping bag. Pipe the caps of the mushroom in a circular round motion. Pipe the stems in a wide cone-shaped motion. Use a wet fingertip to smooth the tops. 

7. Bake the meringues for 2.5 hours or until they are firm enough that they don't stick to the parchment paper. Halfway through baking, switch and turn the pans from each rack.

8. Once baked, leave the meringues in the oven. Turn the oven off, open the door slightly and let them dry out a good few hours or overnight.

9. To make the chocolate sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar and water to a simmer, mixing well to dissolve the sugar.

10. Add the milk and bring the liquid back to a simmer.

11. Add the chocolate and stir constantly until it's completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. 

12. To attach the mushroom stems to the caps, spread the bottom of each mushroom cap with a little chocolate sauce. Then gently press the top of a stem into the center of the mushroom cap. Once the chocolate hardens, lightly dust the tops of the mushrooms with cocoa to give it a dirty, earthy look. 

Day 2

The Cake

1. Separate the eggs and let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper with melted butter. Pre-heat oven to 350 F (180 C or gas mark 4).

3. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are fluffy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until mixture thickens.

4. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa and salt. Gradually add the cocoa mix into the egg yolk mix, as you continue beating the mixture. 

5. In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.

6. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the egg white mixture, beating until stiff peaks form. 

7. With a spatula, slowly fold in about a fourth of the cocoa mix until it's well mixed. Gently fold the remaining cocoa mix into the egg whites and fold until you don't see anymore white streaks in the mix. 

8. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 12 minutes until the cake springs back after you lightly poke the top with the tip of your finger. Don't overbake. Once ready, let it cool for no more than 5 minutes.

9. After the 5 minutes are up, with a strainer, dust a good amount of cocoa over the cake. Gently turn the cake onto the parchment-lined towel.

10. Slowly peel off the parchment paper. Roll it up very gently, firmly but gently. If it cracks, don't worry, you can cover it up with the frosting! Let it cool a good hour on a wire rack.

11. Make the filling: In a large bowl, whip the whipping cream with the liqueur or extract and refrigerate until ready to use.

12. When the cake is cooled, very gently unroll it and spread it with raspberry jam. Spread the whipped cream all over, leaving 1/2 inch around the entire cake so it doesn't ooze all out.

13. Roll the cake up again, don't squish it too much. Place it on your serving platter and chill in the fridge for an hour.

The Frosting

14. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the maple syrup. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff then mix in the maple syrup. 

15. When the cake is chilled, spread it with cream cheese frosting. You can use a fork to make a pattern on the log cake.

16. To decorate, sprinkle brown sugar on top of the cake. Surround it with icing sugar and mushrooms. Use the cranberries and mint to create holly.

⬆️⬆️ For Video Instructions, please check out my video Mocha Yule Log Cake | With Meringue Mushrooms and Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting | Bûche de Noel

⬆️⬆️ You might also enjoy my video How To Make Rum Balls For The Holidays!