Description
Amaze your family and friends this holiday season with this gorgeous and delicious chocolate holiday yule log cake. It looks and tastes like a dream!
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup hot coffee
- 1/2 cup syrup (optional for assembly)
Frosting:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup confectionary sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ganache:
- 1 cup dark chocolate
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Cake:
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- Beat eggs well in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add sugar and continue beating until the mixture reaches a light yellow color. Add oil and milk and mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Mix in hot coffee. The mixture will be more a little more liquid that typical cake batter.
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. (Note: I used a 11’’ x 15’’ pan but the amount of the cake mixture could have fit a slightly large pan). Pour in the batter and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Check if the cake is ready with a toothpick (must come out clean).
- Lay out a clean kitchen towel and line it with another sheet of parchment paper, large enough to accommodate the cake. Flip the cake over on the lined kitchen towel leaving about 3-4 inches of the towel free on one of the ends. Remove the parchment paper which was originally lining the baking tray.
- Start rolling the cake at the free end of the towel and until the entire cake is rolled and completely covered with the towel. Leave the cake to cool for an hour.
- Carefully unroll the cake and leave it to cool completely. Be careful not to try and flatten the cake as it will break easily. Note that even if the cake does break or crack, it will still keep it’s shape.
Frosting:
- Whip heavy cream with confectionary sugar and vanilla. Leave it in the fridge until the cake is cooled down completely.
Ganache:
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and place a bowl of chocolate over top, ensuring that the bowl is large enough that it will not touch the water.
- Stir the chocolate until it is completely melted. Turn off the heat and slowly add heavy cream. Stir the mixture continuously to ensure that it is well combined.
- Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool down at room temperature. Once it cools down and gets thick, whip it using a hand mixer.
Assembly:
- When the cake is cooled down completely, you can soak it with syrup to add extra moisture and flavour (optional).
- Spread the frosting all over the cake, leaving about 2-3 inches at the “end” of cake uncovered.
- Carefully roll the cake using the parchment paper. Do not worry about any cracks of break as it will hold together in the fridge. Roll the parchment paper around the cake tight and leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Remove cake from the fridge and carefully remove the parchment paper. Cut approximately 1-inch from each side to make the edges even.
- Cover the cake with ganache and “draw” lines with a fork on top to imitate a wooden texture.
