This group is dead - don't know who is in it or if anyone is interested in starting it up again, but thought I would post a recipe of a lovely dessert that I made over Christmas - the Chocolate Yule Log.

This is a chocolate roulade, filled with chocolate cream and drizzled with chocolate ganache. To complete the 'log' effect, I decorated mine with some poinsettia leaves and meringue mushrooms.


Ingredients

Roulade:

6 large eggs
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
115g dark chocolate

Chocolate cream:

240mL heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Ganache:

60ml heavy cream
100g dark chocolate
1 tsp unsalted butter

Method

Roulade:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 12x17 inch pan with baking paper. Butter the paper and coat with flour
2. Separate the eggs while cold. Cover and allow to come to room temperature (about 30 mins)
3. Melt the chocolate and set aside.
4. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Add 1 1/2 tbsp of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
5. Beat egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl until very light and fluffy (about 5 minutes) beat in vanilla. Beat in melted chocolate until just combined.
6. Fold a little of the egg white into the yolk mixture, then fold in remaining whites until just combined. Do not over-mix or the batter will deflate.
7. Spread mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 15 minutes or until the cake is springy and has lost its shine.
8. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool, covered with a damp tea towel.

Chocolate Cream:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and chill for two hours or until cocoa has dissolved.
2. Whip cream until stiff peaks form.
3. Once the cake has cooled, spread with cream and gently roll.

Ganache:

1. Carefully bring cream and butter to the boil
2. Drop in broken chocolate and sit for 5 minutes
3. Whisk or stir until smooth, then drizzle over the cake.


Ingredients

2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 110°C and line trays with baking paper.
2. Beat egg whites until foamy. Then add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.
3. Gradually add sugar and beat until very stiff and glossy, and all the sugar has dissolved.
4. Place mixture in a piping bag and pipe out rounds approx 2 inches wide x 1 inch high for the mushroom caps and tubes about 1/2 to 1 inch high for stems.
5. Bake for 40-60 mins, or until meringues can be lifted easily from the paper without sticking.
6. With a sharp knife, make holes in the underside of each mushroom cap and when cool, stick caps and stems together with a little melted chocolate. Dust with drinking chocolate.

That looks really nice Laura! (ok, now I feel like I'm talking to myself - my name's Laura too :-D) Is "heavy cream" the same as what we in the UK call double cream, do you know? Like, thicker cream than the stuff you can pour really easily, but not actually whipped or anything?

Hi Laura...I think it is probably a similar thing

That looks delicious, I will have to try to make that. I hope this group is still open, I joined. thanks

/\ /\ It's almost as dead as the dodo, but welcome

Maybe start some new threads - a new discussion or some of your favourite recipes - and people might start coming back!

I joined That looks amazing, those mushrooms really look like real mushrooms! awesome!