Description
This easy Chocolate Log Cake, or Yule Log, consists of nutmeg flavoured chocolate sponge filled with whipped cream and covered in a rich chocolate icing.
Ingredients
Scale
For the cake:
- 4 eggs
- 100 g (3.5 oz) caster sugar
- 65 g (2.5 oz) self-raising flour
- 500 g (2 oz) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
For the filling:
- 250 ml double cream
For the icing:
- 150 ml (5 fl oz) double cream
- 150 g (5 oz) good quality dark chocolate
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Set your oven to 170 C/325 F/Gas Mark 3.
- Grease a 33 cm x 23 cm (13 x 9 inch) Swiss roll tin and line with baking parchment.
- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
- Put the egg yolks and caster sugar into a bowl and whisk until combined using an electric or hand-held whisk.
- Sift the self-raising flour and cocoa powder into the bowl. Then add the grated nutmeg. Stir to combine with the egg yolks and caster sugar.
- In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites using an electric or hand-held whisk until they form soft peaks.
- Fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture in the other bowl.
- Pour the mixture into the Swiss roll tin.
- Cook the cake for 1o minutes until it is springy to the touch.
- Put another piece of baking parchment, slightly larger than the size of your Swiss roll tin onto your work surface. Then invert the cooked cake onto it and peel away the baking parchment that lined your Swiss roll tin.
- While the cake is still warm, score it with a knife approximately 1 cm from one of its longer edges. Working from that edge, start to roll up the cake with the new piece of baking parchment inside it. Leave the rolled up cake to cool.
- Make the icing by gently heating the double cream in a small saucepan. It will be hot enough when you can just bear to put your finger into it. Remove from the heat. Break the chocolate into small pieces and add it to the warm cream. When the chocolate has melted, add the grated nutmeg, stir to combine and then allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- Assemble the chocolate log but gently unrolling it and removing the baking parchment. Whip the double cream for the filling using an electric or hand-held whisk until it forms soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream onto the cake and re-roll it.
- Using a palette knife, smooth the chocolate icing over the outside of the rolled cake. Using a fork, make lines on the surface of the cake so that it resembles a log. You can cut off the ends of the cake to even them up once it has been iced if you wish to do so.
Notes
As this cake contains fresh cream, it needs to be stored in the fridge if it is not going to be eaten immediately.