To celebrate Yule, I like to take a Yule Log to enjoy with those who will be sharing my day. Last year (somewhat optimistically!) I thought I would like to make my own.
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs, separated
- 1/8 tsp lemon juice
- 5oz caster sugar
- 2oz cocoa, sifted
- ½oz cornflour
- 300ml Lactofree cream
- 2 level tbsp icing sugar, plus extra for decoration
- 2tbsp brandy (optional – can be substituted with vanilla extract or left out altogether)
Method
- Set the oven to 200°C or gas mark 6.
- Whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice until stiff. In a separate bowl whisk egg yolks and caster sugar until thick and creamy then slowly add double-sifted cocoa and cornflour.
- Beat one-third of the whisked egg whites into the cocoa mixture, then fold in the remaining whites using a metal spoon. Take extra care not to ‘knock’ the air out of the mixture. Spread evenly onto Swiss roll tin lined with greaseproof paper.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 7½ – 8 mins.
- Whilst the sponge bakes, gets started on the creamy filling. Whisk the Lactofree cream until it forms soft peaks, then whisk in the sugar and add brandy/vanilla if desired.
- Once the sponge has been baked and cooled, turn it out onto a fresh sheet of greaseproof paper dusted with icing sugar. Lie the greaseproof paper on a clean tea towel to make it easier to roll.
- Spread the cream mixture evenly over sponge, and roll up. Start at the short end and slowly, but firmly, roll – removing the paper as you go.
- Once rolled, wrap in foil and refrigerate for 24 hours – you can skip this step but I would recommend placing the log in the fridge for a least an hour.
- To serve, trim each end (the cooks treat!), dust with icing sugar and decorate as you please!
Jay’s Insights
I strongly advise using an electric whisk. I don’t have one, and my wrists were practically falling off after baking this! It was so worth it though as the sponge is incredibly light and fluffy.
I found that I had far more cream filling than needed, so when I make this recipe again I’ll be trying with just the one carton of lactofree.
Rolling the sponge is very fiddly, and I managed to crack mine in a few places, so it wasn’t perhaps the prettiest yule log I’ve ever seen but boy was it gorgeous! I took it into work with me and it vanished in a trice.
