Yule chocolate log

Yule chocolate log

Mary Cadogan’s festive chocolate log will go down a treat with everyone - it's a lighter recipe than most

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 16 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Plus cooling
Freezable

Freeze for up to a month

Method

  1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter and line the base and sides of a 30 x 35cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment.
  2. Separate the eggs, putting them into two large mixing bowls. Add the sugar and 2 tbsp water to the egg yolks. Using an electric whisk or tabletop mixer, whisk the sugar and yolks for about 5 mins until the mixture is light in colour and thick enough to leave a trail when the whisk blades are lifted. Sift in the flour and cocoa, then fold in lightly, using the whisk blades or a large metal spoon.
  3. Using a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold into the cake mixture in three batches, again using the blades to preserve as much air as possible.
  4. Pour the mixture evenly over the prepared tin, then carefully spread to the edges. Bake for 10-12 mins, or until the cake feels firm to the touch. Put a large sheet of baking parchment on the work surface and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar. Turn the cake out onto the parchment and peel off the lining paper. Cover with a clean tea towel, then leave to cool completely. Trim a little cake from all the edges, then score along the edge of one of the long sides of the cake and roll up from there, using the paper to help you, rolling the paper inside the cake.
  5. To make the icing and filling, bring the cream to the boil in a small pan, remove from the heat, then break in 400g of the chocolate. Stir until it is melted and smooth. Leave to cool, then chill until it is spreadable, about 1 hr. Chop the remaining chocolate, spoon a third of the icing into a bowl, then stir them together to make the filling.
  6. Carefully unroll the cake, then spread all the filling over to within 2cm of the edges. Roll up the cake again using the paper to help you, then set on a board.
  7. Cut a thick diagonal slice off one end of the cake. Transfer the larger piece of cake to a board or flat serving plate. Spread a little icing over cut side of the small piece of cake and fix it to the large roll to make a stump (as photo). Spread remaining icing over the cake, then dust with icing sugar to serve.

PER SERVING

343 kcalories, protein 5.0g, carbohydrate 30.0g, fat 24.0 g, saturated fat 12.0g, fibre 2.0g, sugar 19.0g, salt 0.14 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2006.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo Nadia

    03 December 2007

    Nadia rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this 1st time in 2006, and it is now a tradition. My family love it,especially the texture used by the fondant chocolate

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  • Binder photo Bradley

    09 December 2007

    Bradley rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This looks like a really nice cake!

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  • Binder photo Vicki

    20 December 2007

    Vicki rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Easy, impressive and disappeared almost before it was cut!

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  • Binder photo Vicki

    20 December 2007

    Vicki commented on this recipe

    Easy, impressive and disappeared almost before it was cut!

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  • Binder photo Vicki

    20 December 2007

    Vicki commented on this recipe

    Easy, impressive and disappeared almost before it was cut!

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  • Binder photo Angela

    20 December 2008

    Angela commented on this recipe

    Made with my 11 yr old this afternoon. A word of warning, when making the icing be careful your chocolate doesn't seize when adding to the boiling cream. Perhaps let the cream cool for a minute first...? 400g of chocolate is expensive, so you don't want it to go wrong (ours has a few lumps!). We haven't eaten the end result yet as we're saving it for Boxing Day, so haven't given a rating so far. Have frozen the icing and the log (rolled up with the filling) seperately, ready for assembly on the day.

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  • Binder photo Georgia

    23 December 2008

    Georgia commented on this recipe

    looks great, cant wait to try it!

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  • Binder photo Dunnett Family

    24 December 2008

    Dunnett Family commented on this recipe

    Happy Log-mas....!! The Dunnett family have toiled over what can only be described as the most spectacular log in history! The recipe is very helpful and everything went fine...rolling the sponge over was a bit of hard days log...but apart from that it looks delicious!! Thank you BBC for making our christmas complete!! Happy christmas everyone, log you lots, xxxx

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  • Binder photo Spanners

    29 December 2008

    Spanners rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was so good my Father in Law insisted on having it for breakfast on Boxing Day. Recipe will now be a family tradition!

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  • Binder photo Maureen

    04 January 2009

    Maureen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is the best yule log recipe I have ever tried. (and I have tried quite a few now!) It tastes absolutely amazing, the chunks of chocolate in the filling is an excellent idea. I cannot rate it highly enough for taste and texture. The only draw back is the cost. The Lindt Lindor chocolate bars are not cheap. But then it is for Christmas! Happy New Year to everyone.

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  • Binder photo lucy

    15 January 2009

    lucy commented on this recipe

    Fantastic recipe and so easy! I've made it twice now - equally good with milk or plain Lindor chocolate, and it seems to keep perfectly for a week without freezing. THe only upsetting part is everyone assumed I'd bought it!

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  • Binder photo lucii3

    26 January 2009

    lucii3 commented on this recipe

    cnt wt 2 try ittt].x lokk fab.Xx

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  • Binder photo Kathy Clark

    25 October 2009

    Kathy Clark rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    We have just made this log as a trail run for Christmas . It looked fantastic , very impressive , but the sponge was dry, almost rubbery. What did we do wrong , we followed the method stated. Does anyone have any ideas?

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  • Binder photo al_256

    02 November 2009

    al_256 commented on this recipe

    can you make this before and freeze it? any advice please!

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  • Binder photo germaine

    02 December 2009

    germaine commented on this recipe

    I have just made a trial run of this before christmas and it is beautiful. Will go down a storm on the day im sure. The topping and filling is so yummy. :)

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  • Binder photo amandad

    15 December 2009

    amandad commented on this recipe

    Hi I was aondering whether anybody could tell me what the fondant chocolate is and how it differs from normal chocolate ? Thanks

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  • Binder photo Zoe

    19 December 2009

    Zoe commented on this recipe

    Hi there, I was wondering whether you can make this log in advance to avoid Christmas panic!! Has anyone tried to? Happy Christmas!

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  • Binder photo my_dunh

    26 December 2009

    my_dunh rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo recipes

    27 December 2009

    recipes rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo my_dunh

    24 April 2010

    my_dunh commented on this recipe

    Absolutely super, and so simple to make, too!!!

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 16 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Plus cooling
Freezable

Freeze for up to a month

Light with a velvety filling

Ingredients

  • butter , for greasing
  • 5 eggs
  • 140g light muscovado sugar
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 25g good quality cocoa powder such as Green & Black's or Oxfam Fairtrade
  • caster sugar , for dusting

FOR THE ICING AND FILLING

  • 285ml/9½fl oz carton double cream
  • 450g fondant chocolate , such as Lindt Lindor
  • icing sugar , for dusting
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PER SERVING

343 kcalories, protein 5.0g, carbohydrate 30.0g, fat 24.0 g, saturated fat 12.0g, fibre 2.0g, sugar 19.0g, salt 0.14 g

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