Chocolate Yule Log

When I was still a young girl living in Vietnam, Christmas decorations were my favorite holiday celebrations even though my family is Buddhist. I used to walk around a big street in Saigon and looked into the storefronts where they had the lights and especially into the bakery window where the Yule logs were always the most memorable baked goods for me. My eyes and mouth were wide open every time I saw the Yule logs displayed on the glass showcase with all the lights and fake snow around. Saigon had never had a Christmas with snow, but at that age, I dreamed about some other place with snow falling and being in a cozy cabin with a wood burning fireplace where the family sat around during Christmas and continuously keeping the logs burning and the room warm. All of this dreaming is about the Yule log that makes my teeth want to sink into the luxurious chocolate cake. I always thought that someday I have to learn how to make this Yule log cake. However, after more than a decade of delay, this Christmas I finally decided to make a Yule log. Thanks to all of my wonderful memories as a young girl that give me the motivation to complete this cake. I was surprised that the Yule log is not difficult to make except the time necessary to decorate the cake.  I am using the technique used by the chef, Sandra Lee, of buying all the frosting from the store. It turned out that my Yule log looks great and tastes wonderful. I will improve my skill level by next year and will make the Yule log with all the fancy decorations as are in my memories.

Ingredients:
6 eggs separated
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbs butter softened
Filling and frosting:
One can of chocolate frosting (Betty Crocker or other brand of your choice)
One can of rich and creamy vanilla frosting (Betty Crocker)
 
Directions:
Line a 15” x 10” jelly roll baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the paper with butter and set aside.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and set aside

Preheat oven to 350°.
Divide sugar into half. In a KitchenAid stand mixer bowl using the flat beater, beat the egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture into the yolk mixture and continue to beat until well mixed.
With the stand mixer, use the whisk to whisk the egg white until foamy. Add cream of tartar and the other half of the sugar slowly. Continue to whisk the egg white until soft peaks form.
Stir some of the white into the yolk mixture using the folding technique.  Add a little more of the white mixture into the yolk mixture and then the rest of the white, making sure there is no streak of the white remaining. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cake springs back from the sides (do not overbake this cake). While the cake is baking, place the linen towel on the countertop and dust the linen towel with 3 tbs confectioner sugar

 Remove the cake from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Invert the cake onto the linen towel

 Remove the parchment paper and roll up the cake in the linen towel. Let cool in the rack.

When cake is cool, unfold cooled cake and spread the vanilla frosting inside the cake to 1/2 inch of

the edge. Roll up the cake again. Spread the chocolate frosting over the cake and start the decorating.

 

Use a fork to make the cake frosting look like bark by going back and forth (I guess you have to have the experience of doing this the same way I did).

 

Maybe, you will have to do this many times to make it look beautiful – just be patient.