Yule log cake with Meringue Murshrooms 树桐蛋糕

I have been seeing many peoples making yule log cake during Christmas, also bookmarked long time ago, finally i managed to make my first ever Yule log cake for my first ever Christmas' eve dinner this year.

Also make sure to make some of these cute meringue mushrooms to decorate the log cake.

Yule log cake 树桐蛋糕

For Meringue Mushrooms

64g egg white (aged), ~ 2 A size eggs

45g icing sugar

1/8tsp cream of Tartar

1/2tbsp corn starch

Method

1. Add in cream tartar into egg white, beat egg white over high speed till foamy.

2. Gradually add in icing sugar and beat till soft peaks.

3. Add in corn flour and continue beat till stiff peaks.

4. Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip, pipe on non-stick baking paper, mushroom caps should look like large chocolate kisses with the tip swirled into the side so you get an even top. As for mushroom stems should look like slimmer/taller kisses and tips pointed up.

5. Bake at pre-heated oven at 120C for 60mins, 110C for 15mins (fan forced) and 110C (bottom heat and fan forced) until dry and crispy (every oven is difference, please adjust accordingly).

6. Remove pan from oven, not more than 1min (don’t wait too long otherwise it will become sticky), quickly peel off the meringue mushrooms and immediately put into an air-tight container and close tightly (use Milo tin or milk tin is the best storage container) before decorate with Yule Log cake

For Chocolate Swiss roll sponge

4 egg yolks (large or A )

50g corn oil

50g milk

15g caster sugar

65g cake flour

20g cocoa powder ( I use Valrhona cocoa powder)

4 egg white (large or A )

1/4tsp cream of tartar

70g caster sugar

Method

1. Lightly whisk egg yolk with sugar.

2. Add in corn oil, stir to combine.

3. Add in milk, combine well.

4. Sift in cake flour and cocoa powder, mix well, set aside.

5. Add cream of tartar into egg white, beat till foamy.

6. Gradually add in sugar, beat till close to stiff peaks

7. Take 1/3 portion of egg white mixture and use hand whisk to mix with egg yolk mixture till light.

8. Fold the balance of egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture, combine well.

9. Pour batter into the baking pan (*35.5cm x 28cm ) that line with parchment paper.

10. Bake at 175C (at lower rack) for 25mins, or adjust according to your type of oven as every oven is difference.

11. Carefully turn the baked sponge cake onto a piece of baking/parchment paper.

12. Slowly peel off the attached baking/parchment paper from the cake.

13. Place a new piece of baking/parchment paper over the sponge. Invert the sponge again.

14. Slice out a small piece of sponge on a 45-degree angle at another end, so the end of sponge will neatly attached to the sponge at the end of rolling.

15. Make few slits on the whole cake. With the shorter side/breadth facing you, roll the cake up tightly to form a swiss roll. Set aside before assesmble.

To assemble Yule Log Cake

Chocolate ganache

113g milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips (if you prefer less sweet)

1/2cup UHT whipping cream

80g non-dairy whipped cream, for filling

Cocoa powder, for sprinkle meringue mushrooms

Semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Digestive biscuit crumbs

Method

1. For chocolate ganache, place chocolate chips in a mixing bowl.
2. In another saucepan, bring cream just to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Immediately pour over chocolate, lets stand for 5mins.(don't stir - doing so will cool the ganache too quickly, making it grainy).
4. Stir with a spatula till shinny and smooth. Set aside.
5. Unroll the chocolate sponge cake, frost with whipped non-dairy cream. Then roll it up again like swiss roll. Trim off both sides of the roll to make it presentable. Slice cake into three pieces, one of the cake cut it diagonal (about 45˚ angle).
6. Place cake on a wire rack, spread chocolate ganache over the log cake, but don’t frost the sliced ends of the log. Pull a fork across the entire surface of the log, making some spirals to add natural character.
7. Transfer cake into a cake board that sprinkle with digestive biscuit crumbs.
8. To assemble meringue mushrooms on the cake ( do this before serving otherwise it will turned sticky ), dust the tops and stems lightly with cocoa powder. Rotate the tip of a small paring knife in the center of each mushroom cap to cut a small hole just large enough to fit the tip of the base.
9. Now melt chocolate, transfer into a ziploc bag, snip off a tiny hole from the corner of the bag and pipe chocolate into the holes of meringue. Stick the bases into the holes and leave them upside-down until chocolate hardens and sets. Decorate cookies on the cake.
10. Use the balance whipped non-dairy cream, pipe circle on the cake end to look like log pattern.

Recipe by Sonia a.k.a Nasi Lemak Lover, mushroom meringue steps refer to here