Yule Log Cake Food

YULE LOG

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla on high until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in chocolate and water until blended. Add flour and baking soda; mix well. , In another bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly in a greased and floured 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. , Meanwhile, sprinkle a kitchen towel with confectioners' sugar. Invert cake onto the towel. Starting from a short end, roll up cake in the towel. Place seam side down on a wire rack to cool completely. , Unroll cake; spread coconut-pecan frosting to within 1 in. of edges; roll up cake without the towel. Cut and reserve a narrow diagonal slice from each end of the cake. Attach diagonal cake slices with a little of the chocolate frosting to opposite sides of cake. With remaining chocolate frosting, frost the top and side of the cake. With the tines of a fork, make strokes in the frosting to resemble bark on a tree trunk. , For the mushrooms, half large marshmallows widthwise for mushroom caps. Attach cut side of caps to mini marshmallows for stems. Dust tops of mushrooms and log with cocoa; place mushrooms around the log.

YULE LOG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease a jelly roll pan. Line it with parchment paper, and grease the paper.
• Beat 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Add 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons flour, butter, lukewarm water, and baking powder; beat until well combined.
• Beat egg whites and salt in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl until stiff. Transfer 1/3 of the whites to the cake batter and gently fold in. Repeat with remaining whites. Spoon batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
• Bake in the preheated oven until it springs back when pressed gently in the middle, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit in the pan for 3 minutes, before carefully turning the cake out onto a large piece of parchment paper. Roll the parchment and cake from one short end to the other and let cool.
• While the cake is cooling, place chocolate for buttercream in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Beat softened butter in a bowl until light and creamy. Add powdered sugar in small increments, beating between each addition. Add melted chocolate and beat until well combined.
• Carefully unroll the cooled sponge cake. Spread a thin layer of buttercream across the top to the edges. Firmly roll back up, using parchment to help you, into a tight roll.
• At one end of the roll, cut off a diagonal slice to represent a branch, about 2 inches in length at the longest side. Frost the entire roll with buttercream. Use a palette knife to create uneven ridges to represent tree bark. Position the branch somewhere near the center of the log and cover with buttercream.
• Drag the tines of a fork lengthwise across the buttercream to create an extra bark effect. Dust the entire log with cocoa powder.

YULE LOG

Steps:

• Butter a jelly roll pan, line with parchment paper, butter the paper and sprinkle with flour, tapping to remove excess flour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft peaks form. Turn the machine up to high, and beat in the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, continue to beat until shiny but not stiff. Add the flour to the yolk/sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Add l/4 of the egg whites to the yolk mixture, whisking to lighten the mixture. Then return the yolk mixture to the egg whites, and fold gently. Scrape into the prepared pan and even the top by running a long offset spatula across the surface. Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched, l2 to l5 minutes. Cool on a rack. Set aside.
• Place cooled hazelnuts on a kitchen towel and rub together to remove skins. Place the skinned hazelnuts in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for l minute. Add the hazelnut oil through the feeder tube and process until a paste forms.
• Melt chocolate in a medium bowl placed over simmering water, or melt in a microwave oven. Add the melted chocolate to the hazelnut paste and set aside.
• Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in the hazelnut/chocolate mixture. Keep covered in the refrigerator until needed.
• To assemble the cake roll:
• Trim the edges of the sponge cake. Place the Hazelnut mousse on the cake layer. Spread the mixture evenly over the cake, leaving a l inch space along the long side. Using the parchment paper to aid you, carefully roll up the cake into a thick log, enclosing the mousse. Leave the wrapped, rolled-up cake on the sheet pan and refrigerate until filling is firm, at least 2 hours.
• Melt the chocolate. In a small pot, heat the coffee and cocoa. Add the sour cream. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the chocolate mixture and combine completely. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside until of spreading consistency.;
• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line l or 2 baking trays with parchment paper and set aside. Fit a large pastry bag with a #4 or #5 plain tip and set aside.
• Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Turn speed to high, slowly pour in half the sugar, add vanilla and continue to beat for l minute. Slowly pour in the remaining sugar and beat until the whites are very thick and shiny, about 3 to 4 minutes longer. Immediately spoon half the mixture into the prepared pastry bag. (Meringue will begin to break down if not used soon after it is ready.) Hold the pastry bag upright over the prepared baking trays, squeeze out 26 to 30 mushroom caps, making different sizes, placed about l inch apart. The caps can be different sizes, since real mushroom caps are never identical.
• Again, holding the bag upright over the other tray, lifting the bag as you squeeze out the meringue, form 26 to 30 stems, each l/2 inch to l inch high, placed about l inch apart.
• Place the trays in the oven and bake until the meringues are firm to the touch and can be lifted easily from the trays, about l l/2 hours. The meringues should be dry, but should not take on any color. Remove the trays to a cool dry spot. When cool, with a small knife, trim any pointed tips on the caps and stems, if desired.
• Melt the chocolate in a small bowl, and holding the caps upside down, spread a little chocolate on each one. Attach a stem and leave them upside down until the chocolate hardens. When ready, turn mushroom cap side up, and dust lightly with sifted cocoa.
• Set aside until ready to use for decoration.
• To decorate and serve:
• Remove pan with cake from refrigerator and place wrapped cake on a firm surface. Carefully unwrap cake. Using a serrated knife, from one end cut a 2-inch piece of cake on the diagonal. Set the cut piece aside.
• Cut out a piece of cardboard the length and width of the cake. Cover the cardboard with foil and place the cake on it. Spread a little frosting on the bottom of the small cut piece and set on top of the cake roll. Using a small spatula, spread the frosting over the entire cake as well as the small piece atop the cake. With a wooden skewer or the point of a small knife, make furrows to simulate bark along the sides and top of the cake.
• Arrange Christmas greens, plastic holly, and Meringue Mushrooms around the Yule Log. Sift powdered sugar over the whole thing to simulate snow. Fresh cranberries can be scattered around for added color.

YULE LOG

Steps:

• Place the chocolate and butter in a medium sized bowl and place the bowl over, not in, a pan of simmering water. Stir gently as the chocolate begins to melt and continue stirring until very smooth.
• Meanwhile heat the cream in a small pan or in the microwave then add it to the chocolate again stirring until very smooth.
• Stir in the sugar and cocoa until very smooth. Use immediately or let rest briefly at room temperature until ready to use. If the frosting seems too stiff you may rest it over the simmering water bath, stirring until it smooths out.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare a standard 11 by 17 baking pan by first buttering it, then lining it with wax or parchment paper then buttering the paper. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the pan and shake to evenly coat then knock out the excess.
• Place the egg yolks, ½ cup of sugar, the vanilla and rum in a mixing bowl. Beat vigorously with a hand whisk until the mixture is thick and ribbony with a pale yellow colour. This will take several minutes. You may do this in your stand mixer, if you do at this point remove the mixture from the mixer bowl and thoroughly clean and dry the bowl before proceeding to the next step.
• Beat the egg whites separately in a clean bowl until the form soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks are formed.
• Fold the two mixtures together. Begin by quickly stirring one third or so of the whites into the yolks. Then gently add half of the remaining whites and half of the flour, fold gently with a rubber spatula and try not to overmix or you will knock the air out of the batter. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and when the mix is almost blended add the butter and finish mixing.
• Immediately pour the batter into the ready baking pan and smooth it gently into an even layer. Place in the oven and bake for about ten minutes or so, just long enough for the top to feel springy to the touch and for the batter to congeal. Don't overbake or you wont be able to roll it up.
• Remove from the oven and trim off the dried out edges on the ends of the cake. Turn the cake onto a slightly damp tea towel that has been thoroughly dusted with powdered sugar. Sift an even level of powdered sugar over the top of the cake then gently roll it up into a log-like cylinder. You may freeze the cake for several days at this point, if you do let it thaw for several hours before proceeding.
• Unroll the cake and leave on the towel. Sprinkle it with a bit more rum (or a lot more rum!) Spread your filling evenly over the cakes surface then roll up again using the towel to help. Slice off about one third of the cake at a 45 degree angle. Place the roulade, seam side down on a serving platter and position the smaller piece next to the larger one so that it resembles a branch. Frost with the chocolate icing. Draw a fork through the icing to help it resemble bark. Decorate and serve.

YULE LOG ICEBOX CAKE

Steps:

• Beat the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Beat in the peppermint extract. (Do not overbeat.)
• Spread a thin 3-by-8-inch rectangle of whipped cream on a board or platter. Sandwich 2 cookies together with about 1 teaspoon whipped cream; stand the cookies upright (on their edges) at one end of the whipped cream rectangle and continue adding cream and cookies to form an 8-inch log (you should use about 36 cookies).
• Sandwich 2 more cookies together with about 1 teaspoon whipped cream; use whipped cream to attach the cookies to the side of the log on an angle. Continue attaching about 8 more cookies to make the branch.
• Cover the log and branch with the remaining whipped cream. Using an offset spatula, make long lines in the whipped cream to look like bark. Mix the cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon warm water in a bowl; add a few more drops warm water as needed until the mixture is brushable. Using a small pastry brush, paint short lines of the cocoa mixture on the whipped cream to look like birch bark. Paint spirals at the end of the log and branch.
• Refrigerate the cake until the whipped cream is set, about 1 hour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and continue refrigerating until the cookies are soft, at least 6 hours or overnight. Slice on an angle.

BUCHE DE NOEL / YULE LOG CAKE

Steps:

• Butter a 10 X 15 inch jelly roll pan. Line with parchment paper and butter that as well. Preheat oven to 370°F.
• In a mixer (a hand mixer and sturdy deep bowl work as well), beat the eggs until they are very thick and light colored (this takes about 7 minutes). Continue beating and add the sugar in 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing each spoonful to mix in before continuing with the next. Beat in the vanilla as well.
• Stop the mixer and sift 1/2 cup cake flour on top of the batter. Using a spatula, gently stir the flour into the batter. Sift the final 1/2 cup flour on top and then very gently fold this into the batter. You want to stop as soon as all the flour is integrated into the batter. This will give you a lovely, airy cake.
• Pour and spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for just 10 minutes. Do not overbake or the cake will be too stiff to roll without breaking.
• As soon as you take it out of the oven, turn the cake out onto a clean dishtowel (I've seen people recommend that you put powdered sugar on the dishtowel so that it doesn't stick, but I don't find this necessary). Remove the parchment paper and allow the cake to cool for a couple of minutes. While it is still warm, roll the cake up from one of its short ends with the dishtowel inside (this way the cake gets used to being rolled and won't tear when you fill it and roll it back up). Allow the cake to cool completely.
• Unroll the cake, and spread about 1/2 of the chocolate buttercream (recipe below) evenly on top. Carefully roll the cake back up and neatly place on your serving dish.
• Chocolate Buttercream: Cream the butter in a small bowl.
• Blend in the cocoa powder (the amount desired for a light, medium or dark flavor), vanilla, confectioners sugar, alternately with the cream.
• Beat with an electric mixer, until the desired texture is achieved.
• Optional: To enhance the yule log effect, cut off the ends at an angle and use these to create stubs on the log (they're supposed to look like cut off branches), attaching them with some buttercream.
• Frost the outside of the log and, using a fork, trace irregular lines in the frosting to give it a woody effect. Cover the cake carefully with plastic wrap and allow it to "age" in the refrigerator for several hours.

CHOCOLATE YULE LOG

Steps:

• Lay cake on a clean work surface. Mix the whipped topping and vanilla extract together until combined. Spread white frosting over the top of the cake to coat completely. Roll up the cake, jelly-roll style, and then cover the outside of the cake with the frosting. Drag a fork along the length of the cake to form a bark design. Dust with cocoa powder and refrigerate.
• For the forest mushrooms, insert 1 toothpick through each marshmallow and then into the flat side of the chocolate kiss to form "mushroom." Group chocolate mushrooms along cake by inserting toothpicks into surface of cake, at intervals to resemble growths of forest mushrooms. Dust chocolate kiss candies with confectioners' sugar. Slice and serve.

YULE LOG CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick pan). Line bottom only of 15x10x1-inch pan with foil or waxed paper; spray with baking spray with flour. Place paper baking cup in each of 8 regular-size muffin cups.
• In large bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer on high speed about 5 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Add cake mix, water and oil; beat on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour 3 1/2 cups batter into pan. Divide remaining batter among muffin cups.
• Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in center and cupcakes test done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If necessary, run knife around edges of pan to loosen cake. Turn cake upside down onto clean kitchen towel sprinkled with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar; carefully remove foil. While hot, carefully roll up cake and towel from narrow end. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 hour. Cool cupcakes 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely, about 30 minutes. Save cupcakes for another use.
• Meanwhile, in medium microwavable bowl, microwave whipping cream uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds or until it just starts to boil. Stir in chocolate chips and corn syrup; let stand 3 minutes. Beat gently with wire whisk until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Refrigerate about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until spreading consistency.
• Unroll cake carefully, and remove towel. Spread filling evenly over cake; roll up cake. Place cooling rack on sheet of waxed paper. Place cake roll on cooling rack; frost cake. Using fork, drag tines through frosting to look like log. Let stand 15 minutes. Transfer cake to serving platter. Store loosely covered in refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

FESTIVE YULE LOG CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Line greased 15x10x1-inch pan with parchment or waxed paper. Grease and flour paper; set aside. Beat first 4 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Spread 3 cups batter into pan; tap pan gently on counter to remove any air bubbles. Pour remaining batter into 4 to 6 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake cake and cupcakes 15 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, place large sheet of parchment paper on top of clean kitchen towel; sprinkle evenly with 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar. Invert cake onto towel; remove pan and top sheet of parchment paper. Starting at 1 of the short ends, roll up cake with parchment paper and towel. Cool on wire rack 30 min. Remove cupcakes from pan to wire rack; cool completely. Set cupcakes aside for another use.
• Grate enough chocolate to measure 1 Tbsp. grated chocolate; set aside. Microwave remaining chocolate in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until partially melted. Stir until completely melted. Beat 1/2 cup powdered sugar and cream cheese spread in small bowl with mixer until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate.
• Unroll cake; remove paper and towel. Spread cake with cream cheese mixture; roll up. Refrigerate 30 min.; place on serving plate. Stir instant coffee granules into COOL WHIP; spread over log. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into 20 (1/2-inch-thick) slices to serve. Sprinkle with reserved grated chocolate.

YULE LOGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make the cakes: Line two 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, and lightly coat with spray. Beat egg yolks with a mixer on high speed until pale yellow and thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
• Beat egg whites in a clean mixer bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Raise speed to medium-high; slowly add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
• Fold yolks into egg-white mixture using a rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate whites. Sift cocoa and flour over top; gently fold to combine. Pour into prepared sheets, and gently smooth tops using an offset spatula.
• Bake until cakes spring back when touched, 9 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line 2 wire racks with parchment paper, and lightly coat with spray. Remove cakes from oven, and immediately turn out each onto a prepared rack. Peel parchment from cakes. Let stand until cooled completely.
• Assemble the cakes: Place 2 clean kitchen towels on work surface, and transfer each cake (with parchment) to a towel. Divide caramel cream evenly between cakes. Spread, using an offset spatula, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges.
• Tightly roll 1 cake into a log, starting with a short end, removing parchment as you work. Tightly wrap log in kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining cake. Transfer wrapped logs, seam side down, to a baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• Unwrap each log. Lightly dust work surface with cornstarch or confectioners' sugar. Roll out half the fondant to 1/4-inch thickness. Place an 8-by-12-inch food-safe wood-grain texture mat on fondant, and press hard, using a rolling pin, to make an indentation. Gently remove mat, and generously rub fondant with cocoa. Brush off excess cocoa.
• Drape 1 cake log with fondant sheet. Shape fondant to fit log using your hands, and trim ends and cut away excess with a paring knife or a pizza cutter. Transfer to a serving platter. Repeat with remaining fondant, cocoa, and cake log. Serve with sugared white pine needles and milk-chocolate pinecones if desired.

CLASSIC YULE LOG

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a 15 X 10" jelly roll pan. Line with a sheet of waxed paper. Grease paper as well.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
• In separte bowl, beat together sugar and egg yolks. Alternate adding the milk and the flour mixture into the egg and sugar mix.
• In another separtate bowl, using clean mixer blades, beat egg whites until stiff but not dried out. Fold one third of the egg whites into the other mixture. Then carefully fold in remaining egg whites.
• Spread batter into pan, smooth out the top.
• Bake for 12 minutes, or until set.
• While waiting for cake to cook, prepare whipping cream. Beat whipping cream with 1 tablespoon sugar until thick. Set aside in the fridge.
• When cake is done, remove from oven. Dust a clean tea towel with icing sugar. Turn cake out onto this. Remove waxed paper. Cut edges of cake to make a nice even looking rectangle. Starting with the short side, roll the cake up jelly-roll style. Transfer seam side down to a rack for cooling. (30 minutes).
• While cake is cooling, prepare icing:.
• In a small pot, bring cream, melted chocolate and butter to a low boil over medium low heat. Stir vigorously until blended. Remove from heat and let stand.
• On a flat surface dusted with remaining icing sugar, knead food colouring into each piece of marzipan, (as many colours as you'd like)until well blended.
• Unroll the now cooled cake and spread the whipped cream over it to with 1 inch of all sides. Re-roll cake. Place seam side down on serving dish.
• Spread icing over top and sides and ends of cake.
• Roll out marzipam with a rolling pin and cut into various shapes with cookie cutters or a knife. Arrange on cake. Sift a small amount of icing sugar on completed cake to make it looked like a light dusting of snow.

YULE LOG

Steps:

• For the filling: Bring the cream to a ­simmer in a small saucepan over high heat. Off the heat, stir in the confectioners' sugar and espresso and let cool slightly. Gently whisk the cooled cream mixture into the softened mascarpone until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the frosting: Place the chocolate in a food processor. Bring the cream, corn syrup and salt to a boil in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave. Stir the mixture to combine.
• Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate in the food processor and process until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.
• Add the sugar and vanilla nad continue to process until combined, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add the softened butter, one piece at at time, through the feed tube. Continue to process until the frosting is smooth and no butter chunks remain, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the frosting to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until thick and spreadable, about 1 hour.
• For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, line the bottom with parchment paper, and grease the paper. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
• In a large bowl, whip the eggs with an ­electric mixer on medium-high speed and gradually add the sugar, about 1 minute. Continue to whip the mixture until very thick and voluminous, 4 to 8 minutes. Whip in the vanilla. Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until just incorporated.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared baking sheet and spread out to an even layer. Bake the cake until it feels firm and springs back when touched, 12 to 17 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
• Immediately run a knife around the edge of the cake and flip the hot cake out onto a large sheet of greased parchment paper. Peel off and discard the parchment paper baked on the ­bottom of the cake. Starting from a long end, roll the cake snugly around the large sheet of ­parchment into a log and let cool for 15 minutes.
• Beat the filling until stiff with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, 10 to 30 seconds. Gently unroll the cake. Spread the filling over the cake, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edges. Reroll the cake gently but snugly around the filling. Following the photos, cut a 2- to 3-inch piece off one end of the cake at an angle and reserve.
• Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment and arrange the chocolate roll on the platter. Frost the cake evenly with 2 cups of the frosting. Attach the reserved trim piece on top of the cake (to look like a stump) and frost with the remaining frosting. Using a fork, make a wood grain pattern in the frosting all over the cake.
• To decorate: If desired, lightly dust the entire cake with confectioners' sugar to look like snow. Remove the parchment strips before serving.

YULE LOG (BUCHE DE NOEL) MCCALL'S COOKING SCHOOL

Steps:

• Grease the bottom of a 15x10x1" jelly roll pan; line w/ waxed paper; grease slightly.
• Preheat oven to 375.
• In a lg electric mixer bowl, at high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form when beaters are slowly lifted.
• Add 1/4 c sugar, 2 T at a time, beating until stiff peaks form when beaters are slowly lifted.
• With the same beaters, beat yolks at high speed, adding remaining 1/2 c sugar, 2 T at a time; beat until mixture is very thick, appx 4 minutes.
• At low speed, beat in cocoa, vanilla, salt, just until smooth.
• With wire whisk or rubber spatula, gently fold cocoa mixture into egg whites just until blended (no egg whites should show).
• Spread evenly in pan.
• Bake 15 minutes, just until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertip.
• Sift confectioner's sugar in a 15x10" rectangle on a clean linen towel.
• Turn cake out on sugar; lift off pan; peel paper off cake.
• Roll up cake jelly-roll-fashion, starting with the short end towel and all.
• Cool completely on rack, seam side down.
• FILLING: Combine ingredients in medium bowl.
• Beat with electric mixer until thick; chill.
• TO ASSEMBLE: Unroll cake; spread with filling to 1" from edge; reroll.
• Place, seam side down, on plate.
• Cover loosely with foil.
• Chill at least 1 hour before serving.
• TO SERVE: Sprinkle yule log w/ confectioner's sugar and decorate with red candied cherries and green angelica "leaves". If you can't find angelica, use cut up green candied cherries.
• NOTE:You may make the Yule Log up to a week ahead and freeze, wrapped in foil. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

CHOCOLATE YULE LOG

Steps:

• Whip powdered sugar, butter, cocoa powder, salt, and coffee liqueur together in the bowl of a stand mixer on high speed. Transfer buttercream into a separate bowl and add mascarpone cheese. Mix until combined; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush a little melted butter over a 13x18-inch rimmed sheet pan. Line pan with parchment paper and brush remaining melted butter on top.
• Combine cocoa powder, salt, and flour together in a bowl; whisk or sift to break up clumps.
• Place eggs in the clean bowl of your stand mixer. Add sugar and whip until fluffy, thick, and very light in color. Add 1/2 of the cocoa powder mixture and vanilla extract; mix on low speed for a few seconds. Beat in remaining cocoa mixture on low for a few seconds. Switch to high speed; stop once mixture is moistened but not fully blended. Pull off the whisk attachment and whisk batter with it until evenly blended.
• Pour batter onto the prepared sheet pan and spread out with a spatula, leaving some room around the edges. Tap pan on the counter to knock out the large bubbles.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is dry and edges start to pull away from the sides, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Dust a clean kitchen towel with enough powdered sugar to cover an area slightly larger than the sponge cake. Remove cake from the oven. Run a knife around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top. Run a spatula under the parchment paper to make sure it's not stuck to the pan.
• Quickly flip pan on top of the sugared area to invert the cake. Remove parchment paper and dust cake with more powdered sugar. Gently roll cake up inside the towel; allow to cool for 15 minutes.
• Unroll cake and dollop buttercream on top, reserving some for later. Spread frosting to the edges. Roll cake up over the frosting, using the towel to lift it if needed. Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top. Wrap log in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• Combine chocolate chips and hot cream in a bowl. Let sit for 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate melts.
• Make an angled cut 3 inches from one end of the log. Place log on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Apply some buttercream to the angled slice and attach it to one side. Spread a layer of ganache all over the cake, except for the swirls. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up ganache.
• Carve lines into the ganache using the tip of a knife to create the appearance of tree bark. Refrigerate until completely chilled before serving. Dust with cocoa powder and powdered sugar.

CHOCOLATE YULE LOG CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Melt white chocolate as directed on package; spread into 11x8-inch rectangle on parchment-covered baking sheet. Melt 1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate as directed on package. Drop in small spoonfuls over white chocolate; swirl gently with knife. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Spray 15x10x1-inch pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment; spray with additional cooking spray. Combine flour, baking powder and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Beat egg whites in medium bowl with hand-held mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add 1/3 cup granulated sugar, beating constantly until stiff peaks form.
• Beat egg yolks in large bowl with mixer on high speed until blended. Gradually add remaining granulated sugar, beating until thick and lemon colored. Blend in vanilla. Add flour mixture; mix well. (Mixture will be thick.) Add 1/3 of the beaten egg whites; stir gently just until blended. Gently stir in remaining egg whites. Spread onto bottom of prepared pan.
• Bake 8 to 10 min. or until top of cake springs back when touched in center. Carefully run knife around edges to loosen cake. Sprinkle clean kitchen towel evenly with 2 Tbsp. of the remaining cocoa powder. (For best results, do not use a terrycloth towel.) Invert cake onto prepared towel; carefully peel off paper. Starting at one short side, roll up cake and towel together; place on wire rack. Cool completely. Meanwhile, melt remaining semi-sweet chocolate; cool slightly.
• Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar in medium bowl until blended. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Stir in 3 Tbsp. coffee. Gently stir in COOL WHIP. Unroll cake; remove towel. Brush cake with remaining coffee. Reserve 1 cup cream cheese mixture for later use; spread remaining cream cheese mixture onto cake. Reroll cake.
• Place filled cake, seam side down, on platter. Cut 2-inch-thick diagonal slice off one end of cake roll; place on top of cake as shown in photo, securing to cake roll with some of the reserved cream cheese mixture. Frost cake with remaining cream cheese mixture, leaving cut cake slice unfrosted as shown in photo. Cut white chocolate sheet into 3x1-1/2-inch pieces. Insert into cream cheese frosting on cake as shown in photo. Use kitchen shears to trim marshmallows to resemble mushrooms as pictured; sprinkle with remaining cocoa powder. Use to garnish cake.