Yule Log (Christmas 2016)

Hi,

I don't know how many people in our province consume yule log during the Christmas holidays, but I always see yule logs being sold in the supermarkets during this time of the year. If you don't know what is a yule log, basically it's a sweet dessert that looks like a log. Also:

• There is filling on the inside and on the outside (can be two different fillings or the same one)
• You can buy it at the supermarket (ex. pastry counter), in a box (ex. Vachon always sells yule logs such as these on holidays), or make it yourself.
• You can decorate it as you wish.
• Their flavors vary a lot.

To me it's like eating a cake, although the texture of a yule log is a bit different from that of a cake. But I'm not a yule log expert, so my description ends here.

I've always been using the same recipe to make our yule log. You can find it here (it's in French). In English, the title is "Yule log (as light as a cloud)". Since I only make this recipe one or two time(s) a year, I always forget the right way to fold the cake and it ends up a mess. I hope with this post I can remember how to do it properly for the following years.

Take 1 (2016.12.19)

I did the first yule log of 2016 for my parents that were coming home after vacationing.

Before cooking

The white spots are the egg whites. I didn't mix them fully because I was scared to mix the preparation too much. But actually, mixing it more wouldn't have hurt the cake.

Cooked

The recipe tells us to roll the cake after coming out of the oven so to avoid cracking when rolling the cake once cooled off. But the way I rolled the cake was not correct, that's why it all started to crumble and I lost some pieces (see picture above).

This is the part where when the cake cooled off, you have to unroll it and spread the filling... Since the cake had crumbled already, it was impossible to unroll it without damaging it more. On the picture above, you can see I started to unroll it, and how ugly it looks. So I ended up re-rolling the cake and abandonning the idea of a filling inside. It looks like shit lmao.

After putting the chocolate whipped cream on the cake.

Usually there's supposed to be filling inside.

The cake was really good though! And the chocolate whipped cream as well.

Take 2 (2016.12.25)

My mom liked the yule log, so she asked me to make another one for Christmas.

Cooked

This time, my mom flipped the cake upside down;

she then peeled off the parchment paper and rolled the cake using a humid towel (see under)

code credit

Surface is flat and not patchy looking.

Unroll it when it's cooled off;

then spread on the chocolate whipped cream.

Re-roll the cake

Looks kinda sad and plain, but I was too lazy to make it prettier.

We did want to add a little bit of powdered sugar on top (like snow) but we forgot to.

Looks much better than the first one. However, the taste of the first yule log and chocolate whipped cream was better than the second one imo. Also, the texture wasn't the same; the first yule log's texture was soft and spongy, but the second one felt kind of wet/too spongy/not cooked enough.

Maybe because of this:

• Sugar: In the first yule log, I forgot to put 1/4 cup sugar with the egg whites. I only put 1/2 cup sugar with the egg yolk mix. In the second one, I put the 1/4 cup sugar with the egg whites.
• Cooking: I left the first yule log in the oven for about 18 minutes, but for the second one, it was about 17 minutes (just a detail but I'm still taking it into account.)
• Chocolate whipped cream: I used Hershey's cocoa powder for the chocolate whipped cream of the first yule log. For the second one, I used Fry's cocoa powder and the taste was a little bit bitter.