Yule Log, Tronco de Navidad, for Christmas —and a celebratory London trip
Thanksgiving came late this year, so as I kept basting the turkey every thirty minutes, I was already thinking of recipes for Christmas. With the aroma of the bird roasting in the oven, football on TV as the background sound and the sight of two of my children relaxing on the sofa —a heavenly picture, given that they had not been home since the summer—, my mind kept going back to …yule log!
Strolling through Portobello Market, Notting Hill
For many years, I bought our Christmas yule log at the bakery, and it was good. But last year I decided to tackle it myself. It looked like a huge task, but I faced it in chunks to make it seem easier. I took the cake recipe from one of my recipes, and the chocolate mousse filling from another one. For the chocolate ganache, I had to do some research. But at the end, I put it all together and the result was the most delicious yule log. I decided there and then that I wouldn’t buy it from the bakery anymore.
Notting Hill bookstores
So this year, I’ve made it again. I’ve altered the chocolate cake recipe a little bit, adding a couple more eggs to it so the cake is slightly more manageable as I roll it (last year it was a bit of a challenge, but it worked in the end!)
I will be honest with you: while most of the recipes I make are very simple and straightforward, as most of the Spanish cooking is – good ingredients, minimal interference with the flavors – yule log is a bit more labor-intensive, as you can imagine. It is not hard to make, it just takes a little bit more time, because of the different steps. Having said that, I encourage you to make it this Christmas. I’ve made a point to post this recipe early enough in the month, so you can gather all the ingredients and can time yourself to make it.
And I will be honest with you as well about the origin of yule log. In France, it is called bouche de Noel. In Spain, tronco de Navidad. Yule log seems to have a Scandinavian origin. So clearly, this Christmas treat doesn’t have a particularly Spanish origin, nor it is a commonly enjoyed dessert at Christmas in Spain, like turrón or polvorones are. Therefore, rather than sharing with you some Spanish tradition or aspect of Spain’s history for this post, I free myself to share with you a bit about a recent trip to England and Scotland.
Strolling through Hyde Park
A FALL TRIP TO THE UNITED KINGDOM
This trip that has been in the works (or rather, on the wish list) for a few years now, ever since we couldn’t celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary five years ago with a trip due to the pandemic. With the excuse, or in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary, Dave and I traveled to London, where our oldest son now lives, and Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, one of the lands of Dave’s ancestors and a bucket list item for many years.
Neither of them disappointed.
We were in London pre-Christmas, so we could enjoy the main famous stores, namely Selfridges, Liberty’s and Harrods, already decorated for Christmas. The gorgeous Christmas lights hanging over Regents Street and Oxford Street, forming the shape of giant angels, wouldn’t be lit until a week later, but it was still a sight to see.
London was as beautiful as ever, and it was very wistful to walk through some of the areas that hold a special meaning for both Dave and I: London Business School on Baker Street, where Dave did his master degree for two years, and the apartment where he lived, right across the street. Or Trafalgar Square and Embankment, where my school was, next to the church of Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, that I used to visit at midday almost daily before classes, to listen for free to the choir rehearsals. Hampstead Heath, and the apartment building where Dave lived during the first month of his MBA, hosted by family friends, and the Victorian and Albert Museum, just down the street, that we visited.
It was wonderful visiting with Matthew and Kyra and see how they had established their routines, their knowledge of the different London areas and neighborhoods, their mastery of the transportation system, the many restaurants they had discovered, and how all these will become their future memories.
We watched a premier league soccer game, Crystal Palace vs Tottenham, watched a musical in the Theater District, attended a concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, had Sunday roast at a posh pub, daily pints pre-dinner at many other pubs, strolled through Hyde Park, spent a morning in Portobello Market and Notting Hill, visited the Tower of London (believe it or not, I had never been!), and also visited Matthew in his office in the Leather Market, a very hip part of town close to the Borough Market and The Shard. We had meals from many different international cuisines, each of them different, each of them delicious. Our children surprised us with not one, but two anniversary dinners, one Italian, one French. What else can I say! Even though both Dave and I were very familiar with London, on this visit we discovered new aspects of it.
And since this post is already getting a bit long, and I don’t want to keep you longer than necessary (you have to get to the recipe!), I will keep Edinburgh for my next post. I will leave you, though, with a list and links of the beautiful and delicious restaurants in which we ate, in case you’re planning a visit to London.
Happy baking!
SOME OF THE RESTAURANTS WHERE WE ATE (AND RECOMMEND!)
- Zedel, French cuisine in the heart of Piccadilly
- Lina Stores, Italian cuisine with different locations around the city. We ate at the Brewer Street Soho location
- The Crown, in Islington, for the most delicious Sunday roast
- Dishoon, Indian cuisine in Coal Drops Yard, near King’s Cross. So good!
- Brindisa, Spanish cuisine. Like being in Spain! Authentic ingredients and perfectly executed
- Milk Beach, Australian cuisine in the heart of Soho
- Mercato Mayfair, a number of restaurants under one roof —that of the deconsecrated church of St. Mark’s! A must visit
- Taro Soho, Japanese cuisine on our last day in London
Yule Log
Equipment
Ingredients
Sugared Rosemary
- 4 –5 rosemary sprigs
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar divided
Chocolate Cake
- 1 and 1/3 cups flour
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened natural or dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 Tablespoons light olive oil canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- For rolling 1-2 Tbs unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder
Chocolate Mousse
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 6 Tbs dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 4 Tbs icing sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Ganache Topping
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Make the sugared rosemary:
- Place the rosemary sprigs in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the water and 1/2 cup of sugar to a simmer, whisking until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Pour the sugar syrup over the rosemary and stir. Cover the bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the rosemary from the sugar syrup and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Allow to dry, uncovered, for 1 hour. Pour remaining sugar into plastic container provided with a lid. Gently shake the container, coating the rosemary sprigs in the sugar. Remove the sugared sprigs from the container and place them on a parchment paper and let them dry, uncovered, for at least 1 hour at room temperature or in the refrigerator. You can then cover them and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.NOTE: ideally, you make these the day before
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Generously butter a parchment-lined 12×17-inch cookie sheet (you can previously butter the cookie sheet itself, so the parchment paper sticks). You need an extremely nonstick surface for the thin cake to roll.
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand-up mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and 1/2 cup sugar on high speed for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Transfer to another bowl.
- Using the same mixing bowl (no need to clean it), add the egg yolks, remaining sugar, oil and vanilla extract. Beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until thickened and light in color.
- Add half of the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Beat on low speed for 10 seconds. Repeat with remaining egg whites and beat on low for 10 seconds.
- Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low or fold with a silicone spatula until combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture. Avoid over-mixing so egg whites don’t deflate. Batter will be very light.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter a couple times to pop any air bubbles. Bake for 15-16 minutes, checking a couple of minutes before the 15 minute mark to avoid over-baking the cake.
- As the cake bakes, place a thin kitchen towel flat on the counter. Place a piece of parchment paper larger than the cake on top of the kitchen towel. Using a fine mesh sieve, dust parchment with some cocoa powder.
- Once the cake comes out of the oven, quickly run a knife around the edges to loosen it. Immediately invert it onto the parchment/towel. Peel off the parchment paper that was on the bottom of the cake as it baked.
- Roll the cake: begin tightly rolling the hot cake up with the parchment/towel. Do this slowly and gently. Allow the cake to cool completely rolled up in the parchment/towel. You can place it in the refrigerator to speed this process up, about 3 hours and up to 1 day.
Prepare the chocolate mousse filling:
- Whip the cream until soft peaks form, and gradually add the cocoa powder, one tablespoon at a time. Add in the icing sugar and the vanilla extract and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
- Remove the cake roll from the refrigerator and allow to sit on the counter for a few minutes to warm.
- Gently and very slowly unroll the cake. Spread the chocolate mousse evenly on top, leaving about a 1/2 inch border around the cake. Use a small offset spatula to spread. Gently roll the cake back up, without the parchment/towel this time. Roll it slowly. This part can be a bit messy.
- Carefully place the rolled up cake on a cutting board. If the exterior of the cake looks moist, dust with a little cocoa powder. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days before shaping and topping with ganache.
Make the ganache topping:
- Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to simmer. Pour over the chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour to thicken.
- Remove rolled cake from the refrigerator and gently place on a platter. Diagonally slice a 0.5-1 inch section off each end. Place each section on each side of the roll, forming two branches (you can use 1 Tbs of the chocolate ganache as "glue")
- Spread the thickened ganache all over the top and sides of the cake, leaving the cut ends exposed. Use a fork to make textured lines resembling tree bark. Decorate with sugared rosemary sprigs and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
- Cover leftover cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make the sugared rosemary ahead of time.
- You can make the roll cake in advance because it must cool/chill completely before filling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.
- You can also refrigerate the filled cake roll for up to 2 days.
- You can make the chocolate mousse 1 day in advance (cover and refrigerate until ready to use).
- You can make the chocolate ganache topping 1 day in advance. Cover and refrigerate. However, if you let it sit for longer than 1 hour, it will thicken too much. To thin it out when ready to use, stir and warm it in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water for about 1 minute. Do not microwave it.
- Entire cake can be made 1-2 days in advance too. Cover and refrigerate until ready to decorate and serve.
- You can also freeze the assembled cake before or after adding the ganache. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before continuing with the recipe. It’s best to decorate with sugared rosemary sprigs and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar closest to serving.
December 9, 2024 @ 7:21 pm
¡Es el tío de la Nadal!
December 10, 2024 @ 5:12 pm
🙂