MAKING A YULE LOG. What You ll Need. with Susan Reid CHOCOLATE BARK FROSTING

Transcription

1 with Susan Reid What You ll Need CHOCOLATE GENOISE CAKE 1/2 cup (2 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz.) dark unsweetened cocoa 1 cup (7 oz.) superfine or granulated sugar, divided 7 large eggs 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tbsp. espresso powder (optional) 4 tbsp. (2 oz., 1/2 stick) butter, melted, slightly cooled EASY FLUFFY WHITE FROSTING 1/3 cup (2 5/8 oz.) butter 1/3 cup (2 oz.) vegetable shortening 1/4 tsp. salt 3 4 cups (3/4 to 1 lb.) confectioners sugar, sifted 1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract 1/3 1/2 cup (2 3/4 4 oz.) milk or cream CHOCOLATE BARK FROSTING 1/2 cup (3 oz.) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate 1/4 cup (2 oz.) butter, softened 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. espresso powder (optional) 4 5 cups (1 1 1/4 lbs.) confectioners sugar, sifted 1/2 cup (4 oz.) milk or cream 1/4 cup (3/4 oz.) unsweetened cocoa (optional) MERINGUE MUSHROOMS 3 large egg whites or 1/4 cup meringue powder mixed with 1/2 cup cold water 1/8 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar 1 cup (7 oz.) baker s special or granulated sugar 1/2 cup (3 oz.) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting CHOCOLATE GENOISE CAKE Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper, or with aluminum foil. Grease and flour the foil the foil-lined pan, if that s what you re using. Whisk or sift together the flour, cocoa, and 1/4 cup of the sugar together in a small bowl, set aside. Place the room temperature eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat the eggs until foamy, then continue beating while gradually adding the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar. Pour the sugar in gradually as you beat the eggs (Figure 1.) Beat in the salt, vanilla and espresso powder. Add the flour/cocoa mixture to the eggs in 4 additions, folding it in gently with a whisk, deflating the eggs as little as possible. Using a wire whisk, gently fold the cocoa/flour mixture into the beaten eggs. Pull the batter up from the bottom and fold the mixture over itself (Figure 2.) Combine 1 cup of the batter with the melted butter, then fold that mixture back into the larger bowl. The melted butter will deflate the eggs if not added carefully; put some batter into a smaller bowl, fold the butter into it, then return this batter to the larger amount (Figure 3.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. An offset spatula works well to distribute the batter evenly. Don t press down and don t overwork the batter, or the cake will be dense and tough (Figure 4.) Bake the cake for minutes, until the center springs back when lightly touched and the cake just barely pulls away from the side of the pan. Remove the cake from the oven, and run a knife around the edges to free them (the cake will contract slightly as it cools.) Running a knife around the edge of the cake will free it from the pan (Figure 5.) Generously dust a large tea towel (14x20-inch minimum) with confectioner s sugar (Figure 6.) After five minutes, place the baking sheet on its side at the edge of the sugar-sprinkled tea towel. Gently lower it onto the towel, then remove the baking sheet. Peel the parchment or foil off the cake, and generously dust the top with more confectioners sugar. Peel the parchment off the cake while it s still warm; it will come off more cleanly if you pull the paper parallel to the cake s surface (Figure 7.) Dusting the top of the cake with confectioners sugar will keep it from sticking to the towel (Figure 8.) Starting at the short side of the cake, use the tea towel to roll the cake into a spiral. Place the cake in its towel on a rack to finish cooling completely (Figure 9.)

2 Figure 4 These are the ingredients you ll need to make the cake. Figure 5 Figure 1 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 2 Figure 8 Figure 3 Figure 9 Page 2

3 MAKING THE FILLING There are a number of options for frosting your Yule log. You can fill the center with lightly sweetened whipped cream, your favorite mousse recipe, or a simple buttercream frosting like the one we're about to show you. Traditionally, the inside of the cake is vanilla flavored, and the outside, or bark is chocolate. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, shortening and salt until fluffy (Figure 10.) Add about half the confectioners sugar, and beat slowly until well blended. After adding half the sugar, the mixture will look dry and a little shaggy (Figure 11.) Add half the milk or cream and vanilla at this point, and continue mixing until the mixture smooths out (Figure 12.) Continue adding confectioners sugar, alternating it with the rest of the milk, until the frosting is smooth and fluffy (Figure 13.) Here are the ingredients you need to make the vanilla buttercream filling. Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 CHOCOLATE BARK FROSTING The technique for this frosting is similar to what we just used in the filling, only this time we melt some chocolate to add to the frosting. You can adjust how dark the bark looks by adding some unsweetened cocoa powder, if you like. Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl, and melt it three quarters of the way at low power in the microwave or over simmering water on the stove. Remove the bowl from the heat, and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Set aside at room temperature. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and salt until fluffy; add the vanilla, espresso and 1 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar. Beat until the mixture is fluffy once more, then add the melted chocolate and continue beating, scraping the bowl at least once, until the frosting is a uniform color; by now the frosting will be fairly stiff. Add half of the milk and beat until the frosting is smooth, and continue adding sugar and the remaining milk until you have a smooth, easy to work with consistency that will hold its shape. If you want the bark frosting to be a darker color, add up to 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. Page 3

4 PUTTING THE CAKE TOGETHER When the cake has completely cooled, gently unroll it. Fill the inside with a 1/4 1/2-inch thick layer of vanilla frosting, leaving an inch of cake bare on the two short sides of the rectangle. Brush off any excess confectioners sugar before rolling the cake back up, using the towel to help you. Keep rolling the cake until the seam is on the bottom (Figure 14.) Trim one end of the log to be square (Figure 15.) Cut a 45º diagonal slice off the other end of the log, with the wedge 2-inches long on one side and 1/2-inch on the other to make the triangular slice (Figure 16.) Place this piece halfway up the log, with the cut side touching the log s short side (Figure 17.) Cover the log and branch with chocolate frosting (Figure 18.) You can leave the frosting s surface rough, of give it more texture by scoring it with the tines of a fork (Figure 19.) Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19 Page 4

5 MERINGUE MUSHROOMS In keeping with the forest theme, we ve decorated our log with meringue mushrooms. You can make them bright white by shortening their baking time, or leave them in the oven longer to toast them to a woodsy beige. We like to make a range of mushrooms sizes, small to large, for a more whimsical effect. Preheat the oven to 250 F. In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites or meringue powder and water until frothy; add the salt and cream of tartar (Figure 20.) Whip at high speed until a foam begins to form (Figure 21.) Add the sugar gradually, while continuing to beat, until the mixture forms stiff peaks (Figure 22.) Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag with a round tip about 1/2-inch in diameter (Figure 23.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe the stems by squeezing the bag lightly while holding it straight up. Release the pressure on the bag without moving it, and pull the bag straight up, as shown (Figure 24.) After the stems are piped, dip your finger in some confectioners sugar and press the points of the stems down, so the tops of the stems will meet the bottoms of the caps evenly (Figure 25.) To form caps, place the tip of the bag 1/2-inch from the surface of the baking sheet. Squeeze steadily, keeping the tip stationary and the bag vertical, until a circle of meringue forms underneath it. Release the pressure on the bag and pull the tip around and away from the circle (Figure 26.) Bake the meringues at 250 F for 1 1/2 hours, until set. If the meringues are still gooey, return them to the oven for another half hour until they become crisp. If you want the merinques to be beige, give them another hour of baking time after they ve become crisp. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely before assembling the mushrooms. To assemble the mushrooms, melt the chocolate three-fourths of the way at low power in the microwave or over simmering water on the stove. Remove the chocolate from the heat and stir until completely melted; hold at room temperature. Remove the completely cooled meringues from the parchment paper. Paint the bottom of the mushroom caps with chocolate (Figure 27.) Place the stem into the chocolate, and allow the chocolate to harden (Figure 28.) Figure 21 Figure 20 Figure 22 Page 5

6 Figure 24 Figure 25 Figure 26 Figure 27 Figure 28 Figure 23 FOREST FOLK Our wood elves are made of fondant icing, because we wanted them to have the most vivid colors we could get. Marzipan is also a good material for making forest folk; but since marzipan is beige to start with, they would just have more muted tones to their colors. Our elves were made with paste food coloring, which gives the more intense colors than liquid can do. Here s what you'll need to make your own elves: Fondant icing Red, blue, brown and green paste food coloring Decorating pen Paring knife, craft paintbrush, toothpicks, any other small sculpting tools you have on hand Plastic bowl scraper Page 6

7 MAKING FOREST FOLK Divide the fondant thirds. Divide one of the thirds in three. Keep one of these small pieces white, and dye the other one flesh colored. Put a tiny drop of brown food coloring and another, tinier drop of red coloring on the icing. A toothpick is helpful with this; remember, you can always add more (Figure 29.) Knead the fondant with your hands until the color is evenly distributed (Figure 30.) If you find the icing is sticking, dust your hands with cornstarch or some confectioners sugar. The plastic bowl scraper is handy to gather the fondant back up off your work surface. It s a good idea to start with the lightest color (flesh) and proceed to the darker ones, because getting all of the first color off your hands can be difficult. If blue cuticles bother you, you ll want to wear foodsafe vinyl or latex gloves. The third small chunk should be blue. Dye the two larger remaining pieces red and green, respectively. To make your elves, follow these steps. Using the flesh colored fondant, roll a ball for the head, two smaller ones for hands, and two tiny ones for ears. Roll one teeny ball for the nose stick it onto the head. Make a cone shape and two rectangles out of the blue fondant for a hat and feet; one rectangular green chunk and rope for arms, and a red rope and square for legs and bottom (Figure 31.) Press the sections together, smoothing over the seams with your fingers (Figure 32.) Use a toothpick to secure the hat and the head to the body; if you want your elves to sit up, this is an important step (Figure 33.) Use the handle of a small paintbrush or the flat end of a skewer to make a hole for the mouth (Figure 34.) Use a paring knife to give your elf a smile (Figure 35.) Flatten the little ball of fondant and give it a point for the elf's ears, and attach them to the side of his head. If the fondant is too dry to stick, moisten the back of the ear with a very little bit of water (Figure 36.) Roll a ball for the point of the hat and attach it. For a belt and the trim for the hat, make a tiny rope of white fondant, and drop it into place. Trim the ends with the paring knife, using the point of the knife to tuck them into place (Figure 37.) Use the point of the paring knife to mark for fingers (Figure 38.) Use a food safe pen to draw eyes for your elf (Figure 39.) Sit your elves and mushrooms down around your Yule log to complete the picture (Figure 40.) Figure 29 Figure 30 Figure 31 Figure 32 Figure 33 Page 7

8 Figure 34 Figure 35 Figure 36 Figure 37 Figure 38 Figure 39 Figure 40 You ve done it! Pat yourself on the back, take a picture for the scrapbook and have yourself a slice. Page 8