Yule log

Among the many opportunities to do something a bit out of the ordinary in the kitchen, festivals like Christmas are always a good time, especially if you have invited some particularly important guests who love to eat well and who look forward to all the Christmas specialties. So we thought we'd make a traditional French dessert: the yule log - 'Tronchetto di Natale' in Italian - which takes its shape from a large burning piece of wood, a traditional Christmas symbol in many Northern European countries. Indeed, tradition dictates that a specially selected log is kept burning overnight from Christmas Eve, where it symbolically keeps the baby Jesus warm. The yule log can be decorated as you wish: with poinsettias and holly, with mushroom-shaped meringue, or with leaves and flowers made from marzipan; the whole thing is covered with melted chocolate or creamed meringue. To create a snowy effect you could use coconut flour or icing sugar.

Ingredients

  • powdered sugar 100 grams

Dough

  • "00" flour 150 grams
  • sugar 150g of sugar + 2 tablespoons
  • egg yolks 5 egg yolks
  • egg whites 4 egg whites
  • salt

Stuffing

Information
80 minutes Total time
15 minutes Active time
Serves 8 persons
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Preparation

Beat 4 egg yolks with the sugar until creamy, along with the flour and 50g of melted butter. Combine the egg whites - beaten until firm with a pinch of salt. Pour the mixture onto an oven-proof dish lined with greased baking parchment, level and shape with a spatula to form a square and bake in the oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes. Dampen a clean tea towel and transfer the dough onto it, removing the baking paper. Spread a creamy mixture - prepared with 1 egg, 50g of softened butter, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, cocoa powder, rum and chestnut cream - onto the dough. Roll up the dough using the tea towel and place it in a freezer still tightly wrapped with the cloth for about 1 hour. Prepare the glaze by melting the chocolate with the remaining butter and then allowing it to cool. Remove the roll from the freezer and place it on a serving plate. With a sharp knife cut both ends at an angle and add it to the roll to simulate two branches. Cover the whole yule log with the chocolate glaze and, using a fork, score the surface to create the effect of bark. Finally decorate with holly leaves, berries or decorations made from marzipan.

Tips
To give your delicious yule log an even more attractive appearance, we suggest making typical Christmas characters using meringue or marzipan.
Trivia
The most important festivals of the year are, as always, celebrated with cakes and dishes that interpret the best spirit of these events: in the case of Christmas, for example, the yule log symbolizes the use of a large piece of wood which keeps everyone warm during the festive period.

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