Miniature Yule Log Yodels Recipes

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.

MINI YULE LOGS

Steps:

• run a cup full of hot water, the swiss rolls cut nicely with a hot knife
• soak a paring knife in the hot water
• open the swiss rolls, with the hot knife cut one on the diagonal to make three little branches for your log
• if the chocolate breaks a little that's ok because you're going to add a tiny bit for bark in the next couple steps
• dab a little frosting on the cut end and stick it to one of the branches, repeat with all three branches
• spread a small amount of frosting on the top of the swiss rolls and their little branch as well
• use a fork to draw lines for bark, this is quick and easy, don't make it perfect, trees are seldom perfect
• set your logs on a baking sheet or plates if you're ready to serve them up
• cut mini-marshmallows into 1/3 and 2/3rd pieces
• roll the smaller piece into the stem and stick it to the cut end of the larger piece
• repeat making as many mini-marshmallows as you'd like, prefer 2-3 per yule log
• once they're done use a clean paintbrush to flick cocoa powder over the mushrooms
• affix to the logs with a small amount of chocolate frosting
• if you're planning to serve them later simply lightly cover with plastic wrap or foil
• if you add greens to the plate be sure to let your guests know it's not edible

CHOCOLATE SWISS ROLL CAKE (REGULAR & MINI)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 12×17 inch baking pan with nonstick spray or grease with butter, so the parchment paper sticks. Then line it with parchment paper so the cake seamlessly releases. Spray or grease the parchment paper too. We want an extremely nonstick surface for this cake roll.
• Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar together in a medium bowl on high speed for 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks, remaining sugar, and vanilla extract together until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
• Sift the flour, 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together into a large bowl bowl. Pour the melted butter, coffee, and egg yolk mixture over the dry ingredients. Beat everything together on medium speed until completely combined. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold in the egg whites until completely combined. Avoid over-mixing and deflating those whites. Batter will be very light.
• Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. It will be a very thin layer. Shimmy the pan on the counter to smooth out the top. Bake for 10 minutes or until the top of the cake gently springs back when touched with your finger. Do NOT over-bake.
• As the cake bakes, place a piece of parchment paper (larger than the cake) or a thin kitchen/tea towel flat on the counter. (Note: I find a kitchen towel is better to help prevent cracking.) Using a fine mesh sieve, dust parchment/towel with 2 Tablespoons of 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. Starting with the narrow end, begin tightly rolling the hot cake up with the parchment/towel. Do this slowly and gently. The cake will be warm. Allow the cake to cool completely rolled up in the parchment/towel. Feel free to place it in the refrigerator to speed it up, about 3 hours and up to 1 day. (Note that you must bring it back to room temperature before unrolling, so make sure you set aside enough time.)
• Bring cake to room temperature if it was in the refrigerator. The cake is prone to cracking if unrolled while cold.
• Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until medium to stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Then beat in the marshmallow creme, if using.
• Slowly and gently unroll the cake. Spread whipped cream evenly on top, leaving about a 1/2 inch border around the cake. Gently roll the cake back up, without the parchment/towel this time. Place on a wire rack set on a baking sheet (to catch the extra ganache). Set aside on the counter or in the refrigerator as you prepare the ganache.
• Place chopped chocolate and corn syrup, if using, in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil- that's too hot.) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted.
• Pour ganache all over cake roll. Feel free to spoon up any dripped ganache and spoon over the cake again. Refrigerate for at least 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving.
• Cover leftover cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

MINIATURE YULE LOGS

Steps:

• 1. Place the butter, golden syrup and milk in a large mixing bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the butter has melted. 2. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the melted chocolate and crushed biscuits mixing well. Stir in the raisins, cherries and nuts and mix well to combine. 3. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until the mixture is firm. 4. Shape tablespoons of the mixture into small log shapes. With some of the shapes add on a small round of mixture to the side, to form a branch effect. Repeat this process until all the mixture has been used. Cover and chill while the buttercream is made. 5. To make the buttercream beat the butter until it is soft and smooth. Gradually beat in the icing sugar with the cocoa powder and water. Mix until creamy and light in texture. 6. Spread the buttercream evenly over the mini yule logs to completely cover, shape and mark lines with a fork. Place on the fondant icing, holly leaves and berries, dust lightly with icing sugar and place into petit four cases to serve. NOTES : Delicious Miniature Yule Logs, very appealing to all ages!

MINIATURE YULE LOG YODELS

Steps:

• Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Put the mini marshmallows in the skillet with a flat side down. Cook, undisturbed, until golden brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Let cool in the skillet.
• Slice a thin piece off both ends of 6 of the Swiss roll cakes to reveal the swirls (discard the end pieces). These will be the logs. Next, slice off the end of one of the remaining cakes on a 30-degree angle, then slice the cake into thirds, making parallel cuts to the end angle and finishing by cutting the second end on the same angle. If the chocolate coating falls off, that's okay; discard it. Discard the ends. Repeat with another cake. These angled pieces will be the branches. (Note that you will have 2 unused cakes, in case you mess up; if you don't mess up, you can just eat them.)
• Cut out six 3-inch parchment squares. Flip a water glass upside down and place one of the parchment squares on the flat bottom. Place a cake log on the parchment. With a butter knife or small offset spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting over the chocolate coating. Run the tip of the knife or spatula down the length of the log to create wide ridges. Stick the end of one branch onto the side of the log and spread frosting over the chocolate coating (or where the chocolate coating would be). Stick 3 of the marshmallows, browned-side up, onto the side of the yule log. Carefully slide the parchment with the yule log off of the glass; set aside. Repeat with the remaining logs, branches, frosting and marshmallows to create 5 additional yule logs.
• Freeze the yule logs on their parchment squares until the frosting is set, at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days (in an airtight container). To serve, transfer each log to a plate, remove the parchment and arrange 2 sprigs of rosemary under each one. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

YULE LOG

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/350ºF. In a large, clean bowl whisk the egg whites until thick and peaking, then, still whisking, sprinkle in 50g / ¼ cup of the caster sugar and continue whisking until the whites are holding their peaks but not dry. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is moussy, pale and thick. Add the vanilla extract, sieve the cocoa powder over, then fold both in. Lighten the yolk mixture with a couple of dollops of the egg whites, folding them in robustly. Then add the remaining whites in thirds, folding them in carefully to avoid losing the air. Line a Swiss roll tin with baking parchment, leaving a generous overhang at the ends and sides, and folding the parchment into the corners to help the paper stay anchored. Pour in the cake mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a little before turning it out onto another piece of baking parchment. If you dust this piece of parchment with a little icing sugar it may help with preventing stickage, but don't worry too much as any tears or dents will be covered by icing later. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel. To make the icing, melt the chocolate - either in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water or, my preference, in a microwave following the manufacturer's guidelines - and let it cool. Put the icing sugar into a processor and blitz to remove lumps, add the butter and process until smooth. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and the tablespoon of vanilla extract and pulse again to make a smooth icing. You can do this by hand, but it does mean you will have to sieve the sugar before creaming it with the butter and stirring in the chocolate and vanilla. Sit the flat chocolate cake on a large piece of baking parchment. Trim the edges of the Swiss roll. Spread some of the icing thinly over the sponge, going right out to the edges. Start rolling from the long side facing you, taking care to get a tight roll from the beginning, and roll up to the other side. Pressing against the parchment, rather than the tender cake, makes this easier. Cut one or both ends slightly at a gentle angle, reserving the remnants, and place the Swiss roll on a board or long dish. The remnants, along with the trimmed-off bits earlier, are to make a branch or two; you get the effect by placing a piece of cake at an angle to look like a branch coming off the big log. Spread the yule log with the remaining icing, covering the cut-off ends as well as any branches. Create a wood-like texture by marking along the length of the log with a skewer or somesuch, remembering to do wibbly circles, as in tree rings, on each end. You don't have to dust with icing sugar, but I love the freshly fallen snow effect, so push quite a bit through a small sieve, letting some settle in heaps on the plate or board on which the log sits.