Page 43 - Real Rochdale Issue 12 Winter 2021

Chocolate Orange Yule Log

by Natasha Brown - owner of Brown’s Cakes

This recipe is based around Mary Berry’s chocolate roulade recipe but is filled with marmalade and
smeared with a generous coating of chocolate ganache to give a very light sponge a rich and
decadent finish.

The roulade is made without flour (making it accidentally gluten-free) so it’s amazingly light but
just needs a little bit of care when mixing the ingredients.

Ingredients

For the ganache: For the flour-free sponge: To decorate:
200g good quality dark chocolate 175g good quality dark chocolate Shredless marmalade
200ml double cream 6 eggs Terry’s chocolate orange
175g caster sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Recipe

• Make the ganache first; break the • Beat the melted chocolate into the
chocolate into small pieces in a glass bowl whipped egg/sugar mixture.
and pour over the cream. • Stir in a couple of small spoonfuls of the long edge about 1cm in. This helps start To decorate
• Microwave for 2 mins, let it stand for a egg white to loosen the mixture, then the roll. Once you start to roll, it will crack
minute and then stir. If the chocolate gently fold in the egg white (this is where and possibly even break but don’t be put • Check the chocolate ganache you made
doesn’t all melt into the cream, keep you now need to be careful not to lose all off, even if it falls apart! It’s meant to look earlier is a good spreading consistency. If
putting it back in to the microwave for the air that has been beaten in). Use a large like a log and will be covered with ganache it’s too runny, leave it to set for longer; if
10 second blasts until it all stirs together. metal spoon and fold gently. so it’s fine. it’s too thick give it a quick blast in the
Once it all comes together, give it a good • Sieve in the cocoa powder and continue to This recipe all about the taste of the fluffy microwave for 5-10 seconds to soften it.
stir then leave to one side. fold gently. light sponge and decadent chocolate, don’t • Spread the ganache all over the log using a
• Carefully pour the mixture onto the lined worry about how it looks. butter knife. Be generous.
Swiss roll tin and spread it to the edges • Once rolled, cut a quarter of the roll off at • Lay pieces of chocolate orange along the
• For the sponge, grease and line a 33cm x with a spatula, using as few strokes as an angle then place the bigger piece onto log and sprinkle with icing sugar.
23cm Swiss roll tin. possible. a plate or serving platter and position the • The plate can be decorated with any
• Turn the oven on to 160°C Fan/ 180°C/ • Bake for 18–20 mins. When pressed in the smaller piece against it to look like a log. decorations you like, I’ll leave you to
gas mark 4. centre, the sponge should indent a little decide this bit.
• Break the chocolate into small pieces and but spring back up. Try not to over bake it
melt it in the microwave using 30 second as it will be harder to roll later.
blasts decreasing to 10 second blasts as it • Once baked, leave in the tin to cool. You may have noticed by now that I like a bit of alcohol on my cakes, so a lovely alternative to this
starts to melt, stir the chocolate between • Once cool, turn the sponge onto a sheet of would be to drizzle the unrolled roulade with Baileys, Tia Maria or Cointreau (any sweet alcohol
each blast. baking paper and peel off the paper that’s would be lovely). You can even add a little to the cream when making the chocolate ganache –
• Separate the eggs and whip the whites into stuck on the back. make the ganache with 250g chocolate and 250g cream so that you have extra and spread some
stiff peaks. • Apply a very generous layer of marmalade inside the roulade instead of marmalade (keep the marmalade if you are using Cointreau).
• Whip the egg yolks and caster sugar until – and do be generous!
they become quite thick. • To roll the roulade, cut a line about Another alternative would be a drizzle of kirsch and spread black cherry jam inside the roulade to
halfway through the sponge all along the give Black Forest flavour. There are lots of yummy possibilities!

REAL ROCHDALE - WINTER 2021 42 43 REAL ROCHDALE - WINTER 2021