Chocolate Hazelnut Yule Log

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 2 eggs

  • 50 g flour

  • 50 g sugar

  • 50 g dark chocolate

  • 10 g unsalted butter

For the Hazelnut praliné:

  • 80 g hazelnut spread

  • 40 g caramelized hazelnuts

For the Chocolate Mousse:

  • 400 g heavy whipping cream

  • 200 g dark chocolate

  • 3 egg yolks

  • 20 g sugar

  • 3 tablespoons water

For the Chocolate Mirror Glaze:

  • 165 g sugar

  • 135 g water

  • 115 g heavy whipping cream

  • 25 g cocoa powder

  • 1 envelope gelatin powder (7 g)

For the cake:

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the chocolate and the butter in a bowl and melt it over a bain marie.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whits until stiff peaks form.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar. Add the melted chocolate and the flour and mix.

Slowly, add the egg whites with a rubber spatula.

Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Once the cake has cooled, cut a rectangle of 30-cm x 8 cm (this should be the size of your yule log mold).

For the Hazelnut praliné:

In a bowl, mix the hazelnut spread and the caramelized hazelnuts. Form a roll the size of your yule log mold and place on a plastic wrap paper and put in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until firm.

For the Chocolate Mousse:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream on medium speed until it becomes real thick and the swirls created by the beaters hold their shape really well.Do not over beat as the cream will start to separate very quickly. For best results, you must work with cold ingredients. I suggest you place your cream in the freezer for 15 minutes before beating it.

Place the chocolate in a bowl and melt it over a bain marie.

In a sauce pan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Place the egg yolks in a separate bow. Add the boiled water and sugar over the egg yolks while continually mixing. The mix will start bubbling up and double its volume.

Add the melted chocolate and mix. Add the cream slowly. Set aside in the fridge.

For the Chocolate Mirror Glaze:

In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, heavy cream and cocoa powder. Simmer for about 20 minutes until mixture slightly thickens.

Place 1 tablespoon cold water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over top and let soften 5 minutes. Remove chocolate mixture from the heat and whisk in gelatin mixture until thoroughly combined.

Let it cool down while whisking, until the glaze thickens and reaches about 27 degrees Celsius.

To assemble:

Pour the Chocolate Mousse in your mold, about halfway through the mold.

Place the Hazelnut praliné. Add the remaining Chocolate Mousse.

Add the Cake.

Place the mold in the freezer overnight.

Once the yule log is frozen, take it out of the freezer and pour the Chocolate Mirror Glaze on top (be careful, the glaze must be at the right temperature, i.e. about 27 degrees Celsius when you pour it over the cake). Decorate as you wish and enjoy!

 
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