Christmas pud is all well and good (and our version on p96 is very good indeed) but when it comes to festive desserts, a lot of people also want something with a little more wow-factor – and, frankly, a lot more chocolate. Here, supremo chef Michel shows you how to create a classic bûche de Noël or Yule log, the traditional French Christmas dessert
PHOTOGRAPHS CRISTIAN BARNETT FOOD STYLING NICOLE HERFT STYLING ANNA WILKINS
Technical bake.
Yule log with Grand Marnier
Serves 6-8 Hands-on time 40 min, plus cooling and chilling Oven time 15 min Specialist kit About 30cm x 40cm swiss roll tin; wooden toothpicks; piece of polystyrene or small cardboard box
EASY SWAPS
If you don’t have Grand Marnier, another orange liqueur will do – or leave it out, but it does add a welcome flavour of posh chocolate orange.
For the ganache
• 200g dark chocolate (70%), broken up
• 200g double cream
• Splash Grand Marnier (see Easy Swaps)
For the sponge
• 6 medium free-range eggs, separated • 150g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 70g plain flour
• 30g pure cocoa powder
• 30g butter, melted
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
For the caramelised hazelnuts
• About 20 whole blanched hazelnuts
• 250g caster sugar
1 Start by making the ganache. Put the chocolate in a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan and bring to the boil, then pour it over the chocolate and mix until smooth and combined. Leave to cool, then add Grand Marnier to taste. Whisk until light and fluffy.
2 For the sponge, line the swiss roll tin with baking paper. Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Beat the egg yolks with 100g of the caster sugar until pale, then beat in the flour, cocoa, a pinch of salt and the melted butter. In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy, then add the remaining caster sugar and beat until stiff (when you lift out the whisk the peaks won’t flop over). Fold or gently mix the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then pour the sponge mix into the lined tin. Bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes.
3 Lay a clean tea towel on your work surface and carefully turn out the sponge on to it. Remove the baking paper. Dust the sponge with a little caster sugar and spread some of the ganache evenly all over it. Take the shorter side and roll the sponge up as tightly as possible into a neat log. Leave the sponge to cool, then put it seam side down on a serving platter. Cover it with the rest of the ganache, using a palette knife to add texture to the outsid
