servings
Holiday Chocolate Log Cake
This recipe was passed down to our boys from their Great-Grandma. She called it a chocolate roll, a favourite at our house made every year for Christmas Eve. If you want to skip the chocolate icing you can use a seven-minute frosting to cover the cake inside and out then sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Ingredients
Chocolate Sponge Cake:
- 5 egg yolks
- 5 egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 6 tbsp cake flour peeled and grated
- 6 tbsp cocoa
- 3 ¼ tsp baking powder
Whipped Cream Filling
- 400 ml heavy cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 2-4 drops peppermint oil or peppermint extract to taste
Chocolate Icing
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1½ cups icing sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsps milk
- 1 tbsp brewed coffee – optional
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Butter and line a 12 x 17-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Butter and lightly flour parchment; set aside. Lay a kitchen towel on top of a cooling rack and dust with icing sugar; set aside.
- Put egg yolks into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high until pale yellow – 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
- Put egg whites into the clean bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Beat on medium until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Raise speed to medium-high. Gradually add granulated sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Fold the egg yolks into the egg-white mixture. Sift cocoa powder and flour over the top and gently fold in, just until combined.
- Pour into the prepared pan and smooth with the top of an offset spatula.
- Bake until cake springs back when touched, 10-11 minutes. Run a knife around the side of the pan and invert the cake onto the prepared towel. Remove the parchment and dust with more icing sugar.
- Starting with a short-end roll cake in the kitchen towel, let cool completely seam side down on a rack.
Whipped Cream:
- Whip the cream on medium then to high until stiff peaks form then add 2 tbsp of icing sugar and a few drops of peppermint oil.
- Unroll the cake carefully. Using an offset spatula spread with about 2 cups of whipped cream.
- Reroll the cake, without the towel, and transfer seam side down to a serving platter. Store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Chocolate Icing:
- Put unsalted butter in a clean bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Beat on medium for 2 minutes, slowly add icing sugar and cocoa until combined. Add milk and coffee if using and a pinch of salt.
- Spread the cake with chocolate icing to resemble the bark of a tree and sprinkle with icing sugar. Store in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
