For those with a sweet tooth that doesn’t extend to dried fruit, the yule log is a perfect chocolate fix for a Christmas feast! The tried and tested formula of chocolate and cream gets a boozy hit of gin here, plus a pleasing tartness from the cherry liqueur – all in all, a winning formula!

The rolled roulade sponge may seem intimidating to do, but it’s not as scary or difficult as you may think; the secret is to roll it while it’s still a bit warm from the oven and the sponge is still slightly soft, springy and pliable. Don’t worry if you do acquire a few cracks – lashings of thick, glossy ganache will cover them. A few scratches with a fork turns your dessert into a centrepiece showstopper!

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Black Forest Yule Log

Filling

200g cherry pie filling
2-3 tbsp gin
1 tbsp maraschino liqueur (optional)
200ml whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar

Sponge

6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
175g caster sugar
50g cocoa powder

Chocolate Ganache

150 ml double cream
150g plain chocolate, broken into chunks

To begin:

Begin by making the base for your filling: weigh out the cherry pie filling (you want the thick syrup as well as the cherries) and roughly chop the cherries into small chunks. Mix in a bowl with the gin and maraschino and leave to soak for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180c. Grease and line a swiss roll tray.

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To make the sponge:

Separate the egg yolks and whites in large bowls . Tip: do this one at time into a smaller cup before transferring to the mixing bowls, so that you don’t ruin a whole bowl of egg whites with a split yolk.

Using an electric whisk, beat the yolks, vanilla and half the caster sugar together until thick and pale, then sift in the cocoa powder and fold to combine.

Making sure you have completely clean beaters, in a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they begin to form peaks. Add the rest of the caster sugar and beat until stiff.

Add a few spoonfuls of egg white to the chocolate yolk mix and fold it together firmly to loosen the batter, then slowly fold in the remaining egg white in stages, being careful not to beat out the air.

Pour the batter onto your lined swiss roll tin, and ensure it is evenly spread out. Bake for 10-15 minutes on the middle shelf, until the top lightly springs back to the touch. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Spread baking parchment over the work surface and lightly sprinkle with icing sugar. Turn the sponge face down onto the parchment and carefully peel the back parchment off. Use a sharp knife to score 2cm away along one of the long edges, making sure the knife doesn’t go through further than the middle of the cake.

Starting from the scored side, carefully roll the sponge with the parchment on the inside, using the cut to start tightly, and finish resting on top of the outside edge.

Leave to cool - you may need to rest it against the edge of the baking tray to keep it in place.

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To make the filling:

Whilst the roll is cooling, make the filling. Make sure the cream is cold out the fridge and pour it into an electric mixer with the icing sugar. Whisk it on high until stiff, then slowly fold in the gin-soaked cherries with syrup. Leave covered in the fridge until the roll is cool.

To fill the roulade, gently unroll the sponge (it doesn’t need to be flat) and spread the cherry cream mixture evenly inside up to all the edges. Using the parchment on the outside of the sponge, carefully roll the sponge back up so that it’s sitting on its outside edge.

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To make the icing:

To make the icing, gently heat the cream in a saucepan until it is just too hot to touch. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring continuously until all the chunks have melted. Put the icing back into the fridge for 15 minutes, until it is thick and firm, but still spreadable.

Cut the ends of at an angle, then transfer the log to a serving plate and angle the two ends down the side as branches. Using either a piping bag and star nozzle or a knife, spread the icing along the lengths of the log, leaving the end open to show off the roll. You can leave it smooth or use a fork to give the log a bark-like texture.

Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve up to your delighted guests!

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