Gingerbread Yule Log

Or in this case, Gingerbread Birthday Log! Who says gingerbread is only for the holidays? Not me, I love it year round! For several years I've had a rolled cake on my culinary bucket list and when I was searching for something to make for my birthday this recipe from Taste of Home caught my eye. 

Fair warning, this is a recipe that requires a lot of ingredients, has a lot of steps and requires a lot of dish washing afterwards. Spoiler alert: it was absolutely worth it!

Start by sifting together the dry ingredients, cake flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pepper and salt. You do not want to skip this step, it ensures a nice light cake.

Combine dark brown sugar, molasses, 5 egg yolks, vegetable oil and freshly grated ginger.  Add the dry ingredients into the wet until they just start to come together.  Over mixing will get you a rubbery cake in the end. 

Beat together the egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form.  Beat in granulated sugar until you get stiff peaks, making sure to move the mixer around the entire bowl. Gently fold in about 1/4 of the egg white mixture, then fold in the rest.

The batter is then spread into a greased half sheet pan that is lined with parchment.  Bake it for 10 to 12 minutes or until it springs back when touched.

This was the part I dreaded the most- the initial roll. Liberally dust a tea towel with baking cocoa and then carefully invert the cake onto it.  Starting at the short side, roll the cake with the towel inside. 

While the cake is cooling, make the filling. This is where process shots kind of went out the window.  In a small bowl, combine mascarpone cheese (cream cheese is fine too), confectioner's sugar, whipping cream and a smidge of salt. The recipe calls for crystallized ginger to be added in as well, I did not. 

Carefully unroll the cake from the towel. I did have some stickage to the towel and a small crack. Spread on the mascarpone mixture.  In hindsight, I should have doubled the ingredients because leaving out the crystallized ginger led to a skimpier filling and not as pretty a spiral in the end.

While that's chilling in the fridge,  start the buttercream. This is a cooked frosting and you want to make sure that you have everything in place and will have no interruptions because you need to whisk it over simmering water for at least 2 minutes. 

After it reaches about 160 degrees, beat it to stiff peaks with a hand or stand mixer. Butter is added a little bit at a time and you want to make sure that's fully incorporated.  Last to go in is some melted, cooled chocolate. The recipe called for bittersweet, I used dark. 

Frost the cake, leaving the ends unfrosted.  You want to see that nice spiral you worked so hard to create! Place it back into the refrigerator while you make the chocolate bark.

Melt more dark chocolate and spread it evenly onto a piece of parchment on top of a half sheet pan. Pop it into the fridge until it sets, mine took about 45 minutes.  Break it into long shards and place them onto the cake. If they start to get soft, put the sheet back into the fridge.

Overall, I'm very happy with my first ever cake roll! Next time I'd definitely make more filling and maybe trim the ends to make it more even. If this seems intimidating to you, start with just the cake recipe and fill it with store bought cheesecake filling and use whipped canned frosting for the outside.

Gingerbread Yule Log

Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons each ground ginger and cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon each freshly grated nutmeg and pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Baking cocoa

For the filling:

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup crystallized ginger (omitted)

For the buttercream:

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 4 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, melted and cooled

For the chocolate bark:

• 4 to 6 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, melted

Instructions

Make the cake:

1. Sift together your dry ingredients: cake flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, pepper and salt. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks together until they thicken slightly. Add the brown sugar and beat on high until nice and thick. Add in the molasses, oil and fresh ginger.
3. Next, gently add your flour mixture into the egg and sugar blend. Don’t overmix!
4. In a third bowl, whisk together the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Then, add in the sugar a tablespoon at a time and beat until you have glossy stiff peaks.
5. Take a quarter of your egg whites and fold them into the rest of the cake batter. Once incorporated, fold in the remaining egg whites. Be careful not to overmix and knock all the air out of the eggs.
6. Spread the batter in a greased 15×10 baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 350ºF for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched.
7. Once the cake is baked, let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes. While it’s cooling, dust a tea towel with baking cocoa. Carefully turn your cake out onto the dusted towel. Peel away the parchment paper.
8. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the cake up into the towel. Let the cake cool completely wrapped up this way.

Make filling:

1. Mix together softened mascarpone cheese, sugar, cream and salt until just combined. Refrigerate.
2. Fill the cake: Carefully unroll it from the dusted tea towel. Using an offset spatula, spread an even coat of the mascarpone filling across the cake. Leave a quarter-inch unfrosted around the edge so the filling doesn’t spill out.
3. Once frosted, reroll the cake. That first roll with just the tea towel should have the cake wanting to coil back into that shape. Work slowly and use the towel to help you roll up the cake again.
4. When it’s rolled up, you can wrap it in the tea towel or a piece of parchment to keep it tight and pop it in the fridge to set while you make the buttercream.

Make the buttercream:

1. Put the egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl and whisk until combined. Place the bowl over a saucepan filled with simmering water. Whisk constantly until the mixture is frothy and a thermometer reads 160º, about 2 minutes.
2. Once it reaches the right temperature, whisk the whites on high with a stand or hand mixer until stiff, glossy peaks form and the mixture isn’t as hot, about 5 minutes.
3. Keep your mixer going on medium speed and beat in the softened butter a few tablespoons at a time until the frosting is smooth. Finish by beating in cooled melted chocolate. The frosting should be a pale cocoa color.
4. Frost the outside of your cake, skipping the ends so you can see that beautiful spiral.

Make the chocolate bark

1. Line a cookie sheet or large cutting board with parchment paper.
2. Melt the chocolate and spread it evenly over the parchment with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
3. When your chocolate sheet is cold and set, lift it with your fingers and break it into long shards. If you find the chocolate is becoming soft, pop it back in the fridge to harden again.
4. After you’ve broken up all the chocolate, arrange the strips across the cake to look like bark.

Notes

Slightly adapted from: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-make-yule-log-cake/

Recommended Products

Wilton 9" offset spatula

USA Pan 15x10x1

Microplane Spice Mill

Other recipes you may enjoy:

Gingerbread Hot Cocoa

Gingerbread Buttermilk Belgian Waffles

Lemon Filled Gingerbread Muffins

gingerbread, yule log,

Cake, Dessert

American