Happy Christmas ! - Eats and Treats by Tania Rebello

TDT | Manama                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Have you ever wondered what makes Christmas a joyous festival?

Christmas is marked as a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus, making it the most important reason to rejoice.

The world celebrates Christmas as a time of giving, forgiveness, and gratitude, a time to be surrounded by loved ones and make new memories to carry in our hearts forever.

Let us aim to keep this spirit of Christmas alive in our daily lives.

When I look back at the Christmases gone by, I realise that the time spent with my family, relatives and friends meant everything.

Can you resonate with this thought?

Did I enjoy the sight of Christmas decor or the festive goodies? I did.

Food is the best way to anyone’s heart.

This is why the internet is loaded with special treats for Christmas.

We all have our Christmas favourites. What is yours?

If you are looking for ways to make your loved ones smile this Christmas, prepare a Yule Log.

A delight to the eyes and a treat for the tummy- It is a Happy Christmas indeed!

Yule Log

This showstopper dessert will make your guests gaze in amazement.

Reminiscent of the holiday season, this chocolate loaded, rich and festive dessert will be the perfect ending to your Christmas dinner.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

½ cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

3 large eggs, cold from the fridge

¾ cup caster sugar

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ cup + 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

For the chocolate bark:

1 cup + 2 tbsp dark chocolate

For the filling:

4 tbsp cherry preserves

¾ cup + 3 tbsp cold heavy cream

1.5 tbsp icing sugar

For decoration:

white chocolate

fresh cherries

holly leaves

For the whipped ganache :

2 cups + 2 tbsp dark chocolate,

broken into chunks

1 cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream

 DIRECTIONS

For the cake:

In a small bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa.

Place the eggs, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Using the whisk attachment, whisk at a medium-low speed for 3 minutes to combine and dissolve the sugar.

Increase the speed to mediumhigh and whisk until thickened and pale with fine, foamy bubbles.

Increase the speed again to high and whisk the egg mixture until pale and doubled in size, another 5 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium-low and drizzle in the melted butter and vanilla mix.

Immediately reduce the speed to low and add in the sifted flour and cocoa powder, mixing until nearly combined.

Turn the mixer off, detach the whisk attachment and use it to finish folding the flour in by hand, to avoid losing too much air from the mixture.

Carefully pour the mixture evenly over the pan, and then gently tip the pan to spread the cake mixture out across the pan.

Use an offset spatula to help if required.

Gently tap the pan twice on your worktop to help level the mixture.

Bake until puffed and firm to the touch but still soft enough to hold a shallow impression when gently poked for about 12 minutes.

Immediately after removing the baked cake from the oven, place it on a cooling rack and cover it tightly with some foil, crimping around the sides to seal.

This keeps the cake moist whilst cooling, so it will roll more smoothly and not crack.

Allow to cool to room temperature, about 30-60 minutes.

For the chocolate bark:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Melt the chocolate.

You can do this using a bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave in short bursts.

Stir until smooth and shiny with no lumps of unmelted chocolate.

Spread the chocolate out over the prepared parchment paper to a few millimetres thickness.

Using an offset spatula or spoon, create texture and ruffles in the chocolate to resemble the bark of a tree.

Place in the fridge for the chocolate to firm up and set.

For the filling:

Place the cream and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until you reach the soft peak stage.

To assemble the cake:

Once the cake is cool, remove it from the tin and place it on a clean worktop, parchment side down.

Place a clean tea towel under the parchment to stop it from sliding around whilst filling and rolling it.

Gently spread the cherry preserve over the cake, leaving a border of around 1cm allround the edges of the cake.

Spread the whipped cream over the preserve, leaving the border around the edge of the cake as before.

Starting from the shorter end of the cake, roll it up tightly, removing the parchment paper from the bottom as you go.

Keep the last bit of parchment on and use it to wrap the whole cake once rolled to ensure it is firm.

Place the cake roll in the fridge whilst making the ganache.

For the whipped ganache:

Place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl.

Heat the cream in a pan until steaming and the edges start to bubble.

Pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chocolate, pushing to immerse the chocolate into the hot cream.

Leave to stand for a few minutes, and then stir to combine.

If the chocolate has yet to melt completely, pop it into the microwave for a few seconds to heat some more and stir until melted together and velvety smooth.

Pop in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.

Once the ganache has cooled sufficiently (it should still be soft but not firm), beat using an electric whisk until light and slightly paler.

Finishing up:

Remove the cake from the fridge and unroll it from the parchment. It should be firm and be easier to handle.

Place on your serving plate.

Cover the top of the cake generously with the soft whipped chocolate ganache.

Remove the baking tray with the chilled chocolate from the fridge.

Break the chocolate into tiny shards.

Use a knife to break it to avoid melting it with the warmth of your hands.

Gently press pieces of chocolate all over the ganache, textured side up, to create the “bark” of the log.

Grate white chocolate over the yule log and decorate the top with holly leaves and a few cherries.

Enjoy!