French Yule Log for DB Christmas Challenge

Once again its time for the members of the Daring Baker community to reveal the magic they spun this month for the DB Challenge. This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand. Her blog is just amazing, do check it out and you will be in dessert-heaven!! Some of the variations in the recipe comes to us, courtesy of our dear Daring Baker Fairy Tartelette.

In France you can buy two kinds of Yule log, either the Genoise and Buttercream type or what is more commonly purchased which is a frozen Yule Log very reminiscent of an ice cream cake, only often it’s not made of ice cream but rather frozen mousse of some sort. In French this is called an entremets which is sometimes loosely translated in English as simply a cream dessert. This also means that this recipe is not holiday-specific, it is also just a scrumptious dessert recipe.

THE CHALLENGE RULES were that we MUST MAKE ALL 6 of these elements for the log:

(1) Dacquoise Biscuit (2) Mousse (3) Ganache Insert (4) Praline (Crisp) Insert (5) Creme Brulee Insert (6) Icing. The assembly will essentially be a Dacquoise Biscuit at the bottom, and the inserts inter-layered with mousse, with an icing finish.

We were given great flexibility this challenge, with several flavor options for each element.

My french yule-log had Dacquoise biscuit - Almond cake, Dark Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Creme Brulee, Praline Feuillete, Dark-Milk Ganache Insert, Milk Chocolate Icing as its components. Check out the final picture for a visual of all the elements.

My experience:

I knew that this was one RICH dessert, and a tough one to make sense of!! With lots of flavor options and steps, an amateur like me tend to get confused!! Thanks to BonoboCakes and her game-plan that she shared with us, I knew how to divide my work. Once I chose my flavor combination, I decided to do the dessert in two-three days.

I made the Vanilla Creme Brulee, Dark Chocolate Mousse and the Milk Chocolate-Praline Crisp on the first day. I froze them for several hours and then assembled the three layers. Because I was not feeling well, I did the rest of the elements after two days. The second session had me prepare the almond cake and dark-milk ganache insert. I layered these two elements on top of the frozen mousse assembly. Once again, it was left overnight in the freezer. On the final day, I made a milk-chocolate ganache and made some dark chocolate pipings to decorate the log.

Verdict:

This challenge had us whip up so many desserts, many of which were my firsts! The praline crisp was probably my favourite element. We all loved the dessert, after so many days for waiting eagerly for it. It made for a delicious and elegant dessert. But I really cant say if it was worth all the effort. Dont get me wrong, I looooooved it, but there were too many elements for a single challenge, or was it because I was not feeling well!? ;-)

Like many other DB-ers, I was not very happy with the milk chocolate glaze/icing. But believe me, it wasnt too bad. Again, its more of a textural thing and I was not happy with the finish of the gelatinized icing. But it tasted just fine. It was more like Chocolate puddin, which sure is an amazing dessert by itself. The mousse was delicious and smooth and held-up well. The creme brulee was a first for me, and it tasted great. The dark-milk ganache insert was also delicious and well assembled. The almond cake was also an awesome element which was my first, and I loved every bit of it!!

I kept JM interested by giving him samples of every element as it was prepared, so that he wouldnt be impatient. But finally when the log was served, he had the nerve to tell me "Its really good, but whats sooo special!!?" Only if he had paid attention to all the work that went into it!

Element #1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)

Preparation time: 10 mn + 15 mn for baking.

Equipment: 2 mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment, spatula, baking pan such as a 10”x15” jelly-roll pan, parchment paper.

Note: You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom and top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible.

Ingredients:

2.8 oz (3/4cup + 1Tbsp / 80g) almond meal

1.75 oz (1/2 cup / 50g) confectioner’s sugar

2Tbsp (15g) all-purpose flour

3.5oz (100g / ~100ml) about

3 medium egg whites

1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar

1. Finely mix the almond meal and the confectioner's sugar. (If you have a mixer, you can use it by pulsing the ingredients together for no longer than 30 seconds).

2. Sift the flour into the mix.

3. Beat the eggs whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff.

4. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and blend delicately with a spatula.

5. Grease a piece of parchment paper and line your baking pan with it.

6. Spread the batter on a piece of parchment paper to an area slightly larger than your desired shape (circle, long strip etc...) and to a height of 1/3 inches (8mm).

7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven), until golden. 8. Let cool and cut to the desired shape.

Variations on the Almond Dacquoise listed above:

Hazelnut Dacquoise- Substitute the same amount of hazelnut meal for the almond meal.Chocolate Dacquoise- Add 3 tablespoons of sifted unsweetened cocoa powder into the almond meal/caster sugar mix in Step #1 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Lemon Dacquoise- Add the zest of 1 Lemon after the flour in Step #2 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Coconut Dacquoise- Substitute ¼ cup of almond meal and add 2/3 cup shredded coconut in Step #1 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Element #2 Dark Chocolate Mousse

Preparation time: 20mn

Equipment: stand or hand mixer with whisk attachment, thermometer, double boiler or equivalent, spatula.

Note: You will see that a Pate a Bombe is mentioned in this recipe. A Pate a Bombe is a term used for egg yolks beaten with a sugar syrup, then aerated. It is the base used for many mousse and buttercream recipes. It makes mousses and buttercreams more stable, particularly if they are to be frozen, so that they do not melt as quickly or collapse under the weight of heavier items such as the crème brulee insert. In the Vanilla Mousse variation, pastry cream is made to the same effect. In the Mango Mousse variation, Italian meringue is made to the same effect. Italian meringue is a simple syrup added to egg whites as they are beaten until stiff. It has the same consistency as Swiss meringue (thick and glossy) which we have used before in challenge recipes as a base for buttercream.The Whipped Cream option contains no gelatin, so beware of how fast it may melt.Gelatin is the gelifying agent in all of the following recipes, but if you would like to use agar-agar, here are the equivalencies: 8g powdered gelatin = 1 (0.25 oz) envelope powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp Agar-Agar. 1 Tbsp. of agar-agar flakes is equal to 1 tsp. of agar-agar powder.

Ingredients:

2.5 sheets gelatin or 5g / 1 + 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin

1.5 oz (3 Tbsp / 40g) granulated sugar

1 ½ tsp (10g) glucose or thick corn syrup

0.5 oz (15g) water

50g egg yolks (about 3 medium)

6.2 oz (175g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1.5 cups (350g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water. (If using powdered gelatin, follow the directions on the package.)

2. Make a Pate a Bombe: Beat the egg yolks until very light in colour (approximately 5 minutes until almost white).

2a. Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should reach 244°F (118°C). If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the sugar temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water, if it forms a soft ball in the water then you have reached the correct temperature.

2b. Add the sugar syrup to the beaten yolks carefully by pouring it into the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to beat the yolks. You can do this by hand but it’s easier to do this with an electric mixer.

2c. Continue beating until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The batter should become thick and foamy.

3. In a double boiler or equivalent, heat 2 tablespoons (30g) of cream to boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.

4. Whip the remainder of the cream until stiff.

5. Pour the melted chocolate over the softened gelatin, mixing well. Let the gelatin and chocolate cool slightly and then stir in ½ cup (100g) of WHIPPED cream to temper. Add the Pate a Bombe.

6. Add in the rest of the WHIPPED cream (220g) mixing gently with a spatula.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Mousse listed above:

White Chocolate Mousse- Substitute the same quantity of white chocolate for the dark chocolate in the mousse recipe listed above.

Milk Chocolate Whipped Cream (Chantilly)

Mango Mousse

Element #3 Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert

Preparation time: 10mnEquipment: pan, whisk. If you have plunging mixer (a vertical hand mixer used to make soups and other liquids), it comes in handy.

Note: Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar and then adding the cream. It may splatter and boil.

Ingredients:

1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar

4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp/ 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

5 oz (135g) dark chocolate, finely chopped

3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).

2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.

3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.

4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert listed above:

White Chocolate Ganache Insert.

Cinammon-Milk Ganache Insert .

Dark-Milk Ganache Insert.

1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar

4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp / 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

2.7 oz (75g) milk chocolate

3.2 oz (90g) dark chocolate

3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).

2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.

3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.

4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Element #4 Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert

Preparation time: 10 mn (+ optional 15mn if you make lace crepes)

Equipment: Small saucepan, baking sheet (if you make lace crepes). Double boiler (or one small saucepan in another), wax paper, rolling pin (or I use an empty bottle of olive oil).

Note: Feuillete means layered (as in with leaves) so a Praline Feuillete is a Praline version of a delicate crisp. There are non-praline variations below. The crunch in this crisp comes from an ingredient which is called gavottes in French. Gavottes are lace-thin crepes. To our knowledge they are not available outside of France, so you have the option of making your own using the recipe below or you can simply substitute rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K for them. Special note: If you use one of the substitutes for the gavottes, you should halve the quantity stated, as in use 1oz of any of these cereals instead of 2.1oz. If you want to make your own praline, please refer back to the Daring Baker Challenge Recipe from July 2008.

To make 2.1oz / 60g of gavottes (lace crepes - recipe by Ferich Mounia):

1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk

2/3 Tbsp (8g) unsalted butter

1/3 cup – 2tsp (35g) all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp / 0.5 oz (15g) beaten egg

1 tsp (3.5g) granulated sugar

½ tsp vegetable oil

1. Heat the milk and butter together until butter is completely melted. Remove from the heat.

2. Sift flour into milk-butter mixture while beating, add egg and granulated sugar. Make sure there are no lumps.

3. Grease a baking sheet and spread batter thinly over it.

4. Bake at 430°F (220°C) for a few minutes until the crepe is golden and crispy. Let cool.

Ingredients for the Praline Feuillete:

3.5 oz (100g) milk chocolate

1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) butter

2 Tbsp (1 oz / 30g) praline

2.1oz (60g) lace crepes(gavottes) or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.

2. Add the praline and the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.

3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Variations on the Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert listed above:

Chocolate Crisp Insert.

Coconut Crisp Insert.

Element #5 Vanilla Crème Brulée Insert:

Preparation time: 15mn + 1h infusing + 1h baking.

Equipment: Small saucepan, mixing bowl, baking mold, wax paper.

Note: The vanilla crème brulée can be flavored differently by simply replacing the vanilla with something else e.g. cardamom, lavender, etc...

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (115g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

½ cup (115g) whole milk

4 medium-sized (72g) egg yolks

0.75 oz (2 Tbsp / 25g) granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean

1. Heat the milk, cream, and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla infuse for about 1 hour.

2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).

3. Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.

4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C) for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.

Tartelette says: You can bake it without a water bath since it is going to go inside the log (the aesthetics of it won't matter as much since it will be covered with other things)....BUT I would recommend a water bath for the following reasons:- you will get a much nicer mouth feel when it is done- you will be able to control its baking point and desired consistency much better- it bakes for such a long time that I fear it will get overdone without a water bathNow...since it is baked in a pan and it is sometimes difficult to find another large pan to set it in for a water bath, even a small amount of water in your water bath will help the heat be distributed evenly in the baking process. Even as little as 1 inch will help.

5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.

Variations on the Vanilla Crème Brulée insert listed above:

Chocolate Creme Brulée Insert.

Element #6 Dark Chocolate Icing:

Preparation time: 25 minutes (10mn if you don’t count softening the gelatin)

Equipment: Small bowl, small saucepan.

Note: Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute. or other gelatin equivalencies or gelatin to agar-agar equivalencies, look at the notes for the mousse component.

Ingredients:

4g / ½ Tbsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin

¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)

2.1 oz (5 Tbsp / 60g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (50g) water

1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.

2. Boil the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 3 minutes after boiling.

3. Add gelatin to the chocolate mixture. Mix well.

4. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Icing listed above:

Milk Chocolate Icing

1.5 gelatin sheets or 3g / 1/2Tbsp powdered gelatin

4.2 oz (120g) milk chocolate

2 Tbsp (30g) butter

¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)

1 2/3 Tbsp (30g) glucose or thick corn syrup

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.

2. Coarsely chop the chocolate and butter together.

3. Bring the cream and glucose syrup to a boil.

4. Add the gelatin.

5. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until smooth.

6. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

White Chocolate Icing.

How To Assemble your French Yule Log

Depending on whether your mold is going to hold the assembly upside down until you unmold it or right side up, this order will be different.

THIS IS FOR UNMOLDING FROM UPSIDE DOWN TO RIGHT SIDE UP. You will want to tap your mold gently on the countertop after each time you pipe mousse in to get rid of any air bubbles.

1) Line your mold or pan, whatever its shape, with rhodoid (clear hard plastic, I usually use transparencies cut to the desired shape, it’s easier to find than cellulose acetate which is what rhodoid translates to in English) OR plastic film. Rhodoid will give you a smoother shape but you may have a hard time using it depending on the kind of mold you’re using.You have two choices for Step 2, you can either have Dacquoise on the top and bottom of your log as in version A or you can have Dacquoise simply on the bottom of your log as in version B:

2A) Cut the Dacquoise into a shape fitting your mold and set it in there. If you are using an actual Yule mold which is in the shape of a half-pipe, you want the Dacquoise to cover the entire half-pipe portion of the mold.

3A) Pipe one third of the Mousse component on the Dacquoise.

4A) Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.

5A) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.

6A) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.

7A) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.

8A) Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.

9A) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight eidge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.

10A) Close with the last strip of Dacquoise.Freeze until the next day.

OR

2B) Pipe one third of the Mousse component into the mold.

3B) Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.

4B) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.

5B) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.

6B) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.

7B) Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.

8B) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight edge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.

9B) Close with the Dacquoise.Freeze until the next day.

If you are doing the assembly UPSIDE DOWN with TWO pieces of Dacquoise the order is:

1) Dacquoise 2) Mousse 3) Creme Brulee Insert 4) Mousse 5) Praline/Crisp Insert 6) Mousse 7) Ganache Insert 8) Dacquoise.

If you are doing the assembly UPSIDE DOWN with ONE piece of Dacquoise on the BOTTOM ONLY the order is: 1) Mousse 2) Creme Brulee Insert 3) Mousse 4) Praline/Crisp Insert 5) Mousse 6) Ganache Insert 7) DacquoiseIf you are doing the assembly RIGHT SIDE UP in a springform pan the order is:1) Dacquoise 2) Ganache Insert 3) Mousse 4) Praline/Crisp Insert 5) Mousse 6) Creme Brulee Insert 7) Mousse (OPTIONAL) Dacquoise

THE NEXT DAY...

Unmold the cake/log/whatever and set on a wire rack over a shallow pan. Cover the cake with the icing. Let set. Return to the freezer. You may decorate your cake however you wish. The decorations can be set in the icing after it sets but before you return the cake to the freezer or you may attach them on top using extra ganache or leftover mousse, etc...Transfer to the refrigerator no longer than ½ hour before serving as it may start to melt quickly depending on the elements you chose.

Tips:

These are some of the steps that I found to be useful. I thought it would help someone else if I post it here.

(1) To soften the gelatin, I used about 5 tbsp water for 1/2 tbsp of gelatin.

(2) For praline component of the praline insert, I used 1/4 cup of almonds and 1/6 cup of sugar to prepare the praline and then ground it somewhat fine.

(3) For the crisp, I used the flakes of HuneyBunches of Oats, strawberry and crushed it somewhat fine with my hands.

(4) The almond cake was done in about 10 minutes.

(5) For the creme brulee, the vanilla bean was allowed to infuse the cream-milk mix for about an hour and a half.

Check out the French Yule log of all the other talented DB members on the DB blogroll.