YULE LOG CAKE 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour For cake: 4 eggs; room temperature 2/3 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup cake flour 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks); melted Powdered sugar for meringue mushrooms Filling and frosting: 3 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar; scant 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar 12 ounces semisweet chocolate; baking 1/3 cup black coffee; strong 1 tablespoon vanilla 1/2 cup butter; (1 stick) divided room temperature Unsweetened cocoa powder Powdered sugar Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To prepare pan: Spread a sheet of waxed paper on a 12 x 16 inch jellyroll pan, letting it hang over each short end by 2 inches. In small saucepan, lightly brown butter. Remove from heat; stir in flour. Use butter mixture to lightly paint waxed paper and long sides of pan. To prepare cake: With electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs while gradually adding granulated sugar. Add vanilla; beat at high speed for 5 minutes or until eggs have doubled in volume. Sift all-purpose flour and cake flour into egg mixture by thirds, folding in gently and alternating with melted butter. Immediately pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until top barely changes color and is light and springy to the touch. Do not over bake, or cake will be hard to roll. Remove cake from oven; reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees. Sprinkle cake lightly with powdered sugar. Cover cake with a sheet of waxed paper and a damp towel. Cover with a baking sheet; flip cake over to remove from pan. Let cool 10 minutes; gently peel off waxed paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cover with a clean sheet of waxed paper. Roll up loosely, starting from long end. Cover with a clean towel. Let cool completely before filling. To prepare filling: With electric mixer on moderate speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Place granulated sugar and 1/2 cup water in small pan over high heat. Swirl the pan by handle until sugar is dissolved; do not stir. Bring mixture to a boil; boil, without stirring, until mixture reaches soft-ball stage (238 degrees on candy thermometer). With mixer at moderately slow speed, pour sugar syrup in a thin stream into beaten egg whites. Beat at high speed for about 5 minutes, until mixture cools and high, stiff peaks form. Scoop about a fourth of the meringue into a pastry bag. Pipe mushroom-shaped caps and 1- to 1 1/2-inch-long stems onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 200 degrees about 1 hour, until meringues push easily from baking sheet. Meanwhile, melt chocolate; add to remaining meringue in mixer along with coffee, vanilla and 1/4 cup butter. Beat to combine. Set aside about two-thirds of this mixture. To make filling, beat remaining 1/4 cup butter into remaining meringue in mixer. Unroll cake. Gently spread with filling. Roll up, starting on one long side. Place cake on serving plate, seam side down. To make frosting, beat 2 tablespoons cocoa powder into reserved meringue. If mixture is too soft to spread, add a little more cocoa powder or refrigerate a short time. Frost cake. With a fork, score frosting to look like bark. If desired, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar to look like snow. Use a little of the frosting to attach mushroom caps to stems; dust lightly with cocoa powder. Arrange mushrooms over cake. Crowd Pleaser! Enjoy. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Access the Recipes And More list archives at:
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