Yule Log Candy Recipes

Steps:

• Make the ganache: Place the gianduja in a medium heatproof bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine cream and sugar over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Strain the cream mixture through a fine sieve over the gianduja. Add butter, and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a cool place (not the refrigerator) until firm, about 8 hours.
• Dust the work surface, rolling pin, and marzipan lightly with confectioners' sugar to keep it from sticking. Roll marzipan into a 6-by-21-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch-thick. Trim edges, and cut into three 6-by-7-inch rectangles.
• Remove excess sugar from marzipan with a pastry brush. Spread each marzipan rectangle with 4 tablespoons of the ganache. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the chopped pistachios. Roll tightly into a log enclosing pistachios. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze for 1 hour.
• Melt remaining ganache in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Dip the marzipan logs in the ganache, turning to coat. Using a paring knife, trim the ends of each roll, cutting on the bias; reserve ends. Use the tines of a fork to create wood-grain design on each log.
• Place ends, cut-side up, on the logs, forming branches. Decorate with marzipan holly leaves and berries. Will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days. Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Whip powdered sugar, butter, cocoa powder, salt, and coffee liqueur together in the bowl of a stand mixer on high speed. Transfer buttercream into a separate bowl and add mascarpone cheese. Mix until combined; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush a little melted butter over a 13x18-inch rimmed sheet pan. Line pan with parchment paper and brush remaining melted butter on top.
• Combine cocoa powder, salt, and flour together in a bowl; whisk or sift to break up clumps.
• Place eggs in the clean bowl of your stand mixer. Add sugar and whip until fluffy, thick, and very light in color. Add 1/2 of the cocoa powder mixture and vanilla extract; mix on low speed for a few seconds. Beat in remaining cocoa mixture on low for a few seconds. Switch to high speed; stop once mixture is moistened but not fully blended. Pull off the whisk attachment and whisk batter with it until evenly blended.
• Pour batter onto the prepared sheet pan and spread out with a spatula, leaving some room around the edges. Tap pan on the counter to knock out the large bubbles.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is dry and edges start to pull away from the sides, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Dust a clean kitchen towel with enough powdered sugar to cover an area slightly larger than the sponge cake. Remove cake from the oven. Run a knife around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top. Run a spatula under the parchment paper to make sure it's not stuck to the pan.
• Quickly flip pan on top of the sugared area to invert the cake. Remove parchment paper and dust cake with more powdered sugar. Gently roll cake up inside the towel; allow to cool for 15 minutes.
• Unroll cake and dollop buttercream on top, reserving some for later. Spread frosting to the edges. Roll cake up over the frosting, using the towel to lift it if needed. Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top. Wrap log in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• Combine chocolate chips and hot cream in a bowl. Let sit for 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate melts.
• Make an angled cut 3 inches from one end of the log. Place log on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Apply some buttercream to the angled slice and attach it to one side. Spread a layer of ganache all over the cake, except for the swirls. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up ganache.
• Carve lines into the ganache using the tip of a knife to create the appearance of tree bark. Refrigerate until completely chilled before serving. Dust with cocoa powder and powdered sugar.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Line with waxed paper. Grease paper.
• Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
• Beat together sugar and egg yolks at high speed until light and fluffy. At low speed, alternately beat milk and flour mixture into egg mixture.
• Using clean beaters, beat egg whites at high speed until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Fold one third of beaten whites into batter. Fold in remaining whites. Spread batter in prepared pan; smooth top.
• Bake cake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until set, 12 minutes.
• Dust a clean cloth with confectioners' sugar. Turn cake out onto prepared cloth. Remove waxed paper. Trim cake edges. Starting with a long side, roll up cake, jelly-roll style. Transfer, seam-side down, to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.
• Unroll cake; remove cloth. Spread whipped cream over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Re-roll cake. Place, seam-side down, on serving plate.
• To prepare frosting, in a small saucepan, bring heavy cream, melted chocolate, and butter to a boil over medium heat, stirring vigorously until blended. Remove from heat. Let stand until set. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake.
• To prepare garnish, dust work surface with confectioners' sugar. Knead food coloring into marzipan until blended. Using a rolling pin dusted with confectioners' sugar, roll marzipan to a 1/8-inch thickness. Using a small knife, cut out leaves. Arrange leaves, cinnamon candies, and snowmen on top of cake and around plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Enjoy!

Steps:

• Lay cake on a clean work surface. Mix the whipped topping and vanilla extract together until combined. Spread white frosting over the top of the cake to coat completely. Roll up the cake, jelly-roll style, and then cover the outside of the cake with the frosting. Drag a fork along the length of the cake to form a bark design. Dust with cocoa powder and refrigerate.
• For the forest mushrooms, insert 1 toothpick through each marshmallow and then into the flat side of the chocolate kiss to form "mushroom." Group chocolate mushrooms along cake by inserting toothpicks into surface of cake, at intervals to resemble growths of forest mushrooms. Dust chocolate kiss candies with confectioners' sugar. Slice and serve.

Steps:

• For Kahlua simple syrup:
• Add the granulated sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and add the liqueur.
• Stir to combine and allow syrup to cool completely.
• For Biscuit Roulade:
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a 15 by 10 by 1-inch jelly roll pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter and flour the paper.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and cocoa in a small mixing bowl, set aside.
• Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and lemon colored, about 5 minutes. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the sugar, beating on high speed until the sugar is dissolved. Thoroughly wash and dry the beaters. Beat egg whites in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, beating on medium speed until stiff peaks form.
• Carefully fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites, using a rubber spatula. Once all of the egg yolk mixture has been incorporated, sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold in gently, just to combine.
• Spread the batter evenly into the prepared jelly roll pan. Bake until the cake springs back when lightly touched near the center, about 12 to 15 minutes.
• Lay out a clean, thin cotton kitchen towel on a work surface; dust the top with confectioners' sugar and set aside.
• Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, loosen the edges of the cake from the pan using a knife.
• Turn cake out onto the sugared kitchen towel, parchment paper side up. Carefully pull off the parchment paper.
• Fold towel over the longest side of the cake and roll up the cake with the towel inside.
• Cool on a rack with the seam side down.
• For Coffee Buttercream:
• Bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Remove from heat and add the coffee grinds; allow to steep for 5 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter into a small bowl and set the coffee concentrate aside.
• Mix the remaining 1/2 cup of water and sugar in a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan and heat to 240 degrees F, soft-ball stage, 18 to 20 minutes. Keep the edge of the saucepan clean by brushing it with a pastry brush moistened with water, as needed.
• Once the temperature reaches 240 degrees F, remove the candy thermometer and remove the saucepan from the heat.
• Beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Gradually pour the hot mixture, in a thin stream, over the whites while continuing to beat for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed and continue to beat until a meringue forms.
• Add the butter all at once, and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Increase speed to high and continue beating until smooth and shiny, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and coffee concentrate and mix for 1 minute until combined. Set aside.
• For Chocolate Ganache:
• Put the chocolate, butter, and honey in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Heat the whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to boil, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the cream into the chocolate mixture. Whisk until smooth.
• Set aside and allow the ganache to come to room temperature.
• To Assemble:
• Unroll the cake and remove the towel. Using a pastry brush, "baste" the cake with the coffee-based liqueur simple syrup.
• Evenly spread the coffee buttercream over cake to within 1-inch of the edges. Reroll the cake to form the "log." Arrange, seam side down, on a serving platter.
• Spread the chocolate ganache over the top and sides of the cake. Score the ganache with the tines of a fork to resemble the bark on a log. Decorate as desired and refrigerate for 1 hour to let the ganache set.

Steps:

• Place egg whites in large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan with waxed paper; grease the paper and set aside. , Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup sugar. Sift flour, baking cocoa, baking powder and salt together twice; gradually add to yolk mixture and mix well (batter will be very thick). , With clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold into batter. Spread evenly into prepared pan. , Bake until cake springs back when lightly touched, 10-12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with cocoa powder. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in towel, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; cool completely on a wire rack., Meanwhile, for the filling, beat cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and almond extract, beating until stiff peaks form. Unroll cake; spread filling to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up again. , In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in chocolate, milk and vanilla until smooth. Frost the cake, using a metal spatula to create a bark-like effect.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a 15 X 10" jelly roll pan. Line with a sheet of waxed paper. Grease paper as well.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
• In separte bowl, beat together sugar and egg yolks. Alternate adding the milk and the flour mixture into the egg and sugar mix.
• In another separtate bowl, using clean mixer blades, beat egg whites until stiff but not dried out. Fold one third of the egg whites into the other mixture. Then carefully fold in remaining egg whites.
• Spread batter into pan, smooth out the top.
• Bake for 12 minutes, or until set.
• While waiting for cake to cook, prepare whipping cream. Beat whipping cream with 1 tablespoon sugar until thick. Set aside in the fridge.
• When cake is done, remove from oven. Dust a clean tea towel with icing sugar. Turn cake out onto this. Remove waxed paper. Cut edges of cake to make a nice even looking rectangle. Starting with the short side, roll the cake up jelly-roll style. Transfer seam side down to a rack for cooling. (30 minutes).
• While cake is cooling, prepare icing:.
• In a small pot, bring cream, melted chocolate and butter to a low boil over medium low heat. Stir vigorously until blended. Remove from heat and let stand.
• On a flat surface dusted with remaining icing sugar, knead food colouring into each piece of marzipan, (as many colours as you'd like)until well blended.
• Unroll the now cooled cake and spread the whipped cream over it to with 1 inch of all sides. Re-roll cake. Place seam side down on serving dish.
• Spread icing over top and sides and ends of cake.
• Roll out marzipam with a rolling pin and cut into various shapes with cookie cutters or a knife. Arrange on cake. Sift a small amount of icing sugar on completed cake to make it looked like a light dusting of snow.

Steps:

• We purchased Little Debbie Swiss Roll cakes-make as many as you like. I think 6-8 come in a package.
• Mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the tub of Cool Whip. Cover each swiss roll cake with the Cool Whip mixture. Using a fork, lightly pull the tongs across the whipped topping to resemble the bark design of a log. Dust with cocoa powder or sprinkle with the chocolate sprinkles.
• For the forest mushrooms, insert 1 toothpick through each marshmallow and then into the flat side of the chocolate kiss to form "mushroom." Dust chocolate kiss candies with confectioners' sugar.
• We added a Teddy Graham and small candy trees to each log for Christmas but you could add any decoration for whatever the occasion.