Chocolate and candied chestnut yule log cake

1. Prepare the sponge cake. Preheat oven to 180 °C (th. 6).

2. Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Whisk together egg yolks with sugar until the mixture becomes significantly lighter in colour.

3. Whip egg whites with a pinch of salt. Incorporate half of the flour with half of the egg whites. Then, mix gently to the egg yolks and sugar mixture. Add the rest gradually.

4. Spread butter on a parchment paper sheet, and place it in a baking dish. Roll out the batter with a spatula. Bake for 15 minutes. The sponge cake should have a light golden colour; otherwise it will break during the rolling.

5. Remove the sponge cake from the oven and turn it out onto a damp cloth. Grease  with oil a parchment paper sheet. Place it on the cake and carefully roll up the cake into a thick log. Let it cool.

6. Prepare the ganache : chop the chocolate in a bowl.

7. Whip 20 cl of cream into a chantilly. Heat the rest and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth. Incorporate gently the chantilly.

8. Make the syrup: pour all ingredients in 5 cl of water and bring to a boil.

9.  Unroll the cake and soak it slightly with the syrup. Spread with a spatula three quarters of the ganache over the cake. Sprinkle some candied chestnuts. Roll up the cake again, not to tight. Carefully spread the ganache over the whole cake. Pass the cocoa powder through a tea strainer and sprinkle the bûche. Refrigerate for an hour.

10. Decorate with a chocolate leaf and whole candied chestnuts.

Photo credit: Marielle