Lumberjack's Yule Log

I made a Yule Log for Christmas. Easier than I thought. Plus if you can't find any last minute, give this a go.

Makes 1 Festive Yule Log

Log Recipe

6 Egg Whites
55 Caster Sugar

6 Egg Yolks
100g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
50g Cocoa Powder, shifted

Icing/Filling

200g Good Quality Dark Chocolate, in pieces
275g Icing Sugar, plus extra for dusting (optional)
250g Butter, cubed at room temperature, cubed


1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted. Grease a Swiss roll tray or baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites until begin to turn white and begin to stiffen. Then gradually add the 55g caster sugar and continue to whisk. It should be a thick white consistency which leaves peaks.

3. In a second bowl, whisk the 6 egg yolks and 100g caster sugar. Should give you a pale colour and be of a thick consistency. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla bean paste. Should be a really thick consistency.

4. Incorporate the cocoa egg yolk to the the egg whites and fold in until you have used up the egg yolk cocoa. Until you get a smooth brown mixture. Pour onto tray and spread evenly. Put in the oven for 20 minutes.

5. To make the filling/icing. Melt the chocolate in a Bain Marie or microwave until completely melted. Allow to cool slightly. Mix the icing sugar in food processor and then add the butter until combined. Then add the cooled dark chocolate and mix.

6. After the sponge has baked, leave to cool slightly then flip onto another sheet of greaseproof paper. Trim the edges. Then spread about a third of the icing on the cake. Lengthways, roll the cake towards you. Use the greaseproof to help roll. Make sure its tightly rolled otherwise it flop out. Transfer to a plate, board etc to ice.

7. You can cut the ends of the cake in an angle and add these pieces to the side of the log to make it look more of authentic log. Cover with leftover chocolate icing. Spread using a spatula or palette knife. Allow to cool. Then sprinkle with icing sugar to give it a snow effect.

Strawberry, White Chocolate & Vanilla Cake

So it was my sister's birthday and she loves strawberries. She wanted a healthy strawberry cake. I delivered on one of these. 


Makes 1 Cake

175g Golden Caster Sugar

175g Butter, cubed at room temperature
3 Eggs
225g Self Raising Flour
1½ tsp Baking Powder
50g White Chocolate
125g Strawberries, pureed

Filling/Topping/Decorations
1 Punnet of Strawberries, topped and cut in half
3/4 tbsp Strawberry Jam
2 Boxes of White Chocolate Fingers
250g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature and cubed
500g Icing Sugar, sifted
1tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
Red Food Colouring

1. Line an 8 inch cake tin with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs gradually. It should resemble scrambled eggs.

3. Then shift self raising flour and baking powder in the bowl and stir. Microwave the white chocolate so it's melted. Leave to cool slightly then add the white chocolate and strawberries.

4. Pour into the greased cake tin and put in the oven for 50-55 minutes. Check with a skewer through the centre to see if it's done (skewer should come out clear if its done). Allow to cool on wire rack.

5. While the cake is cooling make the vanilla buttercream icing. Mix the butter and icing sugar together until smooth and then add the vanilla and give another mix. Add the red food colouring (see below for colour grading).

Colour of Buttercream Icing: If you are looking for a more red colour you will need more food colouring. For a pinker colour use less red food colouring. Add a tsp at a time and mix to see if its the colour you want and add more if needed.

6. Cut the cake in half horizontally, so you have 2 pieces. To assemble the cake take the bottom half and smoother the top of the cake with some of the buttercream. Then add strawberry jam. Then layer with the other piece of cake. Then cover the whole cake with buttercream icing. Use a spatula to get the side and get an even cover.

7. To decorate add the chocolate fingers around the side of the cake. Then dab the cut side of the strawberry with kitchen roll to remove excess juice then place on top of the take. Put in a container. Place in the fridge for when its needed. Keeps the strawberries fresh and sets the icing a bit.

Serve a piece of fabulous cake.

Reviews;

'It's so moist'

'Going in for another piece'

'That's food porn'

Rosewater and Almond Biscuits

Never baked with Rosewater before. It turned out perfectly. One person described them as Turkish Delight in biscuit form.

Makes 26 - 30 Biscuits

1 Large Egg

150g Unsalted Butter, cubed at room temperature
150g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Rosewater

½ tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

50g Ground Almonds

300g Plain Flour, sifted

Couple of Handfuls of Flaked Almonds

1. In a food processor beat the sugar and butter till combined. Add the egg and mix. This will give you a liquid mixture. 

2. Add the rosewater and vanilla paste to the processor. When combined add the ground almonds and plain flour. Mix till all combined. If too wet add more flour and if too dry add some milk

3. Take the dough and wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for an hour. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted. Put a piece of greaseproof paper on 1/2 baking trays.

4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface. They should be just under ½ cm deep. I used a 5-6cm flowered cutter but you can make them as big or as small as you want. 

5. Press a few flaked almonds into the pastry and bake for 10 minutes. They should be golden brown. Leave to cool for 10 - 20 mins.