Christmas Recipes - Chocolate Yule Log {Gluten Free & Dairy Free}

 

I've made a chocolate log to have as one of our puddings on Christmas Day every year since I was in 2nd or 3rd year at high school. We learned how to make one in home economics that year and then I made another for Christmas Day. After that it just became the tradition that I would make a chocolate log each Christmas. It wouldn't seem like Christmas dinner without one now!

 

This recipe isn't the one I used way back as a 14 year old (I'm not even going to try and work out how long ago that was!) but is the recipe we use to make one of Calum's favourite cakes - Jam Roly Poly - adapted to make it chocolatey. The step by step photos in this post were taken whilst making the jam version so just imagine that they are chocolate coloured!

 

If you want to make this with 'normal' ingredients it will work fine, just use plain flour rather than self raising. The reason I use self raising in my gluten free version is simply because I prefer the texture it gives over the gluten free plain flour. The plain flour gives a much drier texture, making this too hard to roll.

With wheat flour though you won't have to worry about this, and making it with self raising flour will make too fat a cake, again trickier to roll.

You will need:

4 eggs

4oz sugar

4oz Doves Farm Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

1oz cocoa powder

Some extra sugar for sprinkling

Dairy free chocolate buttercream for filling (or cream if you aren't dairy free)

~Using the whisk attachment on your free standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together well until they look really light and creamy.

~While this is mixing you can prepare your Swiss roll tray. Grease it lightly and line with baking parchment/grease proof paper.

~When your eggs and sugar are ready gently fold in the flour and vanilla. Try not to mix it too much or you will flatten the lovely air bubbles you have just beaten in.

~Bake at 200C for about 12-15 minutes only. It is important not to overbake. If you do the cake will be too dry and rolling it won't be so successful!

~The cake is ready when it is lightly golden.

~While the cake is baking, prepare a sheet of baking parchment/grease proof paper slightly larger than the baking tray. Sprinkle it all over with your extra sugar.

~When you take the cake out of the oven, carefully but quickly tip it upside down onto the prepared parchment and sugar. Peel off the baking parchment that was on your cake in the oven.

~Now cover with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to cool down.

~When your cake has cooled, spread your chosen filling all over the cake. Then, starting at one of the short sides, roll up the cake. You can use the baking parchment to help you push and roll.

Because gluten free cakes tend to be a bit more crumbly I don't try to spread any chocolate buttercream over the log like I used to when baking with wheat flour. If you are using wheat flour then do go ahead and cover the log in icing and finish off the decoration with fork markings to make it look like a proper piece of wood!

 

I think the little cracks in the cake make it look quite wood-like anyway, and we just finish our decor off with a good sprinkling of icing sugar snow. And, as you can see in the top photo, last year Calum (11) made a cute little Robin out of sugar paste as a final flourish!

 

 

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