Chocolate Chestnut Log

Chocolate Chestnut Log

The Yule Log is a real festive favourite of mine and something I remember absolutely loving as a kid. For a start who doesn't love a Swiss roll? Smother it in chocolate and stick a plastic robin on top and I'm as lucky as a turkey on Boxing Day. This is a particularly grown-up version, with the roll basically being a roulade (there's no flour used here) making it light and delicate, offsetting the richness of the three types of filling. The recipe is another from Delia's Happy Christmas and I wish, like her, I'd stopped once it was all rolled – the roulade cracks naturally giving the log a wonderful bark-like effect. Dust this with icing sugar and it would have been perfect. But no, I had to smear it with even more chocolate and do the "bark" effect with a fork. It looked great, but added little (apart from said chocolate – not necessarily a bad thing, but maybe a touch overkill). One other thing. Before making this please check that your electric hand whisker is working as there is a lot of whisking involved. I didn't, and it wasn't. I now have a right arm like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:
For the roulade:
6 eggs, separated
150g golden caster sugar
50g cocoa powder, sifted

For the filling:
110g 70% dark chocolate
50ml warm water
1 egg, separated
10g golden caster sugar
150ml double cream
1 x 250g tin crème de marrons (sweetened chestnut purée)
a little icing sugar

For the topping:
100g icing sugar
200ml double cream
150g 70% dark chocolate

Method:
1. Begin by making the first of the fillings, the chocolate mousse. Place the chocolate and warm water in a bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water. This will take about 10 minutes. When glossy, remove from the heat and stir vigorously until smooth. Allow to cool slightly then beat in the egg yolk with a wooden spoon.
2. In a clean bowl whisk the egg white to soft peak, then whisk in the sugar until glossy. Stir 1 tbsp of the egg white into the chocolate to loosen, then carefully fold in the rest. Cover with clingfilm, then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk until the start to thicken. Add the caster sugar and whisk again until the mixture thickens further, then add the cocoa powder and whisk again.
4. In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then carefully cut and fold the whites into the chocolate mixture about a third at a time. Pour into a lightly greased 30x20cm cake tin lined with greased baking paper and cook in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes until springy and puffy.
5. Leave the cake to cool in the tin (it will shrink a bit), then when cold turn it out onto a piece of baking paper that has been dusted with icing sugar. Peel off the paper that is now facing the upwards, then gently spread the chilled chocolate mousse all over the cake.
6. Empty the chestnut purée into a bowl, add a tbsp of double cream and mix before spreading over the chocolate mousse.
7. Lastly, whip the remaining cream until smooth and firm and spread that over.
8. With the shortest end nearest to you, carefully roll the cake away from you, using the baking paper to help. Make sure the cake is sitting on the join, then wrap in baking paper and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Serve dusted with icing sugar.
9. For that extra topping, while cake is cooling heat double cream in a pan until just boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Chill for 1 hour. When ready, cut a "branch" off the cake at an angle and join on one of the sides with a little of the topping. Spread the rest of the topping all over the cake and use a fork to give you that bark effect.