Easy Chocolate & Coffee Bûche de Noël

Before starting this Chocolate & Coffee Yule Log recipe, organise the necessary ingredients for the chocolate roulade.
Do not trust the quantity of eggs shown in the photo, as proportions were modified to make several logs in one batch.

Crack the whole eggs into the stand mixer recipient.

Add 135 grams of castor sugar.

Beat until pale and fluffy. Beat for about 5 minutes at high speed. Set aside.

Pour the egg whites in a separate recipient...

... then beat the egg whites until firm.

Add the remaining castor sugar (15 grams) and beat again until stiff peaks form.

Stop the mixer and remove the bowl.

Sift the flour, cornflour and cocoa powder in one batch over the blanched eggs...

... using a fine sieve.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula, working in a vertical, rotating motion to get rid of any lumps.

Add the meringue prepared earlier...

... and fold gently, working in a rotating motion so the preparation does not to collapse.

Pour the preparation into a Flexipan Entremets baking mat (33.5 x 33.5cm). This silicone mat doesn't need to be greased.

Using a cranked metallic spatula, spread the preparation to a regular thickness.

The quantities mentioned in this recipe are perfect for a square mat.

Place in a fan-assisted oven, preheated at 180°C (gas 4)...

... and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. To check whether the biscuit is cooked, touch the surface with your finger: the biscuit shouldn't stick.

Remove the biscuit from the oven. Set aside to cool.

For the coffee Chantilly cream: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Pour the whipping cream in the food mixer bowl. The whipping cream should be really cold, straight out of the fridge.

In a bowl, tip the icing sugar and whipped cream stabilizer...

... and combine with a whisk.

Pour this powder mix over the whipping cream.

Beat until homogeneous.
Important: the stabilizer and icing sugar should be combined together beforehand to avoid any lumps.

Add a few drops of liquid vanilla extract.

In a bowl, pour 2 tablespoons of Trablit coffee extract and 2 tablespoons of rum. Combine well.

When the whipped cream is ready, add the coffee and rum...

... and combine...

... until the consistency is smooth and homogeneous.

When the biscuit is cold, release from the mould on a sheet of greaseproof paper. The biscuit should easily come off the silicone mat. Make sure you do not release the biscuit from the mould while it is still hot or warm. If needed, place in the fridge briefly.

The biscuit square should be really soft, with a thickness of about 1cm.

For the syrup: In a bowl, pour 15cl of cane sugar syrup and flavour with some Trablit coffee extract and dark rum. The amount of coffee extract varies according to the flavour intensity you wish to obtain.

Using a pastry brush, steep the biscuit with coffee syrup.

Spread the coffee cream over the biscuit...

... with a cranked spatula, to a thickness of 3 to 4 mm.

Roll the biscuit gently, starting on one side. The roll should be tight to make sure there aren't any air bubbles inside.

The final result should look like this.

Stretch a sheet of cling film on your worktop surface. If needed, use several sheets of cling film to obtain a strip that is wide enough.

Place the log in the centre...

... and wrap it tightly with cling film.

Tuck both sides of cling film under the roll. Reserve in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Up to this stage, this recipe can be prepared the day before, and stored in the fridge overnight.

For the finish: Cut both ends of the log at a slanted angle.

Transfer the log onto a serving plate.

Sprinkle Codineige decorating sugar over the surface of the log, so it looks like a real wood log covered in snow!
Enjoy this easy dessert recipe and have a sweet Christmas!