Savoury Christmas Yule Log with Banka Trout

Extra-moist parmesan, fresh herb, and lemon sponge: To make this savoury Christmas yule log with Banka trout, start by preparing all the sponge ingredients.

Grate the zest of half a yellow lemon over a mixing bowl using a Classic Microplane zester-grater...

...to obtain a very fine zest.

Add the liquid cream...

...as well as the melted and cooled or barely lukewarm butter...

...and whisk all these elements together. Set aside.

Pour the whole eggs into the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment...

...and beat them for 7 to 10 minutes to obtain a very light preparation that will gain a lot of volume and become very frothy, pale, and voluminous...

...as shown in the photo. The mixture should reach a ribbon consistency.

Sift the flour and cornstarch through a sieve over a container.

Add the powdered parmesan, which will not be sifted...

...and whisk these dry ingredients together.

Season with fine salt and ground white pepper.

Finely chop the chives using a knife.

Do the same with the dill.

Add the dry ingredients to the eggs...

...and fold in gently with a spatula.

Take two scoops of mixture and add it to the butter, cream, and lemon mixture. Incorporate quickly with the spatula.

Pour everything back into the initial egg mixture.

Add the finely chopped herbs...

...and mix gently...

...until smooth and homogeneous. Be careful not to overmix so the preparation does not deflate.

Place a baking mat on a baking sheet, and grease it using an oil spray (or with oil or melted butter applied with a brush).

Spread the oil with a paper towel to remove the excess.

Pour the extra-moist parmesan, fresh herb, and lemon sponge batter onto the greased silicone mat...

...and spread it with a large cranked metallic spatula...

...over the entire surface of the sheet.

Bake in a preheated fan-assisted oven at 180°C for 8 to 10 minutes depending on your oven.

After baking, remove the sheet from the oven.

The sponge should be lightly golden.

Cover the sponge with a sheet of greaseproof paper...

...and flip the whole thing over onto the work surface.

Peel off the silicone mat while the sponge is still warm. The mat should peel away easily.

Cover the sponge with a damp cloth (well wrung out) and leave to cool at room temperature.

Lemon confit: Prepare all the ingredients.

Wash the lemons and cut them into quarters.

Remove all the seeds before placing them in a saucepan.

Cover the lemon quarters with cold water up to the same level, or even 1 cm above...

...and bring to a boil. Maintain a boil for 1 minute.

Then drain the lemon quarters in the sieve and put them back into the saucepan.

Cover the lemons with cold water again up to the same level, or 1 cm above...

...and bring to a boil. Maintain the boil for 1 minute.

Drain the lemon quarters in the sieve...

...and put them back into the saucepan.

Cover the lemons once more with cold water up to the same level, or 1 cm above, and bring to a boil again. Maintain this boil for 1 minute.

Drain the lemon quarters in the sieve.

Place the blanched lemons into a saucepan. It is important to blanch them 3 times to reduce bitterness. This preserves the aroma of the rind while controlling the bitterness.

Add the caster sugar and water.

Cut the lemon quarters into small pieces using a pair of scissors. Alternatively, you can chop them on a board with a knife.

Compote the lemon pieces over very low heat for 30 to 40 minutes until the rinds are completely tender.

After 40 minutes, the lemon compote is cooked.

Place the lemons along with the Maldon salt flakes into the bowl of a food processor and blend very finely...

...until you get a fine marmalade.

Transfer this yellow lemon confit into a piping bag. Using a nozzle is not necessary here.

Tie a knot to close the pastry bag and set aside.

Smoked trout crémeux: Prepare all the ingredients. Mix the powdered gelatine with the hydration water (tap water or mineral water), and leave to hydrate for 15 minutes.

Place the pieces of Banka trout in the food processor bowl.

Add the cream cheese (Philadelphia style) and mascarpone.

Blend everything finely.

While blending, scrape the container with a spatula to bring the mixture back to the centre of the bowl and blend again...

...until a smooth and homogeneous mixture is obtained.

Pour the cold liquid cream into a mixing bowl...

...and whip it using the mixer.

We need to obtain a soft whipped cream. Set aside.

Transfer the trout preparation into a container.

Add the zest of half a lemon harvested with the zester-grater.

Season with freshly ground white pepper and fine salt if necessary. Be sure to taste and adjust seasoning.

Add the lemon juice.

Take the horseradish root, peel it with a knife...

...and grate it using the Microplane zester-grater. This addition of horseradish is optional. It is available as a fresh root, paste, or powder. The fresh root provides the most flavour, but use sparingly.

Mix thoroughly with a spatula.

Add very finely chopped dill.

Dice the salted preserved lemon with a knife.

We need to obtain a brunoise of preserved lemon to avoid having pieces that are too large when eating.

Add this preserved lemon brunoise to the trout preparation and mix gently.

Take the hydrated gelatine and melt it in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.

Add the melted gelatine to the trout preparation...

...and mix quickly to incorporate the gelatine into the mass.

Add the soft whipped cream...

...and mix gently with a spatula.

Finally, add the trout roe...

...and mix again until homogeneous.

Transfer this crémeux into a piping bag (without a nozzle).

Guarnish: Take the Silikomart silicone log mould and line it with a sheet of cling film.

Line the bottom of the mould with this sheet of cling film, avoiding air bubbles.

The film must be pressed tightly against the silicone. Smooth out the corners and angles to prevent air bubbles from forming.

Take the piece of smoked Banka trout and cut it into thin slices using a salmon knife...

...as shown in the photo. Proceed with the entire piece of trout, cutting slices as thin as possible to have enough.

Apply these trout slices to the bottom of the mould, directly in contact with the cling film...

...lining the slices next to each other and overlapping them slightly without leaving any empty spaces.

This is what the result should look like.

Smoked trout insert: With the remaining smoked trout fillet, cut an insert about 1.5 to 2cm square, with an elongated cubic shape...

...as shown in the photo. You need to obtain enough insert material to span the entire 25cm length of the log mould.

Assembly: Pipe the smoked trout crémeux into the bottom of the log mould, directly in contact with the trout slices lining the mould. Pipe 3 or 4 laces of preparation.

Spread this crémeux over the trout slices using a spatula, bringing the preparation up the sides...

...so that the entire interior of the log is coated.

Take the extra-moist parmesan, herb, and lemon sponge and start by trimming one side with a knife and a ruler.

Trim the other side as well to obtain a right angle with two clean edges.

Cut the sponge to 25 cm (or 24.5 cm) in length to fit the dimensions of the log mould.

Carefully pick up the sponge and place it into the mould, directly in contact with the crémeux to avoid air bubbles inside the log.

Cut off the left part of the sponge protruding from the mould using a knife.

Adjust the sponge again if necessary.

Pipe 3 or 4 laces of smoked trout crémeux into the mould, on top of the sponge...

...and bury confit lemon cubes into the crémeux.

Add a little more crémeux.

Place the smoked trout inserts into the crémeux, aligning them one after another until forming an insert that runs the entire length of the mould. Gently press this insert down with your fingertips so it is buried in the preparation.

Add crémeux on the sides, as shown in the photo...

...and cover the entire insert by spreading the preparation with a mini offset spatula.

Arrange confit lemon cubes into the crémeux again.

Then place a strip of sponge cut to the proper dimensions (about 25 x 7cm) to form the base of the yule log.

Cover directly with a sheet of cling film...

...and place in the fridge to firm up for at least 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

Finish: Remove the log mould from the fridge and remove the cling film.

Flip everything over onto a cutting board and gently remove the silicone mould, which will detach easily since it is lined with cling film.

Release the trout yule log entirely...

...and remove the cling film.

If necessary, tidy up the edges of the log with the mini offset spatula.

This is what the trout yule log should look like once unmoulded.

Prepare all elements for the finish.

Trim the ends of the log with the salmon knife so the insert is visible.

Gently lift the yule log using the large cranked metallic spatula and transfer on a serving platter.

Decorate the surface by forming a central line with sprouted seeds or fresh aromatic herbs.

Add a few pink peppercorns, placing them delicately using plating tweezers for greater precision.

Our savoury Christmas yule log with Banka trout is now done. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
Bon appétit!