(French Christmas log cake - Authentic Italian recipes)

French Xmas log cake made in Italy, filled with chestnuts cream, whipped cream and marrons glacès

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75 g (2 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
75 g (2 1/2 oz) sugar
4 eggs, separated
A pinch of vanilla powder
A pinch of salt
150 g (5 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
50 ml (2 fl oz - 1/4 C) white rhum
250 ml (8 fl oz - 1 C) whipping cream
400 g (14 oz) chestnuts cream
125 g (4 1/2 oz) marrons glacès, cut into pieces
250 g (8 1/2 oz) chocolate frosting
Candied fruit and other to garnish

Time:
preparation: 60 minutes plus cooling time
cooking: 20 minutes
Difficulty:
difficult recipe
Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: 459 (kCal) 23 % GDA - 1920 (kJ)
Protein: 5.5 (g) 10 % GDA
Total fat: 27.2 (g) 39 % GDA
Total carbohydrate: 48.7 (g) 18 % GDA
Sugars: 42.9 (g) 47 % GDA

Certainly this cake is fattening but once a year or in a special occasion ...

Lightly grease 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch jelly roll pan. Line bottom with waxed paper. Grease again. Use 25 g (1 oz) of butter for greasing. Set aside. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°C)
Prepare the dough. Weigh the flour and set aside. Put 25 g (1 oz) of butter in a little saucepan in a bain-marie. In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until thick and lemon-coloured, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla powder until blended.
Let the butter melt in the bain-marie.
Sprinkle flour over the beaten yolk mixture and stir accurately avoiding lumps of flour. Add melted butter too and stir with delicacy.
In another mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt at high speed until foamy.
Fold whipped whites into beaten yolk mixture in circular movements from the bottom upwards, using a wooden spoon.
Pour into prepared pan and level the surface up to 1-1,5 cm (0.4-0.6in) high with a spatula.
Bake for 8 minutes. The cake doesn't become dry.
Then let the cake cool for about 30 minutes.
Transfer the cake in a tray with its waxed paper; be sure the tray is OK for the fridge.
Brush the surface with rum, then spoon chestnuts cream on it. Whip the cream and spoon it on the chestnusts cream. Sprinkle marrons glacès pieces.
At this point roll up your cake starting from long edge. Keep the cake on its waxed paper.
Chill for almost 3 hours.
After the cooling time cut the rolled cake into two pieces of different length.
Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie together with the remaining butter. Stir very well. Spoon melted chocolate on the two pieces of cake but remember to set aside a little for final garnishings.
Wait 5 minutes and trasfer the two pieces of cake in a serving plate. Place them as you can see in the photo. Spoon the remaining chocolate and create tree-bark effects using a small spatula or, simplier, a fork.
Decorate with candied fruit and all your fancy suggests you.
Keep in the fridge until serving.

Note

- There are many versions of this cake. Some people fill it with jam, others with butter cream, others only with whipped cream.
- You can prepare this cake in the morning if you have to serve it at dinner, the day before if you have to serve it for lunch.
- You can sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar if you want a snowy effect but make this step as just as you've spread the chocolate for the best results
- The nutrition facts don't include decorations