Snowy Christmas Log

Name: Snowy Christmas Log
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: Eggs about 4 medium; Sugar ½ cup; Type 00 flour 0.67 cup; Vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon; Fresh liquid cream 1 ½ cup; Greek yogurt 0.8 cup; Powdered sugar ½ cup; Gelatin in sheets 0.2 oz; Lemon peel 1; Fresh liquid cream (plus a few grams that will be used to dilute the cream at the end) 1 ½ tbsp; Shredded coconut ½ cup; Currants a few sprigs; Rosemary a few sprigs

Difficulty: Difficult
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 15 min
Serving: 8 persone
Cost: High

PRESENTATION

Crosby in his famous White Christmas dreamed of a white Christmas and, let's admit it, it's the dream of many to wake up in the morning and find their city under a blanket of white snow. This sweet sensation, mixed with a touch of romance and nostalgia, is surely in everyone's imagination. Isn't it? Probably the last touch missing is the classic lit fireplace! Now that you have this beautiful scenario in mind, you're ready to take a step forward and materialize the snowy Christmas log. Today's recipe is indeed the white version of the classic Bûche de Noël, for all the incurable romantics and nostalgics who desire that magic we talked about. To be honest, we had already proposed it in a savory version with the vegetarian log and in the Christmas version with the red velvet log, but this time we just had to indulge in a sweet treat for the Christmas lunch. The star of our snowy Christmas log is the wonderful combination of coconut and lemon, creating true poetry in your mouth, allowing the sweet and sour to dance harmoniously on your taste buds. A simple biscuit dough, a yogurt cream with cream and finally a characteristic decoration: the snowy Christmas log is ready for the wow effect. A dessert that will surely surprise everyone this year if you present it as a centerpiece to win over the family. Don't forget to listen to the right songs while enjoying this delicacy!

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for the sponge cake: Eggs - about 4 medium; Sugar ½ cup (115 g); Type 00 flour 0.67 cup (80 g); Vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon

For the cream: Fresh liquid cream 1 ½ cup (375 g); Greek yogurt 0.8 cup (185 g); Powdered sugar ½ cup (70 g); Gelatin in sheets 0.2 oz (5 g); Lemon peel 1

For decoration: Fresh liquid cream 1 ½ tbsp (20 g) - (plus a few grams that will be used to dilute the cream at the end); Shredded coconut ½ cup (40 g); Currants - a few sprigs; Rosemary - a few sprigs

Preparation

How to prepare Snowy Christmas Log

To prepare the snowy Christmas log, start with the biscuit dough. In a stand mixer, pour in the room-temperature eggs, the vanilla essence, and start beating at medium speed. After a few moments, add the sugar in several additions 1. Let it swell for 10-15 minutes. As soon as the mixture writes 2, turn off the mixer and sift the flour 3.

Mix with a spatula from bottom to top to incorporate without deflating 4. Then pour the batter onto a 12x15 inch sheet pan already greased and lined with parchment paper 5. Level carefully and proceed to baking 6:

The biscuit dough bakes in a preheated oven at 428°F for about 8-9 minutes 7. When ready, flip it onto a sheet of parchment paper and let it cool 8, then simply detach the sheet very gently 9.

In the meantime, take care of the cream. Leave the yogurt out of the fridge for about ten minutes. Soak the gelatin in cold water 10. Meanwhile, heat 0.1 cup of cream in a saucepan, making sure it doesn't start boiling. When it's at temperature, drain the gelatin and mix immediately to dissolve it 11. Pour the obtained mixture into the bowl with yogurt 12.

Mix thoroughly 13. Move on to the cream, pour it into a wide bowl, add the powdered sugar 14, and whip with the beaters: start at low speed and gradually increase as it swells. Obtain a whipped but not overly stiff mixture 15.

Grate the lemon zest 16 and incorporate it into the yogurt mixture 17 very gently, with movements from bottom to top 18.

Trim the biscuit dough by cutting the edges and pour ¾ of the cream 19, being careful to leave a centimeter uncovered at the edges 20. Begin rolling up using the parchment paper 21.

Seal well and place in the refrigerator to set for at least a couple of hours along with the bowl of leftover cream 22. After the time has passed, remove the parchment paper and cut two pieces diagonally, one a bit longer than the other 23. Place the central part of the log on the serving plate and the two ends in a staggered manner, thus realistically representing a log 24.

Retrieve the cream, dilute it with just a little cream, just enough to soften it slightly 25, and glaze the log 26, being careful not to cover the part that looks like the inside of the log 27.

Sprinkle the surface with shredded coconut 28 and refrigerate for another half hour. Finally, garnish with currant berries and a few rosemary needles 29. Here is your snowy Christmas log ready: greetings 30!

Storage

You can store the snowy Christmas log for 2-3 days, always keeping it in the refrigerator.
If you prefer, you can also freeze it, better if already sliced.

Advice

Let's pretend your log comes from a tree whose wood is dark, like walnut. Then the snowy Christmas log must be cocoa-flavored. Follow the recipe for cocoa biscuit dough to get a perfect log!
If you want warmer notes instead, replace the lemon with orange and cinnamon.

TIPS AND CURIOSITIES

The biscuit dough can hide some small pitfalls, remember some precious tips:

How do you whip the eggs?
The eggs should always be whipped at room temperature

How long does it take to whip the eggs with sugar?
It takes about ten minutes at least or until the mixture seems sufficiently light and frothy and "writes"

How do you incorporate the flour without deflating the mixture?
Use a spatula or a whisk and add the sifted flour, with gentle movements, from bottom to top, incorporate the flour

The biscuit dough looks like an omelet...
If the mixture hasn't deflated but tastes like eggs, it's absolutely normal, however, you can improve the flavor by always using natural aromas like vanilla, citrus zest, or spices to taste (e.g., cinnamon, star anise, saffron, cardamom).

The snowy Christmas log is the light version of the traditional French-origin version. The shredded coconut perfectly simulates the white snow covering the logs in colder areas. We chose lemon zest because it's fragrant, fresh, and perfectly matches the coconut flavor... probably your "snowy log" belonged to a tropical tree!

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.