Christmas 2020 Make a Christmas Log – with only the ingredients found in the fridge and store cupboard two days before Christmas. Someone bought double cream and mascarpone cheese, and the use-by dates were all coming up soon. This is the story of how everyone at home grew to love wood! Oven temp at 200C cook the sponge for 8 or 10 minutes. no longer!Sponge4 eggs100g caster sugar65g self raising flour40g cocoa powderFilling300ml double or whipping cream‘Bark’ icing250g (a tubs worth) mascarpone cheese250g about the same quantity of dark chocolate, melted in a big bowlicing sugar for dredging etc For the sponge: 4 eggs (no worries, the chickens are still laying) ; 100g caster sugar – Combine and whisk until the mixture is almost white, about 7 minutes on full whisk-power. 65g self-raising flour and 40g cocoa powder, sieved and airy. Fold the flour/cocoa into the egg/sugar mix, and spread it onto a 25x30cm shallow lined baking tray – the idea is that it will be flat enough to be rolled up to create the log. Cook 8-10 mins 200 C As soon as the sponge comes out of the oven, turn it upside down on to a sheet of silicon/ baking parchment you have liberally sprinkled with icing sugar. peel the cooking paper off very carefully. Before it cools, score a line on the short edge about 2 cm from the edge to make the first fold…roll it up into the fresh icing-sugared paper as tightly as you can without it cracking. The idea is to let it cool to ‘remember’ the rolled-up shape.
The Filling is just 300ml double or whipping cream all whipped and thick. Nothing else. Let the sponge cool, unroll it, spread the cream on, and roll it up again. The icing is the bark. A tub of mascarpone cheese mixed with melted dark chocolate 150g each, or more if you want really thick bark. Melt the chocolate, in a nice big bowl then mix/whisk in the mascarpone until smooth. Don’t let it cool too much, but once its on, use a fork to give it ridges. If the roll looks like it will come undone, use a matchstick (the chocolate ones, doh!) to pin it together. So if they stick out, they will look like twigs. Nice. Dredge with icing sugar/cocoa.