Xmas_recipe_Christmas_recipes_-_Italian_Yule_Log_Cake_~_Tronchetto_di

Xmas_recipe_Christmas_recipes_-_Italian_Yule_Log_Cake_~_Tronchetto_di_Natale ()

Christmas recipes - Italian Yule Log Cake ~ Tronchetto di Natale

Ingredients

For cake : 10 tbsp (6 oz/170 g) flour
10 tbsp (5¼ oz/150 g) sugar
6 eggs, separated
4 tbsp sweet cocoa powder
one jar of chestnut puree/cream ("crema di marroni" or "confettura di castagne")
pinch of salt
for icing:
7 tbsp (3½ oz/100 g) butter, softened at room temperature
1 tbsp powdered sugar
4 tbsp sweet cocoa powder
for pastry syrup:
4 cups (1 liter) of water
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp Strega (an Italian anise-flavored liqueur) or mandarin orange liqueur

Preparation and Cooking

For cake: Heat oven to 400°F (200°C).
Beat the yolks with the sugar and add about ¾ cup (150 g) of the flour, sifted. Remove half of the mixture to another bowl and mix in 4 tbsp of the cocoa powder in the remaining egg mixture. Set aside.
Beat the egg whites into soft peaks with the pinch of salt.
Gently fold half of the whites into each mixture.
Pour the two mixtures into two rectangular jelly roll pans, ½ inch (1 centimeter) high, buttered and then lined with buttered and floured parchment paper.
Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Overturn pans onto large, damp kitchen towels and peel off the parchment paper.
Brush both of the the cakes with the "pastry syrup" and then spread chestnut cream over them.
Place one layer of cake on top of the other, chestnut cream sides facing up, and, with the help of the towel, roll the cake up into a spiral, like a jelly roll. Wrap the "log" in parchment paper and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
For the icing: Mix the butter with the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
Ten minutes before serving the cake, remove the parchment paper and decorate the cake with the icing to resemble a yule log, using a few thin slices of the cake as decoration. Other optional decorations are mint leaves and candied cherries.
For pastry syrup : Put water in a pot and stir in sugar until it dissolves. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for several minutes until it thickens into a syrup. Stir in liqueur.