This month, the daring bakers challenge has a Christmas theme! It is a yule log. In NZ we have adopted many Northern hemisphere traditions, but the yule log is not one of them. A yule log is basically a sponge filled with a creamy filling, rolled up and then covered in buttercream and decorated to look like a log. The rules were that we could chose whatever flavour spong we wanted and whatever flavour filling we wanted, but had to decorate the log with a dark coloured buttercream - coffee was suggested. we also had to make meringue or marzipan mushrooms to decorate the log.
We went out for dinner last night and I volunteered to make dessert, so thought I would make my log for that. I decided to make a chocolate log and fill it with whipped cream and sliced strawberries whcih is more in keeping for a NZ Christmas. I covered the log with chocolate buttercream.
My meringues were a real disaster (see above)!!!! I normally pride myslef on being a reasonable meringue maker, but for the gods were against me on these babies!! First of all, I decided to half the mixture, but for some reason I did 2/3 of the egg whites, so I had too much egg white for sugar. Then I turned the oven off early as I had to race back to work for a last minute Christmas settlement. Then I took the meringues out of the oven before they were completely cool - I usually leave them in over night. AS a result my "mushrooms" don't look remotely mushroom like! I toook them off before we took it out for dinner.
I was delighted with teh butter cream though. it was delicious and set perfectly. All in all it was a success, mushrooms aside. Once again I attempted something i havent made before and learned new techniques. I wish you could see what it looked like when it was cut open as it looked great with teh strawberries and cream and was delicious!!! See how the other daring bakers did here.
have a wonderful Christmas and happy holidays. I am off for 3 weeks now. Thanks everyone for reading!! It has been a fun few months and my blog is certainly filling the void for writing a cook book!!! I look forward to next year!!! :0)
16 comments:
Always good when you learn something new. Well done.
What a cute little yule log! Too adorable to eat.
Your buttercream looks divine! So smooth.
And no worries on the mushrooms. I had to do mine a couple times to get them to look decent.
You did a wonderful job on your yule log.
Happy Holidays!
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
I bet it looked beautiful with the sliced berry filling!
The log is gorgeous! Congratulations on the challenge. The buttercream perfectly smooth and shiny!
Happy Holidays!
Well, I think your meringues are still great! Good job. Merry Christmas!
Your log looks gorgeous even without the mushrooms... you definitely got that bark look better than I did! Nice job :)
Sorry you had a hard time with the meringues. Your buttercream looks incredibly smooth, though. Great job!
Great job, even if your mushrooms didn't turn out as well as you had hoped for. Your buttercream looks perfect!
I love the deep grooves in your bark. Your Yule Log looks great. Your mushrooms look cute despite the set-backs. Lovely cake. Wendy
Don't be so hard on yourself. The mushrooms don't look that bad and the yule log itself is awesome! I think you did a beautiful job :)
jen at use real butter
Hello, I just found your blog from Barbara's. I live in South Auckland, about 77km from Auckland city. It's so nice to see fellow Kiwi bloggers in the international event! Have a great holiday.
Beautiful yule log, Tammy! The frosting looks wonderful.
Christina ~ She Runs, She Eats
It looks beautiful! Congrats on finishing the challenge.
I bet the strawberries and cream were both beautiful and delicious... wish we could get good ones this time of year! And I think your mushrooms are cute, even if they're not perfect.
Happy New Year!
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