Holiday Yule Log

 This recipe is another first for me. It was rather fun to note that the recipe was submitted by Melissa Bailey of Penobscot, Maine. Not sure if we are related, but always interesting to encounter someone with my maiden name.

I was a little nervous about attempting this recipe. I mean, there are gorgeous pictures of Yule Logs all over the internet and in glossy food magazines. Could I even get this cake to look anything like a log?

I followed the recipe exactly, and was quite pleased with the cake result. After baking, I rolled it up, as directed, in a tea towel, to cool. Then I tackled the filling and, well, it just didn't work for me. I have no idea why. So I went looking for an alternate filling recipe, and found one with cream cheese, which seems to be just the right ingredient for the heavy cream and confectioner's sugar to blend with. I gently unrolled the cake, spread the filling, and rolled it back up.

The recipe does not mention to do this, but I then wrapped the cake in parchment paper and plastic wrap and tucked it in the fridge to chill for two hours. After chilling, I sliced a portion of the "log" at an angle, to make a "branch." Then I frosted the entire log with chocolate frosting. And gently dragged a fork thru the frosting, to make the frosting look like bark (honest to Pete, something so simple, but it really works!). I had no idea how to decorate the log, so I just looked in the cupboard. The figs and bay leaves and dried cranberries that I chose seemed to work just fine. Oh, and crumbs of Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, to look like "dirt." I am very pleased with the results and it makes a lovely Christmas dessert.

This recipe completes the Cake chapter of the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook. A great cake to finish off the chapter!





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