Christmas Log : Bake-Along #56

Today is Bake-Along #56! Time just passes by! 2013 is coming to an end soon, and the new year is just round the corner. Another year older. But then age are just numbers!

Our theme for Bake-Along #56 is Christmas Log, selected by my baking buddy, Zoe, for the coming festive Christmas. I have always wanted to bake a Christmas Log, though why I have never attempted it before is because I am not a "cake-decorater" person!  LOL! And I have always put it off year after year! From the following photos, you would see that cake decorating is certainly not one of my skills! 

A BLESSED AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE

Excuse the poorly placement of the "decorating ornaments", I am not one who would spend hours on decorating! Even if I did spend hours on the decorating part, it would still look the same! LOL! I really envy that some of my fellow blogger friends seems to have a natural flair in decorating and great photography skills! 

I really wanted to make a Christmas Log, from Cake, by Rachel Allen, but I do not have some of the ingredients and since it is almost last-minute, I've decided to use a simple recipe from one of our local cookbooks, "Elegant Swiss Roll" by Kevin Chai. Which is just as well, as I've bought this book "centuries ago" and have never made anything from it!

Firstly the sponge roll is baked, and left to cool in the pan. I followed the tips from Rachel Allen's book, to cover the sponge cake still in the pan, with a slightly damp tea towel until the it cools to room temperature. Lift the cake together with the parchment paper onto a work surface, and spread the chocolate buttercream all over the surface. Using the parchment paper as a guide, gently roll the sponge, place seam side down. Slice two pieces from both ends at a diagonal, place one at the side of the log and the other on the top, using some of the buttercream to stick it in place. Spread the log with the buttercream, and use a fork to make lines all over, resembling a log. Decorate as desired. 

Since I do not have any suitable ornaments to decorate the swiss roll, it look rather plain, so I have sprinkled some colour sprinkles all over, with dusting of icing sugar for a white Christmas!  It certainly is not one of the prettiest Christmas log but I am quite happy with it! Yay! I've finally made my first Christmas Log!

 Christmas greetings from Santa!  Have you been good and nice this year? 

A slice of the Christmas Log. The cake is so, so soft, light, fluffy and yummy! And the chocolate buttercream is so smooth and silky. One slice is not enough!

Christmas Log
(adapted from "Elegant Swiss Roll", Kevin Chai)
4 eggs
70gm caster sugar (I use 50gm)
70gm plain flour
15gm cocoa powder
50gm butter (melted)

For the chocolate buttercream :
250gm butter
120gm caster sugar (I use 90gm)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
75ml hot water
100gm melted chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 220C, grease a 25x35cm (10x14-inch) baking tin, line with baking paper, grease paper, extending the sides of the pans for easy removal of the cake later.
2. Using electric mixer on full speed, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Gently fold in sifted flour and cocoa powder. Add in melted butter, mix until well combined.
3. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Leave to cool. (I covered the cake still in the pan, on a wire rack, with a lightly damp clean kitchen towel, covering the cake until it cools to room temperature).
4. Hold both sides of the parchment paper, lifting the cake out of the pan, onto a work surface, cake still on parchment paper. Spread butter cream over cake. Roll gently using paper to lift cake and guide roll.
5. Cut small section slanting both ends. Garnish as a log. Spread with chocolate butter cream. Scrape surface with a fork. Decorate as desired.

To make the chocolate buttercream :

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a ballon whisk, stir in vanilla extract. Add in hot water, a tablespoon at a time, mix well. Continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous cream is obtained. Add in the melted chocolate and mix until well combined.

To join our blog hop, bake any Christmas Log and link your post to our Bake-Along linky.

Please visit my baking buddies, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, we will be moving on to a Chinese New Year theme!  Isn't this exciting? The theme is "Theme : Chinese New Year Cookies". Bake any cookies for Chinese New Year, and link your post to the our blog-hop linky which will start on 6th January right up to 27th January. The linky will stay open for three weeks, yay! Everyone is welcome! 

A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :

1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (Joyce, Lena or Zoe)

2. Please link only new and current post, related to the current bake or theme provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.

3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

I'm also sharing this post with :

"Baby Sumo's Christmas Recipe Collection 2013" event hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out

Cook-Your-Books #7 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

To join our blog hog, click on the link to get the codes
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