Table of Contents

• The Midnight Rain Cupcake: Explained
• Making the Mud Cupcakes
  • Mud Cakes and Moisture 101
  • Tips for Making the Two Batters Simultaneously
  • Adding Both Batters to the Cupcake Cases
  • Baking the Cupcakes
• Caramelised White Chocolate
• Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream
  • Melted Chocolate and Buttercream 101
• Making the Peppermint Buttercream Base
• Dividing the Buttercream
• Decorating the Cupcakes
• Recipe

The Midnight Rain Cupcake: Explained

The Midnight Rain Cupcake is comprised of 5 main elements:

• Chocolate mud cake
• White chocolate and caramel mud cake
• Dark chocolate and peppermint buttercream
• Caramelised white chocolate and peppermint buttercream
• Gold sprinkles

As I mentioned, developing this cupcake took me a super long time. Midnight Rain has such a specific aesthetic that I really wanted to capture in my cupcake, but just couldn’t figure out how. I tried SO many ideas, from chocolate suns/moons to two-tone icing- I even gave edible raindrops a whirl, but nothing was giving me the right vibe. After many, many attempts and redesigns and trial batches, I finally landed on a cupcake that not only tastes great, but also captures that iconic, Midnight Rain look/feel, from the decoration right down to the cakes themselves.

One of the most famous lyrics from the song is the first line of the chorus: ‘He was sunshine, I was midnight rain‘. I desperately wanted this cupcake to reflect that line and have a real sense of duality and contrast about it. The song also contains a reference to ‘peppermint candy’, so I also wanted to incorporate that flavour into the bake. My favourite peppermint-y, holiday treat is Peppermint Bark, which, by nature, includes a sharp contrast between the milk/dark (that one’s up to personal preference!) and white chocolate, so I thought it would serve as a perfect inspiration for these cupcakes.

I decided to do a half-and-half cupcake, with one half made from a regular chocolate mud cake batter, and the other half from a white chocolate mud cake batter. I had my heart SET on using mud cakes for this recipe, because it just felt so fitting, I mean, mud is literally caused by rain, right? Mud cakes were something I’d heard about, but never actually made myself. They’re essentially dense, moist chocolate cakes that are often used for celebration cakes, because they are sturdy enough to withhold the added weight of additional tiers and moist enough to make in advance. After a bit of research, it seems that mud cakes originated in Mississippi, where they were topped with marshmallows (to resemble the rocky banks of the Mississippi River), then made their way over to the other side of the pond, where the Australians did away with the marshmallows and really ran with the idea of a super moist, dense and chocolatey cake. The history is a little patchy, but I’m all for a delicious chocolate cake recipe. However, developing the recipes for the mud cake batter took me SO LONG! It was definitely the trickiest part of these cupcakes for me, but after many attempts, I think I’ve finally cracked it (thank GOODNESS).

For the icing, I used both dark chocolate and white chocolate buttercream, which I flavoured with peppermint, to really bring the whole peppermint bark theme together. The only problem with this was the colours. As I mentioned, Midnight Rain, has a super defined aesthetic- if you look it up on Pinterest, you’ll be flooded with half-yellow/gold, half-navy blue artwork. As suspicious as I am of the idea of making my food navy, I felt it kind of had to be done for this cupcake. I opted to colour the dark chocolate buttercream navy, in an attempt to limit the amount of food colouring I needed. Admittedly, in some lights, the icing looks more black than navy, and I had to use a lot more food colouring than I would have liked, but I did my best! For the ‘sunshine’ side, I wanted my white chocolate buttercream to be just a little bit more golden. It occurred to me that I could just use caramelised white chocolate, which would give my buttercream a naturally deeper tint (and cut down on the food colouring). It’s not anything crazy, but it is noticeable (and, honestly, even more tasty than regular white chocolate buttercream!).

I went back and forth on how to decorate the cupcakes- initially, I planned to do a two-tone swirl, but I wasn’t loving how the two buttercreams were melding together as I piped. In the end, I decided to use two decorative piping tips to create a pretty dollop of the white chocolate buttercream (to resemble the sun) and a ribbon of the navy buttercream, going back and forth in a crescent shape around that sun (to resemble the moon). I finished it off with some golden star sprinkles on the crescent shape, to really drive home the whole celestial, midnight vibe. Honestly, I’m SO happy with how it turned out! This style of icing, with the use of different colour buttercreams, each piped with a different decorative piping tip, is really on trend at the moment, so it was fun to try it out myself.

Once I’d decided on using caramelised white chocolate in the buttercream, I began to consider introducing that same caramel-y taste and colour into the white chocolate cake batter as well. With a little bit of research and some fiddling around with my hard-earned mud cake recipe, I managed to develop an equally moist, almost sticky toffee pudding-esque recipe for a white chocolate and caramel mud cake. It’s kind of my magnum opus.

Phwoof. That was a lot of waffling. Essentially, these are just peppermint bark-inspired mud cupcakes, with some added caramel flavour, for good measure. Both the cake and the icing is two-toned to emphasise the whole sunshine/midnight contrast from the song. As always, if you don’t particularly care about making your cupcake super Swift-y, you can decorate these cupcakes in whatever way you would like, which will make them a lot easier to make (and a lot less navy).

Making the Mud Cupcakes

As I mentioned before, I was desperate to use mud cakes for this recipe and it was absolutely only because I thought it was an iconic idea. However, every single mud cake I tried to make ended up drier than a typical sponge cake, which seemed completely contradictory to me. After many (many) attempts, I finally developed a super moist, super chocolatey mud cake recipe. A few more attempts later and I had a super moist white chocolate and caramel mud cake recipe as well, so I was ready to go.

Mud Cakes and Moisture 101

Here’s what I did to keep these cakes SUPER moist and delicious:

• Used half-butter, half-oil:

While butter gives cakes great flavour, oil keeps them much moister. By using both, you get the best of both worlds!

• Used half-caster sugar, half-brown sugar:

Brown sugar is another ingredient that helps to make cakes moist, so I’ve included it (in some form) in both of the recipes. However, you need to use a some caster sugar in order to give your cakes some structure- I found that 50/50 was the best ratio!

• Added sour cream

A lot of cake batters will include a thicker dairy product like yoghurt, buttermilk or sour cream to help provide extra moisture to the finished cake. I found that neither buttermilk nor yoghurt did enough for these cakes- you really need the extra moisture provided by the higher fat content of the sour cream to make these cupcakes super moist and delicious.

• Baked the cupcakes at a lower temperature

These cupcakes are baked at 160°C, which is quite low, especially for cupcakes! The reason for this is that a lower, slower bake is more conducive to a moist and tender finished product. You also want to ensure that you do not over-bake these cakes, or they will dry out- bake the cupcakes just until they feel firm to the touch and spring back ever so slightly.

Tips for Making the Two Batters Simultaneously

For these cupcakes, the two mud cake batters are added to the cupcake liners simultaneously and baked together for that half-and-half look. Because of this, it’s important to make the batters at the same time, because cake batters have a tendency to get tough if they are left sitting too long before baking. This can seem a little overwhelming, but, if you follow the steps below, you’ll be absolutely fine!

• Melt the chocolate/butter mixtures together one after the other, then allow to cool.

Both batters start off by melting the chocolate and butter together, in two separate bowls (one for the white chocolate + butter mixture, one for the dark chocolate + butter mixture). I do this in the microwave, one at a time, in 1-minute bursts (on the lowest setting), stirring in between until melted and cohesive. You could also do this over a bain-marie, if you prefer. Because the mixtures need to cool a little before the next step anyway, you can do one after the other without a problem- just remember to use a different spoon/spatula for each batter, to avoid cross-contamination! Once both mixtures are melted and smooth, set the bowls aside to cool.

• While the mixtures are cooling, measure out your wet ingredients.

Because both batters contain the same wet ingredients (bar one- more on that later), you can measure them all together. Whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, sour cream and vanilla, until completely combined, then set aside. When it’s time to add them to the batters, you just need to add half of your wet ingredient mixture to one bowl, half to the other. I like to mix my wet ingredients together in a jug, to make that step even easier.

• Add the sugars to each bowl.

To the dark chocolate mixture, add caster sugar and light brown soft sugar. To the white chocolate mixture, add caster sugar and dark brown soft sugar (the dark brown sugar is what gives the white chocolate mud cake its caramel-y flavour!). Because white chocolate has a higher proportion of sugar in it already, we add less sugar to that mixture at this stage than we do to the dark chocolate mixture, so everything balances out!

• Add the wet ingredients.

Now it’s time to add half of the wet ingredients to the white chocolate mixture, and half to the dark. I find it easiest to pour a little in to each bowl to start with and mix it well to loosen the mixture, then add the rest. If you’re worried about dividing it equally, weigh your wet ingredient mixture first, then divide the value by 2 and add that amount to each bowl.

• Add the coffee to the dark chocolate mixture.

The coffee (instant granules dissolved in water) is the only wet ingredient that needs to be added separately, because it is only needed in the dark chocolate batter. The coffee helps to bring out the flavour of the dark chocolate, but will overpower the flavour of the white chocolate, so you only want to add it to the dark chocolate batter. Add the coffee to the dark chocolate bowl and mix well to incorporate.

• Sift in the dry ingredients.

To the white chocolate batter, just sift in the self-raising flour and the salt. To the dark chocolate batter, sift in the self-raising flour, salt AND cocoa powder (for even more chocolate flavour).

Mix until just incorporated, then both batters are ready to go into the cases and be baked!

Adding Both Batters to the Cupcake Cases

For these two-tone cupcakes, you want to keep each batter to one side of each case. The easiest way to do this is to add both batters simultaneously, so they push up against each other and form a natural barrier. The batter isn’t super liquid, but it’s also not crazy thick, so an easy way to do this is to transfer each batter to a jug and ‘pour’ the batters into the cases. I say ‘pour’, because the batter is thicker than a typical pouring batter would be (it needs to be, to prevent the batters from merging too much!), but it will still come out of a spout- if that makes sense? If you prefer, you could also just take a spoonful of each batter and tip them into the cases at the same time- it’s just a little more finicky!

Fill each case about 3/4 of the way full- these mud cakes don’t rise quite as much as normal cupcakes, so you can afford to fill them a little higher than you normally would!

As always, I like to match my cupcake cases to my theme, so I used these navy blue cases from The Cake Decorating Co. for these Midnight Rain Cupcakes!

Baking the Cupcakes

As I mentioned, mud cakes are best baked low and slow. For that reason, you want to bake these cupcakes at 160°C (conventional oven) for 25-30 minutes, until just done. Don’t over-bake the cakes, or you might lose some moisture! Wait until the cupcakes just about spring back, then remove them from the oven.

As always, I like to remove my cupcakes from the tin as soon as they come out of the oven, to prevent the bottoms from becoming greasy. Do watch your fingers though, because both the cupcakes and the tray will be very hot!

Caramelised White Chocolate

Before you can make the buttercream, you’ll need to caramelise some white chocolate. This is super easy to do, but it can take a little while, so you’ll need to be a bit patient- I swear, it will be worth it! Caramelised white chocolate has a much deeper, more complex flavour than regular white chocolate- the caramelisation process helps to temper some of the sickly sweetness of the white chocolate, so you can just enjoy the flavour.

I caramelised my white chocolate in the microwave, but there are plenty of tutorials online for doing it in the oven as well, if you prefer. In this post, I’ll be walking you through the microwave method.

To start with, you need to melt the chocolate. Break or chop it up into pieces, then place the chocolate into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on the lowest setting in 1-minute bursts, stirring in between each burst, until completely melted.

Now, to caramelise the chocolate. Essentially, all you need to do is microwave the melted chocolate on high, in 15 second bursts at a time, stirring in between each burst. I never melt chocolate on high because it can burn so easily, but, because the bursts are so short for this, you don’t need to worry about the high heat. In fact, doing this on a lower heat will just make it even more tedious, so be brave and stick to high!

This process takes… a while. I must admit, I was getting pretty bored by the end, but, having tasted the finished product, I would absolutely do it again! At first, the chocolate won’t seem like it’s doing anything, but eventually it will start to thicken up. Don’t worry- this is supposed to happen! Any clumps/thicker parts will melt back into the chocolate as you stir in between each burst, so just keep stirring and heating, stirring and heating.

Eventually, you’ll start to notice the colour of the chocolate changing. It will go from the original pale, creamy colour to a light caramel shade. Keep going until the chocolate is a nice, deep caramel shade (or until you absolutely cannot be bothered with it anymore). Honestly, I could have taken my chocolate even further and achieved a deeper shade, but I was getting super tired at this point, so I just went with what I had… Once you’re happy with the level of caramelisation, set the chocolate aside to cool for a while before you make the buttercream.

One note here: this stuff gets HOT. I mean, you’d think it would be obvious given the fact that it’s literally called caramelised white chocolate, but I was still shocked by just how hot it was when I got a little bit on my finger. Keep your fingers well away until the chocolate has had a while (at least 20-30 minutes) to cool down!

Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream

For the icing, I made one big batch of peppermint buttercream. I then transferred about 1/3 of the buttercream to a separate bowl, before adding melted dark chocolate and navy food colouring to the larger amount and caramelised white chocolate to the smaller amount.

Melted Chocolate and Buttercream 101

Making buttercream with melted chocolate is super easy, but there are a couple of things you need to remember:

• Use a higher proportion of butter than your typical buttercream recipe.

Because chocolate sets solid at room temperature, you’ll end up with a super dense and hard, fudge-like consistency if you add it to a standard buttercream recipe. To account for this, you need to use a higher proportion of butter than usual, which will help to even out the consistency. In fact, the chocolate you use will also have an effect on this: dark chocolate contains cocoa solids, while white chocolate does not (and instead contains a higher proportion of cocoa butter). This means that dark chocolate will firm up the buttercream even more than white chocolate. The quantities I have listed below reflect all of this- I add less dark chocolate than white chocolate to the buttercream base, so you’ll end up with super silky, super tasty chocolate buttercream!

• Make sure the melted chocolate has cooled down before you add it to the buttercream base.

This is particularly important for the caramelised white chocolate, because it starts out so hot and therefore needs longer to cool down. If the chocolate is still warm, it will melt the butter in your buttercream, which might lead to the icing becoming soupy, or even separating. If this happens, it’s not the end of the world- just put the whole thing into the fridge, giving it a stir every 5 minutes or so, until it comes back to a cohesive, pipeable consistency.

Making the Peppermint Buttercream Base

As I mentioned, this buttercream base contains a much higher proportion of butter than my usual American buttercream recipe, to account for the addition of melted chocolate later. Don’t worry, then, if you taste this and feel overwhelmed by butteriness- it’s supposed to be that way!

American-style buttercream is one of the easiest icings to make- start by whipping the softened butter with an electric mixer until it is soft and pale. I use a hand mixer, but you could use a stand mixer, if you prefer. Then, mix in the sifted icing sugar, followed by the milk, and beat again until light and fluffy. That’s it!

To get the peppermint flavour into this icing, I used peppermint extract. Add a few drops to the buttercream, then give it a taste to see if the flavour is to your liking. Peppermint extract is very strong, so you only need a very small amount. Start slow- you can always add more, but you can’t take it out if it starts tasting a bit too toothpaste-y!

Dividing the Buttercream

Once you have your peppermint buttercream base, it’s time to divide it up, ready for the melted chocolate. Because of the way we will be decorating the cakes, you need more dark chocolate buttercream than white chocolate. Take about 1/3 of the buttercream base and transfer it to another bowl- this will be for your white chocolate buttercream. Add the cooled, caramelised white chocolate to the bowl and mix well until completely combined. To the other bowl, add melted and cooled dark chocolate (I do this in the microwave, in 1-minute bursts, on low), and mix well to combine.

The next step is optional, but I wanted to colour my dark chocolate buttercream so that it was more reminiscent of the Midnight Rain aesthetic I was going for. I used the Colour Mill oil-based food colouring in the shade Navy, but, honestly, the finished buttercream ended up looking more black, probably because of the cocoa powder. No matter, it was still very much giving night sky vibes, so I was happy! One thing to note though: I did have to use quite a bit of food colouring to achieve this shade. If you’re not comfortable using so much colouring, you can either omit it completely, or add a small amount of cocoa powder (you could even use black cocoa, if you have it), dissolved in hot water, to your buttercream first. This will make the buttercream darker naturally, so you will need less colouring.

Decorating the Cupcakes

With both buttercreams made, it was time to pipe it onto the cupcakes. I placed the white chocolate buttercream into a piping bag, fitted with a large open star tip, and put the navy buttercream into a piping bag, fitted with a large petal tip.

I started by piping a dollop of white chocolate buttercream to one side of the cake. Keep it round, so that it ends up kind of resembling the sun- the decorative piping tip will make the dollop look a little more fancy. For aesthetic reasons, I opted to pipe the white chocolate buttercream on the side with the white chocolate cake, but I think the cupcakes would be even tastier if I had switched the orientation of the buttercream around- that way, the more bitter cake would have the sweeter icing and vice versa. It’s up to you, though!

Then, I switched over to the navy buttercream with the petal piping tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the surface of the cake, with the thicker end of the petal shape nearest to the cake and the thinner end pointing up in the air.

Keep the bag in this position the whole time you are piping, so that you achieve upright ribbons. The aim is to pipe one continuous ribbon, back and forth, and form a crescent shape around that sun ‘dollop’ we just created. Start at one end, applying gentle pressure, then work back and forth, increasing the width of the ruffles as you approach the middle of the crescent. Once you’ve reached the centre, gradually decrease the width of the ruffles, working your way around the sun to finish off the moon shape.

And there you have it! A sun and moon, in buttercream form.

To finish off the cakes, I opted to scatter some gold star sprinkles over the navy moon buttercream, just to really heighten the whole midnight vibe. I got these sprinkles from Waitrose, but you can use whatever you have/can find!

And that’s it! My Midnight Rain, peppermint bark-inspired cupcakes. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about this process- let me know if you give this recipe a try!

Gemma

Recipe

Print

‘Midnight Rain’ Cupcakes

Inspired by Taylor Swift's song 'Midnight Rain', these half-and-half cupcakes are made with two mud cake batters: dark chocolate and white chocolate & caramel, then topped with two types of peppermint buttercream: dark chocolate and caramelised white chocolate, so they're perfect for everyone, whether you're sunshine or midnight rain.

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword Caramelised white chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Midnight Rain, Mud cake, Peppermint, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift Cupcakes, White Chocolate

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Equipment

• 12 navy blue cupcake cases (see Note 1).
• 2 piping bags
• 1 large open star piping tip
• 1 large petal tip

Ingredients

For the mud cake batters:

• 75 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped.
• 75 g white chocolate, roughly chopped.
• 90 g unsalted butter, split into 2x45g portions.
• 50 g caster sugar, split into 1x30g and 1x20g portions.
• 30 g light brown soft sugar
• 20 g dark brown soft sugar
• 90 g sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil).
• 75 ml milk
• 3 eggs
• 100 ml sour cream
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 3 tbsp hot water.
• 190 g self-raising flour, split into 1x90g and 1x100g portions.
• 10 g cocoa powder
• fine sea salt

For the peppermint buttercreams:

• 70 g white chocolate, roughly chopped.
• 30 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped.
• 290 g unsalted butter, softened.
• 320 g icing sugar, sifted.
• 3 tbsp milk
• peppermint extract
• navy food colouring (see Note 2).

To decorate:

• golden star sprinkles (see Note 3).

Instructions

Make and bake both mud cake batters:

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (conventional oven). Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with navy cupcake cases and set aside.
• Place the dark chocolate and one of the 45g portions of butter into a medium-sized microwaveable bowl. Melt in the microwave on the lowest setting, in 1-minute bursts, stirring between each burst, until smooth. Repeat this process with the white chocolate and the remaining 45g of butter, in a separate bowl. Set both bowls aside to cool slightly.
• Once cooled, add the 30g portion of caster sugar and all of the light brown soft sugar to the dark chocolate mixture. Stir well to combine. Add the remaining 20g portion of caster sugar and all of the dark brown soft sugar to the white chocolate mixture. Stir well to combine.
• In a large jug, whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract. Add half of this mixture to each bowl and mix well to combine (see Note 4).
• Add the coffee, dissolved in the hot water, to the dark chocolate mixture and mix to combine.
• Sift the 90g portion of self-raising flour into the dark chocolate mixture, along with the cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Then, sift the remaining 100g of self-raising flour and another pinch of salt into the white chocolate mixture. Stir both mixtures separately, until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
• Transfer each batter to a separate jug, then pour both batters simultaneously into each cupcake case, to give the half-and-half effect. Fill each case about 3/4 of the way full, then bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until they just about spring back when touched.
• Once baked, remove the cupcakes from the tin immediately, to prevent the cases from becoming greasy. Place onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely before decorating.

Make the peppermint buttercreams:

• Start by caramelising the white chocolate. Place the chocolate into a microwaveable bowl, then melt in the microwave on low heat, in 1-minute bursts, stirring between each burst, until smooth.
• Once melted, start caramelising the chocolate. Place the chocolate back into the microwave on high heat, in 15-second bursts, stirring between each burst, until the chocolate has turned a deep, golden colour. This will take a little while, so be patient.
• Once you are happy with the level of caramelisation, set the chocolate aside to cool. It will be very hot! While it is cooling, melt the dark chocolate in a separate bowl and set aside to cool as well.
• Once both chocolates have cooled to room temperature, make the peppermint buttercream. Place the softened butter into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and soft. Mix in the icing sugar, followed by the milk, then beat again until light and fluffy.
• Add a few drops of peppermint extract to the buttercream and mix well to combine. Taste and add more extract, if desired.
• Add 1/3 of the buttercream to the cooled, caramelised white chocolate and mix until completely combined. Add the remaining buttercream to the melted dark chocolate and mix until completely combined. Add navy food colouring to the dark chocolate buttercream until your desired shade is achieved (see Note 2).

Decorate the cupcakes:

• Transfer the white chocolate buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large, open star tip. Transfer the dark chocolate buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large petal tip.
• Pipe a large, circular dollop of white chocolate buttercream, to one side on the surface of a cooled cupcake. Switch to the dark chocolate buttercream and, holding the bag so that the thicker end of the petal tip sits against the surface of the cupcake, pipe a ribbon back and forth, forming a crescent shape around the white chocolate dollop. Repeat this process for the remaining cupcakes.
• To finish, scatter a few golden sprinkles onto the navy buttercream crescents.
• Store the cupcakes in an airtight container, at room temperature. Stored like this, they will keep for 3-4 days.

Notes

1. Navy cupcake cases: I used these.
2. Food colouring: I used the Colour Mill Oil-Based Food Colouring in the shade Navy. However, I had a couple of problems with this: my icing ended up more black than navy (probably because of the dark chocolate) and I had to use quite a lot of food colouring. Feel free to use a different shade of blue colouring, add some dissolved cocoa powder to the icing base to make it even darker (so you need less colouring) or omit the colouring altogether. 
3. Golden star sprinkles: I used these sprinkles from Waitrose.
4. Dividing wet ingredients: If you are worried about dividing the wet ingredients evenly, weigh the mixture, then divide that value by 2. Simply add this amount to each bowl for a perfect division. I find it easiest to mix a small amount of the wet ingredients into each bowl first, to loosen the mixtures, then add in the rest. 

Full disclosure: these Christmas Pudding Macarons have absolutely NO Christmas Pudding in them- sorry, is that false advertising? They’re actually just plain old chocolate macarons, decorated to look like mini Christmas Puddings. Then again, I cannot in good conscience apologise for anything to do with these macarons because they are THAT delicious, so consider my previous apology revoked.

I’ve already posted a recipe for plain macarons, filled with milk chocolate ganache, on the blog- you can find that here. hile these may be chocolate macarons, the process is super similar, so you might notice a lot of overlap from that post. No matter though, chocolate macarons are next LEVEL, so chocolate macarons I must show you how to make.

I always make Italian Macarons (no, I STILL have not managed to conquer the elusive French Macaron…), which involve making a sugar syrup. This sounds scary, but I find it SO much easier to achieve successful macarons with this method. You can read more about the difference between the macaron types on that previous post.

Here we go!

Table of Contents

• Christmas Pudding Macarons: Explained
• Ingredients
• How to Make Dark Chocolate Ganache
• How to Make Chocolate Macarons
• How to Decorate the Macarons
• How to Assemble the Macarons
• Macaron-Making 101: Tips and Tricks for Perfect Macarons
• How to Store Macarons
• Recipe

Christmas Pudding Macarons: Explained

Like I said, these macarons are just basic chocolate macarons. Making chocolate macarons is super easy- they just need one extra ingredient: cocoa powder.

To make the macarons look like Christmas puddings, you decorate half of the baked and cooled macaron shells with white chocolate and festive sprinkles. Totally doable, right?

I opted to fill these macarons with dark chocolate ganache, as opposed to my preferred milk chocolate ganache. The main reason for this was the layer of white chocolate on top- I figured the bitter dark chocolate would contrast nicely with the sweet decoration. Let me tell you, I’m not a big dark chocolate person- it’s typically much too bitter for me, but, somehow, in the middle of these macarons, it’s absolutely delicious! Don’t get me wrong- I’m still a milk chocolate ganache girl through AND through, but honestly, I like the dark chocolate ganache-filled macarons too (and, more importantly, I could eat them without coughing and spluttering from the bitterness, so take from that what you will).

Ingredients

To make these Christmas Pudding macarons, you will need:

• Dark chocolate

This is for the ganache. You can use milk chocolate, if you prefer, but you would need to use 150g of chocolate and 150ml of cream, to make the same amount (and same consistency) of ganache.

• Double cream

Also for the ganache. If you are in the US, use heavy cream.

• Ground almonds

Macarons are, at heart, an almond cookie, so almonds you must have.

• Icing sugar

One of the two types of sugar in this recipe- this icing sugar will be mixed with the almonds, cocoa powder and half of the egg whites to form a paste.

• Cocoa powder

The ingredient that makes these macarons chocolate-y. Use a good quality cocoa powder (not a drinking chocolate- they aren’t the same thing!).

• Egg whites

You don’t need the yolks for this recipe, so save them for another bake. For the amount listed in this recipe, I typically need just under 2 eggs’ worth of white.

I know the measurements for the egg whites sound super weird and specific, but it’s really important that the ingredient ratios for this recipe are correct, because macarons are notoriously finicky. I find that the best way to weight out egg whites is to crack (and separate, at the same time) the egg directly into a bowl that is set over a digital scale- that way, you can weigh the white as it drips out and don’t have to mess around with trying to scoop some out afterwards. Make sure you don’t get any yolk in the white at this stage, because this will prevent the whites from whipping up properly.

• Caster sugar

The second of the two sugars- the caster sugar is made into a sugar syrup and added to the egg whites to form a meringue.

• Water

I nearly didn’t mention this here because, well, it’s water, but it’s an important part of the recipe, so I didn’t want to risk anyone skipping over it! Perhaps I am just projecting- I have a tendency to forget water when it is added to recipes. The water is added to the caster sugar to make the syrup.

You will also need the following, for decorating the macaron shells:

• White chocolate

You don’t need a lot, so make sure you use a good quality one for maximum flavour.

• Holly leaf & berry sprinkles

This one is niche, I know, but it makes decorating these macarons SO much easier. I found mine at Waitrose, but you could also use some icing or extra chocolate, dyed red/green, or even red/green writing icing (which I have used before) to pipe little berries and leaves, if you cannot find any similar sprinkles.

How to Make Dark Chocolate Ganache

Make the ganache filling the day before you plan to assemble the macarons, so that it has time to firm up in the fridge. Start by finely chopping the dark chocolate and placing it into a heatproof bowl.

Place the cream into a small saucepan over medium heat, and allow to come to just below a simmer- you will see small bubbles starting to form around the edge of the pan. When the cream is hot, pour it over the chopped chocolate.

Allow to stand for a minute or two, then stir until all of the chocolate has melted and a smooth, homogenous ganache has formed. It’s important to let the ingredients stand, unstirred, for a couple of minutes before stirring, otherwise the cream will cool down too quickly and not melt the chocolate properly. If this does happen, gently heat the ganache, stirring frequently, until it is smooth.

Cover the ganache with cling film, pressing it directly onto the surface so a skin does not form. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before putting it into the fridge to chill and firm up overnight.

How to Make Chocolate Macarons

Start out by lining 2 baking trays with baking paper. You don’t need to preheat the oven yet, because the macarons will need to sit for a while to form a skin before they can be baked.

Next up, you need to weigh out your egg whites. As I said, I know it seems a bit extra to have to weigh out such specific measurements of egg white, but macarons require extra attention! It’s super important that all of the ratios are spot on, to get the perfect bake. This recipe calls for 72g of egg whites, separated into two equal portions of 36g each- if you measure the white out as you separate the egg, using a bowl set on a digital scale, you can measure it exactly.

Transfer one of the 36g portions of egg white into the metal bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment. A metal bowl will help your whites whip up fully, but it will also conduct heat, unlike a glass or ceramic bowl. Because you’ll be using the temperature of the bowl to identify when the meringue is ready, a metal bowl is preferable. Leave the egg white in the bowl while you get on with the other ingredients.

Place the ground almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 10 times and sift into a large bowl, discarding any big pieces of almond that do not easily pass through the sieve. Repeat the whole process once more, to get the dry ingredients super fine. This will a) make sure your macarons bake up properly and b) make the tops of your macarons super smooth. Just don’t blitz the ingredients anymore than this, or the almonds will start to release their oils, which will ruin your macarons.

Add the remaining 36g portion of egg white to the sifted dry ingredients and mix, using a strong utensil, into a paste. It will be quite stiff- this is how it is supposed to be! Set this aside while you make the sugar syrup.

Place the sugar and water into a small saucepan (preferably with a spout, for easy pouring later) over medium heat. Allow to melt, swirling occasionally if needed, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, and allow it to bubble until it reaches 118°C.

Meanwhile, when the sugar syrup has reached 112-114°C, start whipping the egg whites in the stand mixer bowl on high speed. This will give them enough time to whip up into soft peaks before the sugar syrup is ready- exactly what you are looking for.

When the sugar syrup has reached 118°C and the egg whites have reached soft peaks, you can add the syrup to the mixer. With the mixer still on high, pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream, until you have added the whole lot. Then, turn the mixer up to full speed and whip the meringue for about 5 minutes, until stiff peaks are achieved and the bowl has come down to room temperature.

When the meringue is ready, it’s time to add it to the chocolate and almond paste. Start by adding about a third of the meringue to the paste and mixing it in vigorously, until it is completely incorporated. At this stage, you’re just trying to loosen up the mixture.

Once the first lot of meringue has been incorporated, you can add the rest of the meringue. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together using a figure of eight motion, until it is cohesive and there are no visible streaks. Keep folding until the batter falls off the spatula in ribbons, which settle back into the rest of the batter when left for 30 seconds. This process is called ‘macaronage’ and is notoriously finicky, but you’ll get used to it!

When the batter is ready, transfer it to a piping bag, fitted with a medium round nozzle. Holding the piping bag vertically to the tray, pipe a macaron onto the lined baking trays by applying gentle pressure in one spot, until the macaron is about 4cm in diameter. Repeat this process for the rest of the batter.

Once the macarons are all piped, tap the trays firmly on the work surface a few times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Then, using a cocktail stick, skewer or sharp knife, pop the bubbles, allowing the macaron batter to fall back on itself as you do, giving you perfectly smooth shells. 

Leave the macarons to rest at room temperature for about 30-40 minutes, until they form a skin. That skin is what ultimately leads to the macarons developing their iconic ‘feet’. Macarons will form a skin more quickly on hot, dry days, but will take much longer on humid, rainy or cold days. If you can, it’s best to make macarons on dry days, but, obviously, that isn’t always possible. I have had success making macarons from this recipe on rainy days, but they did take a lot longer to form a skin. You’ll know the macarons are ready to bake when you can lightly touch the surfaces without any batter sticking to your finger. 

When the macarons are almost ready, set the oven to 160°C (fan- I don’t usually use a fan oven, but I do for these. Like I said, macarons are finicky). When the macarons are ready and the oven is up to temperature, bake one tray at time for 11 minutes. When they are ready, you should be able to gently wiggle the top of a macaron shell with your finger and it shouldn’t wobble.

Using a fan oven usually means you can bake more than one tray at a time. Alas, macarons are high-maintenance and, any time I have tried to do this, the lower tray always seems to bake unevenly, erupt into tiny almond-y volcanoes or crack along the top. Save yourself the inevitable distress and allow for an extra 11 minutes to bake that second tray. 

Once the macarons have baked, allow them to cool on the trays completely before filling.

How to Decorate the Macarons

Pair up the cooled macaron shells- try to put shells of a similar size together for a more even look.

Melt the white chocolate and transfer it to a piping bag, fitted with a fine round nozzle. Pipe the outline of some icing onto one of the macaron shells.

Add a little more chocolate within the outline, then use a cocktail stick/small sharp knife to ‘wiggle’ the chocolate around and smooth it out.

You can also gently tap the macaron on a surface to even out the layer.

Add a few holly sprinkles to the top of the white chocolate before it sets. It might be helpful to use a pair of tweezers to pick up the small sprinkles!

Repeat this process for half of the macaron shells (these will be the tops of each filled macaron), then allow them to set for about an hour before filling.

How to Assemble the Macarons

To assemble the macarons, place some chilled dark chocolate ganache onto the bottom shell of each macaron pair. You can use a piping bag, fitted with a medium/large piping tip for a polished look, or simply spoon/spread some ganache on freehand! Carefully press the top macaron shell (with the Christmas pudding decoration) on top, and the macarons are ready to serve!

Macaron-Making 101: Tips and Tricks for Perfect Macarons

In my last macaron post, I provided a full list of tips and tricks for making perfect macarons. It was… extensive, and I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed by it, so I’ve cut it down for this post. I’ve only included the things that aren’t otherwise referred to in the method sections above. If you would like to see the full list, check out the other post!

• Make sure both your bowl and the whisk attachment for your mixer are completely clean. Any traces of fat/residue will prevent your egg whites from whipping up. Wipe out both the whisk attachment and the bowl with a little white wine vinegar to ensure there are no traces of grease.
• Use a digital scale. Macarons require very specific measurements of ingredients- mechanical scales are not accurate enough for this purpose.
• Use an accurate (digital) sugar thermometer. You need to bring the sugar syrup up to 118°C, which is a very specific (but very necessary!) value- having to eyeball this will make your job so much harder and the success of your macarons so much less certain. 
• Use a macaron template. Making identical macaron shells is one of the biggest challenges of making macarons at home- using a template as a guide can make the process much easier. To make a template, take a sheet of A3 paper, and draw circles at intervals across the whole sheet- I like my macarons to be about 4cm in diameter, but you can make your macarons any size (just be aware that making smaller/larger shells will affect the number of macarons this recipe makes/the cooking time). Place this template under the baking paper on your baking tray and pipe into the circle guides. Remember to carefully slide out the template before baking, then store it away for when you next make macarons!

How to Store Macarons

Filled macarons are best kept in an airtight container and stored in the fridge, where they will keep for about 5 days, but they can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days, if needed.

Unfilled macaron shells can be kept in an airtight container for about 5 days, but will start becoming more brittle and less chewy if left for too long.

Recipe

Print

Christmas Pudding Macarons

Chocolate Italian macarons, filled with dark chocolate ganache and decorated to look like little Christmas puddings 🎄

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword Chocolate, chocolate ganache, Chocolate macaron, Christmas pudding, Italian macarons, macaron

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 11 minutes minutes

Setting time 12 hours hours

Servings 15 macarons

Ingredients

For the dark chocolate ganache:

• 120 g dark chocolate
• 180 ml double cream

For the chocolate macarons:

• 85 g ground almonds
• 80 g icing sugar
• 23 g cocoa powder
• 72 g egg whites, split into 2x36g portions.
• 105 g caster sugar
• 30 ml water

To decorate:

• 80 g white chocolate
• Holly sprinkles (see Note 1).

Instructions

Make the dark chocolate ganache:

• Finely chop the chocolate and put it into a small, heatproof bowl.
• Place the cream into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stirring frequently, allow it to come to just below a simmer (you will see small bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan), before pouring it over the chopped chocolate.
• Allow to stand for 1-2 minutes, then stir until the chocolate has completely melted and you have a smooth mixture. Cover the surface directly with clingfilm (to prevent the ganache from forming a skin), then allow to cool slightly before putting into the fridge to set overnight.

Make the chocolate macarons:

• Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Fit a piping bag with a medium-sized, round nozzle and set aside.
• Place the ground almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder into a food processor. Pulse 10 times, then sift into a large bowl, discarding any large lumps. Repeat this process once more, so that you are left with a very fine powder.
• Add one of the 36g portions of egg white to the dry ingredients. Mix well to form a paste, then set aside.
• Place the remaining 36g of egg white into the clean, metal bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Set aside while you make the sugar syrup.
• Place the caster sugar into a small saucepan with the 30ml of water. Place over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir- swirl gently if necessary. Allow the syrup to continue bubbling, monitoring the temperature with a digital sugar thermometer.
• When the syrup has reached 114°C, turn the stand mixer to high speed and begin to whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Keep the syrup over the heat.
• When the sugar syrup has reached 118°C and the egg whites have reached soft peaks, with the mixer still on high, pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Once all of the syrup has been added, turn the mixer up to full speed and beat for 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks are achieved and the metal bowl has come to room temperature.
• When the meringue is ready, add 1/3 of it to the cocoa and almond mixture. Mix vigorously to combine the two mixtures and loosen the thick paste.
• Add the rest of the meringue and fold it in, using a figure of eight motion, until the mixture is cohesive and comes off the spatula in ribbons- if you leave those ribbons for 30 seconds, they should level themselves out into the rest of the mixture.
• Transfer the macaron batter to the prepared piping bag. Holding the bag vertically to the baking tray, apply gentle pressure to pipe circular 'blobs' that are about 4cm in diameter.
• Once the macarons are piped, lift the whole tray and drop it down onto the work surface a few times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Use a sharp knife/cocktail stick to burst any remaining bubbles, letting the mixture fall back on itself.
• Set the macarons aside at room temperature to form a skin- on a relatively dry day, this should take about 30-40 minutes, but can take less time on drier, warmer days and more time on cold, humid days. Check on the macarons every 10-15 minutes or so, if unsure. The macarons will be ready when you can gently touch their surfaces without any batter coming off on your finger.
• When the macarons are almost ready, preheat the oven to 165°C fan. Bake the macarons in the centre of the oven, one tray at a time, for 11 minutes. To check if they are done, place a finger on top of the shells and wiggle gently. When done, the tops of the macarons should not wobble. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the tray.

To decorate:

• Once the macarons shells are cool, melt the white chocolate and place it into a piping bag, fitted with a fine round nozzle. Pipe the outline of some icing onto one shell, then add some more chocolate within that outline and spread it out, using a sharp knife/cocktail stick, so that you have a thin, even coating of chocolate. Add a couple of holly sprinkles to the top edge, to decorate. Repeat this process for half of the macaron shells.

To assemble:

• Place the chilled ganache into a piping bag, fitted with a large round tip.
• Pipe a dollop of ganache onto the underside of each of the undecorated macarons. Place a decorated macaron shell on top of each one and gently press the two halves together. The macarons are best eaten immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also keep the unfilled macaron shells in an airtight container, at room temperature for about 5 days, before filling.

Notes

1. I found these holly leaf & berry sprinkles at Waitrose, which made making these Christmas Pudding Macarons super easy. If you can’t find sprinkles, you could also use coloured icing/chocolate, or even tubes of red and green writing icing, to draw little leaves and berries. 

Growing up, my family was never really into the whole Yule Log thing. Don’t get me wrong- I would have been totally for it, I mean- chocolate cake? Copious amounts of icing? Yes, please. However, we typically had such an abundance of chocolate around during the festive season that we ended up going for non-chocolatey puddings on Christmas Day- think trifles, cheesecakes, that kind of thing.

A (kind of rogue) idea for a Yule Log-inspired, slightly less chocolate-heavy, Christmas dessert came to me recently, in a particularly hungry daydream. I am obsessed with the flavour combination of almond, rosemary and white chocolate. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, it’s SO good. The savoury edge of the rosemary helps to temper the sweetness of the white chocolate, while also adding such a delicious depth of flavour. The almonds lend a nuttiness (obviously) to the whole thing, which compliments the creamy sweetness of the white chocolate perfectly. I think it might just be my favourite thing ever. Side note here: I can’t take credit for putting these flavours together- I learned about the combination from How To Cook That on YouTube (specifically, this video). Anyway, I decided that an almond, rosemary and white chocolate Yule Log would be delicious (spoiler alert: I was absolutely right), but I also figured that it would be kind of festive in a slightly unorthodox way- I mean, what are rosemary sprigs if not tiny Christmas tree branches?

With that, let me introduce you to the more sophisticated (and significantly blonder), older sister of the traditional Yule Log: my almond, rosemary and white chocolate Yule Log. It would make an amazing, unexpected showstopper for a Christmas celebration, or even just a tasty teatime treat for those who are opposed to a mince pie. Here’s how to make it…

Table of Contents

• The Yule Log: Explained
• Ingredients
• Making the White Chocolate and Rosemary Ganache
• Making the Almond Sponge
• Making the Almond Cream Filling
• Assembling the Log
• Final Thoughts

The Yule Log: Explained

This Yule Log is comprised of 4 parts:

• Almond sponge
• Almond cream filling
• White chocolate and rosemary ganache
• Toasted almond decoration

That’s it! Yule Logs can seem SO daunting (that’s coming from someone who has spent her whole life being intimidated by the prospect of making a Swiss roll- this is actually the first one I’ve ever successfully made), but, if you break it up and follow the tips and tricks in this post, I promise it will be SO much easier than you expect. The photos in this post are actually from my first attempt at this recipe, which I feel proves that it really isn’t that tricky to master!

Ingredients

To make this Almond, Rosemary and White Chocolate Yule Log, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Double Cream

You’ll need cream for both the ganache and the filling, so it’s a very important part of this recipe! If you are in the US, substitute heavy cream.

• White chocolate

Use a good-quality white chocolate, so you get the best flavour and texture.

• Fresh rosemary

You only need 2 sprigs of rosemary to make this cake, but I like to cut some extra sprigs to decorate the cake with at the end. Make sure that you wash it before using it!

• Fine sea salt

As is pretty standard in baking, I’ve included a pinch of salt in the cake batter- just to bring out the flavour of the other ingredients. However, slightly unusually, I’ve also included a pinch of salt in the ganache, just to help temper the sweetness of the white chocolate. It’s important to use a fine sea salt for this, so that it melts into the warm cream quickly and leaves everything perfectly smooth and silky.

• Caster sugar

You need caster sugar for this recipe, not only to make the cake batter, but to sprinkle onto the baking paper before you roll up the warm cake. The sugar helps to stop the cake from sticking to the paper, leaving you with a big mess on your hands when you go to unroll it. Don’t skip this step- it’s really important!

• Almond extract

I use almond extract in the cake batter, to really emphasise the flavour of the ground almonds, but also in the cream filling. There are a couple of more involved methods of getting almond flavour into cream, but this is by far the easiest.

• Vanilla extract

This sponge recipe is very egg-heavy, so, while the predominant flavour should be almond, it’s also important to counteract any potential ‘egginess’, which is never pleasant. A small amount of vanilla extract helps with that, while still letting the almond flavour shine through.

• Plain flour

It’s important to use plain flour here to achieve the right amount of rise with the baking powder. If you want to substitute self-raising flour, you will need to reduce the amount of baking powder accordingly.

• Baking powder

This helps the sponge to rise in the oven. Don’t skip it (or substitute it with bicarbonate of soda/baking soda- they aren’t the same and using them will affect the finished bake!).

• Ground almonds

Using ground almonds in the sponge not only helps to give the cake flavour, it also makes the sponge super moist and tender.

• Icing sugar

You need icing sugar to stabilise and sweeten the almond cream filling, but also to dust on top of the final cake and make everything all snowy and festive!

• Flaked almonds

For decorating the cake- these not only give the Yule Log a bark-like texture, but they also add even more almond flavour. If you’re pressed for time, you can actually buy flaked almonds ready-toasted, but toasting your own is super easy- just put them in a dry pan over high heat, tossing every now and then and keeping a close eye on them until they turn golden and smell deliciously nutty. Tip them out onto a plate/tray to cool completely before using.

Making the White Chocolate and Rosemary Ganache

The ganache needs to chill in the fridge overnight, so make it the day before you want to assemble your cake. When I made this cake, I made my ganache a little too runny (as you can probably tell from the photo!), so I’ve adjusted the recipe to make a firmer, more spreadable ganache.

Start by infusing the cream with the rosemary. To do this, put the rosemary and the cream into a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow the cream to come to just below a simmer (you’ll see little bubbles, or a very subtle froth, forming around the edge of the pan when it is ready), then turn off the heat, cover the pan and let it infuse for 15 minutes.

While the cream is infusing, chop your white chocolate. Make sure it’s finely chopped, so that it melts easily into the hot cream. Transfer the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl.

Once the cream has infused, remove and discard the rosemary sprigs. Then, bring the cream back up to just below a simmer, again. I know it seems a bit tedious to have to do this twice, but it is really important, so that you get the maximum flavour out of your rosemary and into your cake!

When the cream is hot again, stir in the fine sea salt, then pour the whole lot over the chopped chocolate. Allow it to sit for a minute or two, then stir until the chocolate has melted, the ingredients are completely combined and everything is smooth and silky. It’s important that you allow it to sit for a while at first, otherwise the cream will cool down too quickly and your chocolate won’t melt fully. If this does happen, you can rescue it by applying a little more gentle heat (either using a microwave/a bain-marie) and stirring frequently, until the ganache is completely smooth.

Once your rosemary-infused, white chocolate ganache is made, cover it with clingfilm. Press the clingfilm directly onto the surface of the ganache, to prevent it from forming a skin. Then, allow it to cool slightly before putting it into the fridge overnight to firm up.

Making the Almond Sponge

If you’ve never made a Swiss roll/sponge like this before, this recipe will definitely seem a little strange- there’s a lot of egg and very little of everything else! Don’t worry- just follow the recipe and you’ll be fine. In general, there are a couple of principles you want to follow:

• Keep as much air as possible in the batter

This sponge (as with most Swiss rolls) relies hugely on the air whipped into the eggs at the start to give it the perfect rise and fluffy texture. Whatever you’re doing, make sure you are preserving as much of that air as possible.

• Always roll the cake when it is warm

Cold cake is much more likely to crack and crumble when you try to roll it up. You want to roll the cake up while it is hot and allow it to cool completely in that ‘log’ shape before filling, to minimise your chances of breakage and end up with a perfect swirl.

Keep those two things in mind and you’ll be golden!

To make the sponge, start by preheating the oven to 180°C (conventional oven). Line a 23x32cm Swiss roll tin with baking paper and set aside. Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (you could also use a handheld electric whisk, but I don’t recommend making this recipe by hand because the eggs need to be whipped a lot– trust me, your arms will thank you!).

Place the eggs and the 80g of caster sugar into the bowl of the stand mixer. Whisk them together on high speed until the mixture is fluffy and pale- it should have tripled in volume and reached the ‘ribbon stage’- the mixture should fall off the whisk in a ribbon and you should be able to ‘draw’ a figure of 8 with that ribbon before it settles back into the rest of the mixture. One of the most common mistakes people make when baking this type of sponge is under-whipping the mixture at this stage, so be patient!

While the eggs are being whisked, you can measure out and sift the dry ingredients (the flour, baking powder and salt) together, into a separate bowl. Add the ground almonds (you don’t need to bother sifting them) and stir to combine. Set aside until the egg mixture is ready.

When the eggs and sugar are ready, add both of the extracts and whisk briefly to incorporate. You don’t want to add the extracts before this, because they will prevent the eggs from whipping up to their ✨full potential✨.

At this point, you can add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle them gently over the egg mixture- the goal is to knock out as little of the air as possible, so try to add the dry ingredients slowly and evenly over the surface (i.e. don’t plonk them all in at once!). Use a large, metal spoon to gently fold the dry ingredients in, until no streaks of flour remain. Metal spoons are best for this, because they ‘cut’ through the mixture more cleanly than a rubber spatula and, because of this, they knock out less air. Don’t forget to get right down to the bottom of the bowl when you’re folding the ingredients together, because some of the flour will inevitably end up there!

At this point, your sponge batter is ready! Pour it into the prepared tin and gently level it out with the back of a knife/an offset spatula- still being careful not to knock too much air out. Bake the cake in the centre of the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, until the cake is golden and just firm to the touch.

While the cake is baking, cut a piece of baking paper that is slightly larger than the size of the tin and spread it out onto a clean work surface/large chopping board. Sprinkle it with the remaining 2 tbsp of caster sugar, making sure the surface is evenly covered. Don’t skip this step- it’s really important because it prevents the rolled up cake from sticking to the paper (which would be a mess and could ruin all of your hard work!).

When the cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for 1 minute only before flipping it out onto the sugar-coated baking paper. Don’t leave it any longer, or you run the risk of your cake being too cold to roll and cracking when you try! Gently peel the top layer of baking paper (the one you used to line the tin) off the surface of the cake and discard it. Then, tightly roll up the cake. Start at one of the shorter sides and use the baking paper to help you roll it up nice and evenly. The tighter you roll it, the more defined the ‘swirl’ in the finished cake will be, so do it as tightly as you can, while still being gentle- the cake will be delicate, after all!

Once you have rolled the cake up, leave it to cool completely in that ‘log’ shape, before filling.

Making the Almond Cream Filling

The almond cream filling is the easiest part of this recipe- it’s literally only 3 ingredients! Make sure your icing sugar is sifted, so you don’t get any pesky lumps, then put all of the ingredients into a large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Don’t go too far, or your cream won’t be smooth and will start to resemble butter, but make sure that it holds its shape. This is important, because otherwise it might ooze out of the log as you roll it up.

I like to use an electric whisk to do this, because it makes it so much quicker and easier, but you could absolutely whisk it by hand if you prefer.

Assembling the Log

When you are ready to assemble the cake, gently unroll the cooled sponge. Be careful, because it will be still delicate and you don’t want to crack it at this stage.

Spread the cream in an even layer all over the surface of the log. It will seem like quite a thin layer, but that’s exactly how it should be- any more and it will squidge out as you roll!

Once all of the cream is on, you can roll the cake back up. I like to use the baking paper beneath to help with this, so that I don’t have to touch the cake too much- just make sure you don’t roll it into the cake roll!

At this point, you will have a filled roll of cake. Success! The outside of the roll will be covered in lots of caster sugar from the baking paper- while it’s important to stop it sticking, there can be quite a lot of it leftover on the cake, which isn’t needed anymore. If you don’t mind it, you can leave it, but I use a clean, dry pastry brush to brush any excess off.

One quick note here: I left my roll as one straight log because I know my limits liked the simplicity of it. Often, traditional Yule Logs have ‘branches’ coming off them- if you want to do this, you can just cut one of the ends at an angle, then move the cut part to one of the sides, position the angled edge against the main roll.

Once you’ve got your log assembled (and branched, if that’s your vibe) you can decorate i! Remove the white chocolate and rosemary ganache from the fridge, give it a quick stir to ensure it is smooth, then spread it onto the top and sides of the log. I use an offset spatula to do this, but you could just as easily use a knife, rubber spatula or spoon, if that’s what you have. I don’t cover the ends, because I like to see the pretty cake swirl, but you can if you would like.

Once your cake is covered in ganache, you want to cover all of the ganache-d surfaces with flaked almonds. You can sprinkle them over the top very easily, but you might have to resort to chucking handfuls at the sides to cover those parts.

To finish the whole thing off, add a few sprigs of rosemary here and there, for decoration, then give everything a final dusting of icing sugar ‘snow’, to make it ultra-festive.

The cake is best served immediately (as with all cakes, really), but it can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, if required (as long as the cream you used is still in date when you serve it!)- so you can make it ahead as your Christmas Day dessert.

Final Thoughts

I know I’ve been saying it a lot recently, but I’m kind of… obsessed with this bake? I think it’s so elegant and unusual- it will definitely impress any guests/hungry family members this time of year. I also think, even though it’s not super traditional, it still has the fun of a Yule Log and plenty of festive flavour- I mean, rosemary is kind of pine-y and almonds are basically synonymous with Christmas at this point, right? Which reminds me- I’m definitely in my almond era this year. I think all of the Christmas bakes I’ve uploaded to the blog this year have been almond-y! What can I say? I am a marzipan girl THROUGH AND THROUGH. Anyway, I digress.

As I said at the start, making a Swiss roll can feel intimidating, but rest assured that this was only my second time ever making a Swiss roll (and my first successful time) and the pictures are all of my first attempt at this recipe. It’s a really fun, super rewarding bake, so don’t be put off by the extra hurdles. I have faith in you!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! I’d love to hear if you try out the recipe- let me know in the comments below!

Gemma

xxx

Print

Almond, Rosemary and White Chocolate Yule Log

An almond sponge, filled with almond cream, smothered in a white chocolate and rosemary ganache and covered in toasted flaked almonds. For those who want a Yule Log with a twist this festive season.

Course Dessert

Keyword almond, rosemary, swiss roll, White Chocolate, yule log

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Chilling time 12 hours hours

Total Time 12 hours hours 55 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Equipment

• 23x32cm Swiss roll tin

Ingredients

For the white chocolate and rosemary ganache:

• 100 ml double cream
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 150 g white chocolate
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

For the almond swiss roll cake:

• 4 eggs
• 80 g caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling.
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• 50 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50 g ground almonds
• 1 pinch salt

For the almond cream filling:

• 200 ml double cream
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted.
• 1/4 tsp almond extract

To decorate:

• 80 g flaked almonds, toasted.
• Rosemary sprigs
• Icing sugar, for dusting.

Instructions

Make the white chocolate and rosemary ganache:

• Place the double cream and the rosemary sprigs into a small saucepan over a medium heat. Allow the cream to come to just below a simmer (you should see small bubbles form around the edges of the pan), stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and allow to infuse for 15 minutes.
• While the cream is infusing, finely chop the white chocolate and place into a heatproof bowl. Once the cream has infused, remove the rosemary sprigs and place the cream back over medium heat. Stir frequently until the cream reaches just below a simmer again, then stir in the salt and pour the whole thing over the chopped chocolate. Allow to sit for a minute or two, then stir until the chocolate has completely melted into the cream.
• Cover the bowl (place the clingfilm directly onto the surface of the ganache, to prevent a skin forming), then allow to cool slightly before putting into the fridge to set overnight.

Make the almond swiss roll cake:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (conventional oven). Line the Swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper and set aside.
• Place the eggs and the 80g of caster sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the mixture is pale and has tripled in volume- the 'ribbon stage'. Add the almond and vanilla extracts, and whisk briefly to incorporate.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a separate bowl. Stir in the ground almonds, then sprinkle the dry ingredients over the egg mixture. Using a large, metal spoon, fold in gently, until no streaks of flour remain.
• Pour the batter into the prepared tin and gently level it out with a knife/offset spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, until the cake is golden and just firm to the touch.
• While the cake is baking, take a piece of baking paper that is slightly larger than the size of the tin and spread it out on a clean work surface. Sprinkle the 2 tbsp of caster sugar over the paper, making the surface is evenly covered.
• When the cake has finished baking, allow it to cool for 1 minute before flipping it out onto the sugar-coated baking paper. Peel the baking paper that was used to line the tin off the cake and discard. Starting at one of the shorter ends, tightly roll up the sponge, along with the sugared baking paper. Set the roll aside to cool completely like this.

Make the almond cream:

• Once the roll has cooled, place all of the ingredients for the almond cream filling into a bowl and whisk (I like to use an electric mixer) until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cake:

• When you are ready to assemble the cake, carefully unroll the sponge. Spread the cream onto the cake in an even layer, then carefully roll the whole thing back up.
• Use a clean, dry pastry brush to brush off any excess caster sugar on the outside of the cake roll. Remove the ganache from the fridge, give it a quick mix to ensure it is smooth, then spread it onto the top and sides of the cake.
• Sprinkle the flaked almonds all over the surface of the cake, so that they stick to the ganache. Add a few sprigs of rosemary for decoration, then dust the whole thing with icing sugar. This cake is best served immediately, but it can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, if required.

Notes

Adapted from Orange and Almond Swiss Roll, by Domestic Gothess (https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2015/03/16/orange-and-almond-swiss-roll/).