A Thousand Miles From The Place I Was Born

I almost jumped out of my chair when I read what this month’s challenge was.  It’s something that I’ve always wanted to try, but have been terrified of.  But that is exactly why I joined The Daring Bakers in the first place… to challenge me to try new things and to force me to be brave and not fear the end result.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.  They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.  Because I do not speak or read French, I’ll have to take Hilda and Marion at their word that this recipe came from that site.  LOL!

This isn’t the yule log that everyone automatically thinks of… the rolled cake with cream in the center. This is a layered frozen dessert, somewhat like an ice cream cake, but with mousse instead of ice cream. We were required to include all six components of the log: 1) a Dacquoise Biscuit (kind of like a macaroon), 2) Mousse, 3) Ganache Insert, 4) Praline (Crisp) Insert, 5) Creme Brulee Insert, and 6) Icing.

One of the things that overwhelmed me about this 18-PAGE RECIPE (aside from the sheer bulk of it) was that I didn’t know which component to prepare first. I literally had to read through the instructions about 10 times to figure out where to start, and even then, I made some mistakes. I should have started with the Creme Brulee insert because that took the longest, but somehow, I miscalculated the whole thing and spent a lot of wasted time waiting for my creme brulee to cool.

There were variations of each element and I decided to shy away from the chocolate ones if possible, because I felt like it would be too much chocolate with all of them together. Because the recipes are lengthy, I will only list here the versions of each element that I ended up making (with CCB’s help, because he’s a stand-up guy like that). If you are interested in the recipes for any of the variations, let me know and I’ll send them along to you.

Element #1 – Dacquoise Biscuit
We ground some whole almonds in my Magic Bullet (which worked PERFECTLY!) and the biscuit was so chewy and delicious that the girls ended up scarfing down the remnants after we pieced it into the log. It was so delicious, I can imagine myself making this in the future and just cutting it into squares to snack on.

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon almond meal
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 medium egg whites
4 tablespoons granulated sugar

Finely mix the almond meal and the confectioner’s sugar. (If you have a mixer, you can use it by pulsing the ingredients together for no longer than 30 seconds). Sift the flour into the mix. Beat the egg whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and fold delicately with a spatula. Grease a piece of parchment paper (I used my SilPat) and line your baking pan with it. Spread the batter to an area slightly larger than your desired shape and to a height of 1/3″. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven, and mine took longer), until golden. Let cool and cut to the desired shape. (Let your kids nibble on the scraps if you don’t devour them yourself).

Other Variations (all of which would be YUMMY, I’m sure!): Hazelnut, Chocolate, Lemon and Coconut

Element #2 – Vanilla Mousse

2/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk (yes, this is not a figure-friendly mousse)
1 vanilla bean
4 medium-sized egg yolks
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin (or 2 sheets of gelatin, but I couldn’t find it in sheets)
1 cup whipping cream

Make a pastry cream: Pour the milk and 2/3 cup cream into a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean halves into milk and put the vanilla bean in as well. Heat to boiling then turn the heat off, cover and let infuse for at least 30 minutes. Then remove the vanilla bean. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until white, thick and fluffy. Add the cornstarch, beating carefully to ensure that there are no lumps. While whisking vigorously, pour some of the milk into the yolk mixture to temper it. Put infused milk back on the stove on medium heat. Pour yolk mixture back into the milk while whisking vigorously until mixture thickens considerably. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, leave on for only two more minutes. Remove from the heat, remove the vanilla bean, cover the pastry cream by putting plastic film directly on the surface of the cream (to prevent it from forming a thick skin as it cools), and let cool at room temperature. Soften the gelatin in cold water and melt in a small saucepan with 1 teaspoon of water (or melt in the microwave for 1 minute). Do not boil. Whisking vigorously, pour the cooled pastry cream over it. Whip the 1 cup of whipping cream until stiff and gradually add to the pastry cream (do not whisk). Blend delicately with a spatula (do not whisk).

Other Variations: Dark Chocolate Mousse, White Chocolate Mousse, Milk Chocolate Whipped Chantilly Cream, and Mango Mousse

Element #3 – Cinnamon-Milk Ganache Insert
I didn’t read the part where it recommended that I make the ganache just before using, so my ganache sat at room temperature for about an hour. And it was just fine! I was worried that I would have to reheat it to make it smooth again, but it stayed quite smooth and silky and was DELICIOUS. I will make this one again just to drizzle over fruit, cake, ice cream… ANYTHING. It was out of this world yummy!!

4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
A pinch of cinnamon
2.7 oz (75g) milk chocolate, finely chopped
3.2 oz (90g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened

Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color. Heat the cream with the cinnamon (use the quantity of cinnamon you want to infuse the cream, a pinch is the smallest amount suggested) until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the milk and dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Other Variations: Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate and Dark-Milk Ganache

Element #4 – Coconut Crisp Insert
Because I didn’t want to have the extra step of making my own praline, and because I thought the coconut would go nicely with the rest of the elements, I chose this variation.

3 1/2 ounces white chocolate
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1 2/3 tablespoon unsalted butter
2.1 ounces rice krispies

Spread the coconut on a baking tray and bake for 5-10 minutes at 375 degrees to toast (a different temperature might work better for you with your own oven). Melt the white chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Stir until smooth and add the toasted coconut. Add the rice krispies. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Other Variations: Praline Feuillete, Chocolate Crisp

Element #5 – Vanilla Creme Brulee Insert

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
4 medium-sized egg yolks
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean

Heat the milk, cream and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla infuse for about 1 hour. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white). Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (I used a loaf pan that was slightly smaller than the loaf pan I was using to make the log) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold, put the mold in a water bath, and bake at 210 degrees for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center. (I am familiar with the “wobbly center” look, as I make a lot of custards, creme brulees and cheesecakes, so I didn’t overbake the creme brulee, but it still took me at least another 30 minutes beyond what the recipe stated to get the brulee to a finish point). Let cool to room temperature and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly. (I had to rush this step as I was running out of time… again, should have read the directions more carefully… so it was a little tricky getting the brulee into the mold. It ended up breaking up and I had to place it in the mold in pieces. I don’t think it affected the final result at all… it really just annoyed me more than anything).

Other Variations: Chocolate Creme Brulee

Element #6 – White Chocolate Icing

1/2 tablespoon powdered gelatin
3 1/2 ounces white chocolate
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 2/3 tablespoons corn syrup

Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes. Coarsely chop the chocolate and butter together. bring the milk and corn syrup to a boil. Add the gelatin. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until smooth. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately. (This is where I really screwed up: The icing was taking forever to thicken correctly, so I put it in the refrigerator for about 2 minutes to help it gel. BIG MISTAKE. The end result was one gelatinous mess, and nothing I tried seemed to get it back to a spreading consistency. I didn’t have any more chocolate (or time), so I ended up throwing it out and not putting it on the log. And you know what? I think the log was fine without it).

Other Variations: Dark Chocolate Icing, Milk Chocolate Icing

Assembly

I used a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap (to make it easier to remove the log) and it worked just fine.

1. Pipe 1/3 of the mousse into the mold and smooth surface (the more even it is, the prettier the log will be when you slice it).
2. Take the Creme Brulee insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set it on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
3. Pipe another 1/3 of the mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee. Smooth the surface.
4. Cut the Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
5. Pipe the last 1/3 of the mousse on top of the Crisp Insert.
6. Freeze for a few hours to set (I also didn’t read this part, and my ganache was already ready to go, so I skipped it. I think the end result was fine).
7. Remove the log from the freezer and pipe the ganache onto the frozen mousse, leaving a slight edge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
8. Close with the Dacquoise.
9. Freeze until the next day (I froze it for about 2 hours and then we couldn’t wait any longer!!)
10. Unmold the log onto a wire rack over a shallow pan.
11. Cover with icing and let set.
12. Return to the freezer until ready to decorate/serve.

I served this at our family Christmas party a few days before Christmas and got RAVE reviews from everyone there, even though it wasn’t the prettiest thing I’ve ever made. It wasn’t overly sweet, and I loved the combination of flavors that I chose. When I make this again (which I probably will), I will know what order to make the elements in, and I will give them plenty of time to set up so the end result shows neater layers. I’ll actually get the icing on, and will have a chance to decorate it. In fact, I’m thinking of making this again for Lauren’s birthday (she loves ice cream cakes and would FREAK over this). If I do, I will flavor the creme brulee with lavender and use edible violets to decorate it. Wouldn’t that be just lovely for a little girl??