Yule log cake

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 120C/gas 0.5. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. To make the meringue mushrooms, whisk the egg white and icing sugar in a clean bowl over simmering water for 7-8 minutes until the meringue is stiff, white and shiny. Pipe stems and caps on the sheet, varying the sizes of the caps - smooth them with a wet finger if they make a point. Make the stems thin, 2-3cm tall, with pointed ends. Keep a little meringue to use later. Bake for 1 hour or until crisp and dry.

2. Take the meringues out of the oven and allow to cool. Make a small hole in the underside of each cap with a skewer, then use the skewer to dab some raw meringue in the holes. Press the caps and stems together. Leave to set.

3. Turn the oven to 190C/gas 5. Grease and then line a 28x38cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment. To make the cake, whisk the eggs and sugar for 10 minutes or until the whisk leaves a trail. Whisk in 4 tbsp water, sift in the flours, then fold in the cocoa, butter and vanilla. Pour into the tin, shaking it to level the mixture. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

4. Loosen the edges of the cake, then tip it out onto a sheet of parchment. Carefully peel off the lining paper. Roll up the cake from one long side, with the parchment inside. Leave to cool for about 1 hour.

5. For the fudge icing, melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over hot water or in the microwave for 1 minute on full power. Stir until smooth, then gradually beat in the icing sugar (it will be quite stiff). Beat in the milk, then leave to cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable. Melt the jam with 2 tbsp water in a pan or the microwave for 1.5 minutes, then sieve.

6. Unroll the cake and remove the parchment. Spread a third of the fudge icing over the cake and then re-roll. Cut a diagonal slice off one end. Put the cake on a plate and dab a little icing 6-7cm in from the straight end. Stick the slice of cake, cut side down, on the icing. Brush the cake with the apricot glaze.

7. Spread the rest of the fudge icing over the cake with a palette knife. Run the prongs of a fork along it to resemble bark. Sift cocoa powder over the mushroom caps, then arrange on the cake. Finish by dusting icing sugar lightly over the cake.

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Ingredients

For the meringue mushrooms

1 egg white
50g icing sugar

For the cake

5 Eggs
140g golden caster sugar
50g self-raising flour
50g plain flour
2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
25g Butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the fudge icing

150g dark chocolate, broken in pieces
85g Butter, cut in pieces
300g icing sugar, sifted
5 tbsp Milk
4 tbsp apricot jam
1 dash of cocoa powder and icing sugar, to decorate

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