If you’re looking for some last minute Christmas Day dessert inspiration, look no further than this gorgeous chocolate Yule Log. It’s also vegan and can be easily adapted to be gluten free so the whole family can enjoy it!
Chocolate Yule Log
Print ThisIngredients
- FOR THE SPONGE
- 240ml non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 210g self-raising flour
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 60g extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch salt
- FOR THE ICING
- 2.5 cups dairy-free butter
- 3 cups icing sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- ¾ cup cacao powder
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180C & line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Combine the milk in a small bowl & whisk with the apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle into a buttermilk.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cacao powder & salt.
Add the oil to the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine. Then add the wet ingredients into the dry & mix together to form a batter.
Pour the batter into the baking tray, spreading it evenly to fill the corners & gentle tap on the worktop to remove any bubbles. Then bake for 20 minutes.
Whilst the sponge is baking, make your icing by creaming the dairy-free butter before adding the icing sugar, vanilla extract & mixing well until smooth. (Leave the cacao powder out for now).
Remove the sponge from the oven and allow to cool. Place a large sheet of greaseproof paper on your worktop & dust lightly with cacao powder, then lay the sponge bottom side down on to it, peeling away the original baking paper, then cut the edges with a sharp knife to get rid of any rough edges.
Starting with a long edge, roll up the sponge, keeping the paper inside & set aside.
Unroll the sponge & spread a thin layer of the icing all over it (don’t use all the icing), before removing the grease-proof paper and re-rolling.
Add the cacao powder to the rest of your icing & mix well.
Spread the rest of the icing over the log, using a skewer or fork to create bark ripples on the icing. Dust a little extra cacao powder, icing sugar or shaved chocolate over the top & serve.