Makes 1

This is a fun tradition that always makes for a beautiful centrepiece on the table. It’s fun to decorate - keep it simple or go over the top!

For the Cocoa Sponge

165 Grams All Purpose Flour

15 Grams Best Quality Dark Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

6 Large Eggs, Separated and At Room Temperature

200 Grams White Sugar

2 Tbsp Canola Oil

2 tsp Vanilla

For the Filling

350 ml Whipping Cream

2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Tbsp Chocolate Ganache (see recipe below)

Ganache

175 Grams Finely Chopped Dark Chocolate

175 ml Heavy Cream

To prepare the sponge preheat oven to 350. Grease a 12x17 baking tray and line with parchment.

Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer whisk the egg whites with half of the white sugar until stiff peaks form.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks, remaining sugar, canola oil and vanilla until pale yellow and thickened.

Add half of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and gently stir. Repeat with the remaining egg whites. Add half of the flour mixture and stir to just combine. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture. Your batter should be light and airy.

Spread the batter evening in the lined tray. Tap gently to pop any air bubbles. Bake for 12-15 minutes - until just set.

While the sponge bakes prepare your rolling cloth and filling - Using a fine sieve, dust a clean dish cloth with cocoa powder.

For the filling beat the whipping cream with the powdered sugar, vanilla and ganache until thick. Keep cold in the fridge until ready to use

Once the sponge is done, quickly run knife around the edges. Invert onto the dusted cloth and remove the parchment from the bottom. Starting at the narrow end, gently roll up the sponge/towel. Allow to cool completely within the towel.

For the ganache, heat the cream until just simmering. Pour over the chocolate and stir until smooth.

To assemble - Unroll the sponge and carefully spread the filling on the inner side, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Gently re-roll the sponge/filling back up and place on a piece of parchment seam-side down. You can cut part of the roll off on an angle and place on the side of the larger piece before spreading the ganache to create a more realistic looking log.

Use an offset spatula to spread the ganache on top and on the sides. You can simply create “bark” by using fork tines to drag lines through the soft ganache. Or, melt some chocolate and spread out on a lined sheet pan - allow to set. Crack the set chocolate into long shards and stick them to the ganache to create shaggy bark.

Dust with powdered sugar (for snow) and add any embellishments you like such as:

Sugared Rosemary Sprigs

Sugared Cranberries

Meringue Mushrooms