The Cube Yule Log

Let's start the recipe!

1. Read the recipe and weigh the ingredients

   Make room in the refrigerator for the serving plate. Weigh each group of ingredients separately: keep the decoration chocolate separate from the chocolate for the ganache. Cut a sheet of baking paper to the dimensions of the baking tray, with a small edge. Prepare a second sheet of baking paper for turning out the sponge. Cooling stages can overlap; never fill a warm sponge with cream.

2. Prepare the ganache first

   Chop the 300 g of dark chocolate and put them in a dry bowl. Pour the 300 g of cream into a saucepan and heat until the first small bubbles around the edge. Remove from the heat. Pour a third of the cream over the chocolate, wait 30 seconds and then stir with a spatula in small circles in the center. Add the second third and then the last in the same way. The mixture should become smooth and glossy, with no lumps. Do not whisk it.

3. Let the ganache become spreadable

   Pour the ganache into a large container, press cling film directly onto the surface and let cool for about 20 minutes. Then place it in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes. It should hold on the spatula but spread easily without tearing the sponge. If it is runny, chill it longer; if it becomes too firm, leave it at room temperature for a few minutes. Times vary depending on the chocolate.

4. Preheat the oven and crack the four eggs

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C, conventional setting (no fan). Position the oven rack in the middle. Break the 4 eggs one by one in a small bowl to easily remove any shell, then pour them into the large bowl. Add 100 g of sugar and a pinch of salt. It is not necessary to separate the whites from the yolks.

5. Whisk to the ribbon stage

   Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for 7 to 10 minutes. The mixture should become pale and increase significantly in volume. When you lift the beaters, the falling batter should leave a visible trail on the surface for a few seconds: this is the ribbon stage. If it disappears immediately, whisk for another minute before checking again.

6. Fold in the dry ingredients without deflating the mixture

   Sift the 80 g of flour and the 20 g of cocoa over the bowl in three additions. After each addition, slide the spatula down to the bottom, lift the batter over the top and turn the bowl slightly. Do not use the whisk again. Stop as soon as no pockets of flour remain, checking the bottom of the bowl too. Immediately spread the batter evenly over the entire 30 x 40 cm tray, including the corners.

7. Bake until set but still flexible

   Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Check after 10 minutes: the surface should be set and spring back slightly when touched, with no wet batter. An overbaked sponge will crack when rolled. Use oven gloves to remove the tray. Rest for a minute, then turn the sponge out onto the second sheet of baking paper. Gently peel off the original baking paper, pulling it back almost flat.

8. Cool and then cut three rectangles

   Let the cookie cool well flat for 25 to 30 minutes. With a clean ruler, mark three strips of 30 x 10 cm, then cut them with a bread knife without crushing them. The remaining strip is used for tasting drops; do not overlay it on the cake. Mounting is deliberately low and stable.

9. Assemble the three layers and chill

   Place a first strip of 30 x 10 cm on the plate and spread 120 g of ganache without going quite to the edges. Lay the second, spread another 120 g, then add the third, face the most even upwards. Press gently with the palm flat. Reserve 300 g of ganache for coating and about 60 g to stick the decorations. Cool the assembly for 45 minutes before trimming or covering it.

10. Cover the ganache block

    Spread the 300 g of reserved ganache on the top and four sides. Hold the spatula almost vertical to smooth the sides and horizontal for the top. Fill the hollows with a little ganache, without looking for perfect edges. Leave the layer still flexible so that the small tiles adhere.

11. Cut out fine pixels

    Set aside 50 g of green paste, 30 g of brown and 20 g of white for decorations. Powder very slightly the plan with 10 g of icing sugar, without necessarily using everything. Spread the remaining green, brown and grey pasta to 2 mm thick. Cut strips of 1 cm, then squares of 1 cm. These thin tiles give the pixel effect without a massive layer of sugar 1 cm thick.

12. Lay the tiles from bottom to top

    Start at the bottom of one side: place the brown and grey tiles side by side on the ganache, without superimposing them. Row by row, cutting the last tiles to the necessary dimensions. Cover the top with various greens. Reserve a small area of 3 x 4 cm where you place the remaining white tiles to evoke snow. Press each piece with the finger pulp, without crushing the angles.

13. Form a low tree and a chest

    With 15 g of brown, model a square trunk of 1.5 cm side and about 2 cm high. With the 50 g of reserved green, make a compact crown of small cubes, placed directly on the trunk: no long cantilevered branches. With the remaining 15 g of brown, forms a small low chest and marks its lid on the back of the knife. The pieces stick with a trace of ganache, without hidden peak.

14. Model the fox and pose it

    Uses about 35 g of orange for a rectangular body and 15 g for a small head. With the rest, form two small triangular ears. Lay the body on four small white feet, very short; add a white square to the muzzle and two tiny black dots for the eyes. Press the elements against the body with a trace of ganache. Keep the animal low, 3 to 4 cm maximum, then place the three decorations on the cake and keep cool for 30 minutes. The leftover dough can be kept well packed according to their instructions.