A Delicious Christmas Yule Log Recipe

• Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4
• Prepare a 14"x 10"/35 x 25 centimeter jelly roll pan by lightly greasing it with butter and lining it with greaseproof paper.
• Sift the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl.
• Add the eggs and whisk until they are light and creamy and fluffy. Add the rum as you whisk them.
• Fold the flour in very gently until well mixed.
• Pour the mixture into your prepared tin.
• Place in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
• While it is baking, cut a piece of baking paper or greaseproof paper just a little larger than the tin.
• When your Yule log is baked, turn it out onto the prepared baking paper. Don't worry if the edges are a little crisp (it happens sometimes!), simply trim the edges.
• Using the baking paper, take hold of the ends and roll your Yule log into a roll with the paper inside it.
• Allow to go cold.

Prepare your Chestnut Cream Filling/Topping

• Beat the chestnut purée and the butter, then gradually beat in the sugar and the rum.
• Unwind the log and remove the paper.
• Spread about a third of the filling on the sponge and roll it up into the log again.

How To Make Chestnut Puree

• In a saucepan, whisk together the milk and sugar on medium heat, until sugar is dissolved.
• Add chestnuts and vanilla bean then lower heat to simmer.
• Cook for about 20 minutes until half of the liquid is left in the mixture.
• Remove the vanilla bean and discard.
• Strain the mixture keeping the liquid. 
• Place the chestnuts into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth, scraping sides as required and adding some of the liquid back as needed until the desired consistency is reached. The puree needs to be spreadable, not watery.
• Cool to room temperature and store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freezer for up to 2 months.

Decorating your Yule Log

• To decorate your Yule log, cut off the ends on a slant to give it a more authentic Yule log effect.
• Cover with the remainder of the chestnut cream by either piping it with a star tube close to one another on the top and sides to imitate the bark or simply cover and mark with a fork.
• To complete your Christmas Yule Log recipe, you can scatter some finely chopped pistachio nuts on it to look like moss, pine cones, etc., and dredge some icing sugar to imitate snow.
• You can use any decorations you wish and a chocolate or coffee buttercream would also be delicious instead of the chestnut cream, in fact, why not make both!
• Your Christmas Yule log recipe can be transformed into the most beautiful cake with the addition of a small Father Christmas placed on it and some imitation fir leaves. A piece of marzipan with some piped icing such as 'Merry Christmas' or 'Joyeux Noel' also looks amazing.