Here’s an original recipe for tiramisu lovers! A “christmas log” tiramisu: this is how we call French cakes in the shape of a log that we traditionally have for Christmas.

Not difficult to make, it consists in preparing the sponge cake and preparing the mascarpone mixture which is used to garnish the cake, and assembling the whole cake.

Enjoy!

Christmas tiramisu sponge cake

Servings 8

Ingredients

Ingredients for the sponge cake

4 eggs
100 g sugar
100 g flour
30 g almond powder optional
50 g butter
Vanilla powder or extract (optional)
15 cl cold espresso prepare it in advance
Amaretto or rum optional

Topping ingredients

500 g mascarpone
120 g sugar
4 eggs 4 yolks and 2 whites
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
Vanilla powder or extract (optional)

Instructions

If you have not made an espresso in advance, make it now and set it aside in the fridge.

Preparation of the sponge cake

In a large bowl, put the egg yolks (keep the whites aside), the sugar, the melted butter, the vanilla, and half the flour. Mix well.
Then beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt.
Add two tablespoons of egg whites to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Gently fold in.
Then add the other half of the flour. Mix well to incorporate all the flour. If necessary, add the almond powder at this stage.
Finally, gently fold in the egg whites.
Turn on the oven to 180°C.
Cover a rectangular dish (18 x 13 cm in my case) with baking paper. Then pour in the sponge cake mixture.
Bake for about 8 and a half minutes at 180°C. The biscuit should be barely golden.
Remove from the oven immediately and take the sponge cake out of the dish.
Brush the biscuit with cold espresso (to which you can add a tablespoon of rum or amaretto) or a spray, so that the biscuit is soaked (you can also put the coffee in a dish and dip the sponge very quickly in it, but be careful not to get it too wet).
Roll the sponge cake up very carefully and gently so as not to damage it, without removing the baking sheet. Cover the sponge cake with a damp cloth and keep it aside while you prepare the rest of the cake.

Preparation of the mascarpone filling

Beat the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a bowl.
Add the mascarpone and mix vigorously to incorporate the mascarpone.
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt.
Gently fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
Cover the bowl and chill the mixture for at least 30 minutes (or more).

Assembling

Unroll the sponge cake. Cover it with a generous layer of mascarpone mixture. Gently roll it up.
Cover the top and sides of the log cake with the mascarpone mixture.
Chill for at least 3 hours, or longer if you make the cake the day before.
Just before serving, sprinkle with cocoa powder. You can cut out paper shapes and place them on the log before sprinkling to create patterns on the unsprinkled areas. Decorate with sweets (e.g. chocolate, cinnamon stars) and small Christmas decorations: it’s now ready!
You can also make lines with a fork on the top of the cake to make a wood log effect.

Notes

You can also make this recipe without coffee if you don’t like it, by soaking the biscuit in cold chocolate.

You can also replace the sponge cake with ladyfingers like for a tiramisu, and make your preparation in a rectangular dish to make it look like a log.

You can also add a speculoos flavour to the cake by adding speculoos spices to the biscuit (a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves).

Course: Dessert