Icebox Peppermint Yule Log Cake
By America's Test KitchenPublished on July 29, 2011
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
20 round red- and white-striped hard peppermint candies 2 ¾ cups heavy cream ½ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) confectioners' sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract 36 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers ¼ cup (¾ ounce/21 grams) cocoa powder, siftedCandy spearmint leaves and Red Hots for garnish
Before You Begin
If you prefer, place the peppermint candies in a zipper-lock plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or heavy skillet. For the chocolate wafers, a 9-ounce box will give you enough for this recipe.
Instructions
- Make peppermint cream: Process candies in food processor until crushed but not ground. With electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 cups cream, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract in large bowl until soft peaks form. Using rubber spatula, fold crushed candy into peppermint cream.
- Make cookie stacks: Spread 1 tablespoon peppermint cream on chocolate wafer. Top with another wafer and repeat 4 more times to produce stack of 6 wafers with cream in between each cookie. Make 6 stacks, each with 6 wafers. Spread 1 tablespoon peppermint cream on top of 5 stacks, leaving 1 stack plain.
- Make log: Lay cookie stacks on sides and press together end to end, making one 16-inch log (plain stack without cream on top wafer should be placed at end). Wrap log in plastic and freeze until firm, at least 5 hours or up to 1 week.
- Trim log: With electric mixer, beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cocoa in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Cut thin piece diagonally from one end of frozen log and discard. Cut 2-inch piece diagonally from other end of frozen log and set aside.
- Make bump: Transfer frozen cake to serving platter. Spread all but 1/2 cup cocoa cream evenly over top, sides, and ends of log. Press reserved 2-inch piece on top of log to make bump, placing it several inches from one end of log. Cover bump with remaining cocoa cream.
- Decorate log: Drag tines of fork down length of log to simulate bark. Freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. Before serving, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Garnish platter with candy spearmint leaves and red hot candies.
Yield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
20 round red- and white-striped hard peppermint candies
2 ¾ cups heavy cream
½ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
36 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
¼ cup (¾ ounce/21 grams) cocoa powder, sifted
Candy spearmint leaves and Red Hots for garnish
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
20 round red- and white-striped hard peppermint candies
2 ¾ cups heavy cream
½ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
36 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
¼ cup (¾ ounce/21 grams) cocoa powder, sifted
Candy spearmint leaves and Red Hots for garnish
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
20 round red- and white-striped hard peppermint candies
2 ¾ cups heavy cream
½ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
36 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
¼ cup (¾ ounce/21 grams) cocoa powder, sifted
Candy spearmint leaves and Red Hots for garnish
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
When developing our Icebox Peppermint Yule Log Cake recipe, we were looking for a modern approach to the classic bûche de Noël that wouldn’t require a day in the kitchen to prepare. We sandwiched Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers together with minty whipped cream to form a long cylinder. For bolder mint flavor, we folded crushed peppermint candies into the whipped cream. To finish our Icebox Peppermint Yule Log, we frosted the entire cake with cocoa-flavored whipped cream.
Before You Begin
If you prefer, place the peppermint candies in a zipper-lock plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or heavy skillet. For the chocolate wafers, a 9-ounce box will give you enough for this recipe.
Instructions
- Make peppermint cream: Process candies in food processor until crushed but not ground. With electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 cups cream, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract in large bowl until soft peaks form. Using rubber spatula, fold crushed candy into peppermint cream.
- Make cookie stacks: Spread 1 tablespoon peppermint cream on chocolate wafer. Top with another wafer and repeat 4 more times to produce stack of 6 wafers with cream in between each cookie. Make 6 stacks, each with 6 wafers. Spread 1 tablespoon peppermint cream on top of 5 stacks, leaving 1 stack plain.
- Make log: Lay cookie stacks on sides and press together end to end, making one 16-inch log (plain stack without cream on top wafer should be placed at end). Wrap log in plastic and freeze until firm, at least 5 hours or up to 1 week.
- Trim log: With electric mixer, beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cocoa in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Cut thin piece diagonally from one end of frozen log and discard. Cut 2-inch piece diagonally from other end of frozen log and set aside.
- Make bump: Transfer frozen cake to serving platter. Spread all but 1/2 cup cocoa cream evenly over top, sides, and ends of log. Press reserved 2-inch piece on top of log to make bump, placing it several inches from one end of log. Cover bump with remaining cocoa cream.
- Decorate log: Drag tines of fork down length of log to simulate bark. Freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. Before serving, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Garnish platter with candy spearmint leaves and red hot candies.
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