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My mother recently visited us – for Thanksgiving – and among other things, she brought me a copy of the latest issue of Elle à Table magazine. Merci Maman :-)

In it was a recipe that I could not not do.

You see, my husband is a big fan of tiramisu. I have tried several recipes and we have a favorite one. But in the magazine was a recipe for a Tiramisu Christmas Log, une Bûche au tiramisu.

It is, I think, a pretty good and original idea, and that is why I fell like sharing it. Nevertheless, it is not my favorite Tiramisu recipe (well, it is not technically a tiramisu, after all). I think a little more sugar could have done the trick though (and I am not the kind to like my desserts too sugary).

There are few pictures because I had little non-assistants in the kitchen waiting in line to taste the mascarpone.

And the final result could have looked better if only I had had the time to decorate the log a little (the cats wanted their paw on the mascarpone, my husband on the dessert ;-)
Also, the recipe calls for the rolling up of the cake on itself after it has cooled under a wet kitchen towel. For another recipe, I had rolled up the cake on itself with the wet cloth so that it would not break for the final rolling up.

This recipe is adapted from the Bûche au tiramisu of Christophe Felder, which was published in Elle à Table #85, and, it appears, is also available here and there on the Internet.

For one large log, you will need,
– For the cake:
* 4 eggs
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 espresso (or about 4 tbsp strong, black coffee)
– For the syrup:
* 4 espressos (or about 16 tbsp strong, black coffee)
* 2 tbsp of Marsala wine
– For the cream:
* 8 oz mascarpone
* 3 yolks
* 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
* 9 fl oz heavy cream, very cold
* 2 gelatine leaves
– For the decoration:
* cocoa powder

You will need to start preparing the log the evening before you want to serve it.

1. Preheat your oven to 425F.

2. Start by preparing the cake. Separate whites from yolks. Reserve yolks.

3. Start whipping egg whites. When they start to foam, add half of the sugar and continue whipping for about a minute. Add the remaining sugar and whip up the egg whites to firm peaks.

4. Add the yolks to the firm egg whites and blend until just combined (do not over blend).

5. Add the flour through a sieve. Blend once.

6. With the help of a spatula, incorporate the coffee.

7. Put the batter onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Spread the batter on the entire sheet. The batter should be about 1/4-inch thick.

8. Bake for 7-8 min. Once baked, let it cool on another sheet and put a wet cloth on top of it.

In order to prepare the syrup, mix together the coffee and the wine together. Reserve.

Time to prepare the cream.

1. Beat the yolks with the confectioner’s sugar.

2. Add the mascarpone and continue beating for about 3 minutes.

3. Whip the cold heavy cream until getting firm whipped cream.

4. Soften the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes. Wring them and make them melt in the micro-wave for 5-6 seconds without adding anything.

5. Dilute the gelatine in two tbsp of the whipped cream. Add half of the mascarpone batter and mix well. Add the rest of the mascarpone batter and mix again.

6. Delicately blend into the whipped cream, with a spatula.

7. Soak the cake in the coffee-Marsala syrup, with a brush.

8. Spread half of the cream and roll the cake up on itself. Put in the fridge for 15 minutes.

9. Add the remaining cream on the outside of the cake. Put in the fridge overnight.

10. Before serving, add cocoa powder on top of it. And of course, you can decorate it!