Mandarin Chestnut Ice Cream Yule Log
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Christmas is synonymous with snow falling behind the windows, with the cozy family reunion when the fireplace seals the ambiance of the holidays. The stuffed capon is roasting among other delicious appetizers and side dishes. As for dessert, plenty of choices are available, and ice-cream-based desserts are among them. Here is my latest original creation: a mandarin–chestnut ice cream yule log set on a sablé breton butter cookie. The whole log is then coated with a light chestnut–vanilla Chantilly, feather-thin milk chocolate shavings, and topped with gourmet blackcurrant ice cream mushrooms. Just incredible and totally doable! Let's make this stunning bûche de Noël glacée ahead of time to be served for Christmas Eve!
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Bûche de Noël Glacée
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- From bottom to top: Sablé breton butter cookie, mandarin ice cream, chestnut ice cream, blackcurrant-mandarin ice cream mushroom, chestnut-vanilla whipped cream and feather thin milk chocolate shavings.
What Mold to Use
- For ice cream desserts, I prefer using metal or stainless steel or copper removable-part molds. They are affordable and versatile. Chill the mold in the freezer before filling it with ice cream.
Chocolate Shavings
Sablée Breton
- Learn how to make the perfect sablé crust for your cake base. Sablé breton crust can be made and baked days ahead and kept frozen until ready to assemble the cake.
Ice Cream Yule Log
- Before assembling the cake, line the mold with an open freezer bag, but press the corners in (to keep the plastic in place inside the curves of the mold, lightly moisten it with a sponge). Place the prepared mold onto a baking tray and freeze. The key to building any ice cream cake is to use freshly churned ice cream. Hardened ice cream won't work. It can be fixed, though: if the ice cream is too hard, leave it in the fridge to soften slowly. When soft enough, re-churn it in your ice cream maker. Needless to say, when building ice cream cakes, the cooler the room temperature, the better. So 18–20 °C is perfect to begin with. Have both ice cream mixtures in the refrigerator ready to churn. Freeze your rubber spatula and offset spatula as well.
Chestnut Ice Cream
- Churn the chestnut ice cream according to the recipe.
- Fill the frozen cake mold two-thirds full.
- Immediately coat the sides of the mold with the frozen spatula to create an even curve into which the second ice cream layer will be added later. Freeze the yule log for 3 hours before adding the mandarin or orange ice cream.
Mandarin Ice Cream
- Churn the mandarin ice cream according to the recipe.
- When the chestnut ice cream has hardened enough, fill the created gap with the mandarin ice cream.
- Flatten it evenly with the frozen offset spatula. Freeze the log overnight.
Adding the Sablé Breton Cookie Base
- Stick the sablé breton crust base onto the ice cream with some chestnut cream. Freeze yule log.
Demolding the Yule Log
- Carefully, flip the log over a frozen baking tray and remove the mold and put the plastic back the cake for now. Freeze the log. At this point, it can be kept frozen for up to 3 months.
Cassis & Mandarin Ice Cream Mushrooms
- A day or two before you plan to serve the yule log, remove the plastic protector, and glue three ice cream mushrooms with a dot of chestnut cream or orange jam. Freeze the log overnight before coating it with whipped cream.
Chestnut Whipped Cream
- Fit the piping bag with a flattened large open pastry tip (smash it with a hammer), or make a straight cut across the tip of the piping bag about half-inch. Transfer the ice cream yule log onto a cake board or wooden cutting board or platter. Keep it in the freezer.
- In the chilled mixing bowl, whip together the chestnut cream with heavy cream to medium peaks. Prepare the chocolate shavings (chilled).
- Take the frozen log and coat both sides first, applying each Chantilly strip in a thin, straight even layer.
- Then do the contours of each mushroom.
The Finished Touch
- Sprinkle the chocolate shavings and lightly dust some unsweetened cocoa powder. Serve immediately of freeze the finished yule log for later. Once the chantilly is frozen though, allow your bûche de Noël to soften for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator bore serving.
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