Rolled cakes are always amazing to look at. Decorated with a dusting of icing sugar they are pretty and make a great centerpiece. Vegan rolled cakes are more difficult to get right as eggs are a great way to bind and hold. So we use Aquafaba instead. There is very little liquid or fat in this cake – the meringue does that job as well as binding.
I’ll be honest, when it comes to rolling Vegan cakes it’s a bit hit and miss. But I follow Mary Berry’s attitude of ‘don’t worry about the cracks they are part of the charm’ – that’s not quite a direct quote but the concept is right. Frankly I just cover the cake with Vegan Buttercream and keep going. It tastes great, looks lovely, but may well crack at the sides.
Make the buttercream first and put to one side. Our buttercream recipe is here.
Vegan Chocolate Yule Log
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp Aquafaba
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Cup Self Raising Flour
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Cocoa
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil or Melted Dairy-Free Margarine
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 tbsp Dairy-Free Milk
- One Portion of our Buttercream Recipe
- 4 tbsp Raspberry Jam
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C 350°F and prepare your pan. I use a standard baking sheet lined with parchment, and greased sides.
- Make the buttercream and set it to one side, loosen the jam by stirring with a fork so it's easy to spread.
- Whip the Aquafaba for 10 minutes until you have a meringue consistency. You should be able to hold the bowl upside down and the meringue will stay put.
- Mix the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and baking soda together in a large bowl.
- Add the vanilla to the meringue while it's still whisking away.
- Once the meringue is done, you will fold it into the flour mixture. First add the oil, milk and apple cider vinegar together and whisk. Then add to the flour mixture and combine.
- Then fold in the meringue - this will take a bit of time. Don't rush it, and don't worry if it looks lumpy to begin with.
- Pour the batter into the prepared dish, even out the top and bake for 15-17 minutes.
- While it's baking prepare a large piece of parchment, sprinkle it with cocoa powder and put it on a pastry board or counter where you have lots of space to work.
- Once the cake is cooked, cover it with a clean cloth for 1 minute, then turn it out onto the parchment. It's not as difficult as it sounds, you keep the tin close to the parchment and flip it over quickly so the cake is on the parchment 'bottom up' as it were. Peel the parchment off the top of the cake (this is the parchment that was on the tin. The bottom of the cake is now the top.
- Now lots of recipes say to roll the cake, cool it and then unroll it. That doesn't seem to work for me, so I let the cake cool for 3 or 4 minutes and then spread the cake with jam and then put some buttercream on top of the jam. Now roll up the cake slowly using the parchment paper as a guide. The paper isn't rolled inside the cake but ends up on the outside. Leave the cake to cool completely with the baking parchment on the outside. Then transfer to a plate and cover with buttercream and a dusting of icing sugar.
