Red Berry Charlotte Yule Log

Before starting this Red Berry Charlotte Yule Log recipe, organise the necessary ingredients for the strawberry insert.

For the strawberry insert: Blend the pectin NH coating and castor sugar.

Combine well with a spoon. The pectin and castor sugar should be combined together before adding to the fruit purée to avoid any lumps.

Heat the strawberry purée up to 50 or 60°C, then add the sugar and pectin mix.

Combine well with a whisk and cook for a couple of minutes to activate the pectin.

Leave to cool, then pour the warm preparation into a mini yule log insert mould. Make sure you let the preparation cool down a little first, otherwise the plastic mould might melt and warp.

Place in the freezer.
Quantities listed here allow you to make one insert (one cavity). I doubled proportions to make 2 logs, hence why you can see two cavities filled in the photo.

For the sponge fingers: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Clarify the eggs one by one. Combine the egg yolks with 65 grams of castor sugar...

... and blanch with a whisk.

Sift the flour with a fine sieve and add to the blanched preparation...

... and combine well until homogeneous.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites.

When they become foamy...

... add 45 grams of sugar and continue beating until firm.

Add 1/3 of the meringue to the first preparation. Combine well with a whisk.

Add the remaining meringue...

... and fold gently, using a rubber spatula. This preparation should be used for piping immediately.

Transfer the preparation into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle (diameter 8 to 10 mm). Pipe the preparation on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper, creating two lines of small finger biscuits in tight rows.

Each strip should have a length of 30 cm and a width of 5 cm.

Pipe the rest of preparation into a rectangle 28 x 10 cm.

Drizzle the rest of icing sugar...

over the biscuits.

Bake in a fan-assisted oven at 180°C (gas 4) for about 14 minutes. When golden and puffed, remove the biscuits from the oven and leave to cool.

For the red berry mousse: Organise all the necessary ingredients. Soak the gelatine sheets in a big bowl filled with cold water.

Bring the red berry fruit purée to a boil.

Add the castor sugar.

Strain the soft gelatine...

... and add to the hot purée. Combine until the gelatine has dissolved completely. Leave to cool at room temperature.

Beat the whipping cream in the stand mixer until you obtain a whipped cream.

Incorporate 1/3 of the whipped cream to the red berry purée (room temperature). Add the rest of the whipped cream and combine gently with a rubber spatula.

Transfer the preparation into a piping bag. The use of a nozzle is not necessary.

Assembling the log: Pipe a couple of thick laces of red berry mousse in the bottom of the silicone yule log mould.

Remove the frozen strawberry insert from the mould and cut to a length of 24 cm.

Arrange the strawberry insert over the red berry mousse, with the rounded side facing down...

... making sure it is well centred.

Fill the rest of the cavity with red berry mousse. Leave a gap of 1 cm on top for the biscuit base.

Using a serrated knife, cut the large biscuit rectangle into a smaller one, to 25 x 9 cm.

Arrange the biscuit rectangle over the red berry mousse...

... and press to make it stick to the mousse. Reserve in the freezer.

For the red mirror icing:(make the day before) Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Hydrate the gelatine with 36 grams of water.

Pour the water and sugar in a saucepan.

Add the glucose syrup. (You can melt the glucose syrup in the microwave for a few seconds to give it a liquid consistency that will be easier to work.)

Heat the preparation until the temperature reaches 103°C. This should not take long at all. Basically, the temperature is right when you reach a gentle boil.

Pour the unsweetened condensed milk and white chocolate pistoles in a separate recipient.

When the syrup is at 103°C...

... pour over the condensed milk and white chocolate...

... and combine with a whisk.

Add the rehydrated gelatine last. It will melt quickly in the warm icing.

Add some red colouring powder with the tip of a knife.

Transfer the icing into a deep and narrow container and mix with a hand blender. Colouring powders are very concentrated, so I recommend working with very small quantities first, then adjust the colour by adding more powder if needed. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the log from the freezer and transfer onto a rack. Release from the silicone mould immediately.

Place the rack on top of a deep tray.

Pour the icing over the surface of the log (the icing should be at a temperature of 30°C). If you made the icing the day before, heat up to 30°C in the microwave and mix. You can also prepare the icing on the day and wait for it to cool down to 30°C.

Pour the icing in one stroke, making sure the whole surface is coated.

Let the excess icing drip off, then lift the log with a stainless steel cranked spatula...

... and place it on a yule log cake board.

Place the two strips of sponge finger biscuit on your worktop surface.

Trim any irregular edges to create a flat base. Width should not exceed 3 cm.

Cut both strips to a length of 25 cm.

Arrange the biscuit strips over both sides of the log.

They will stick easily to the red icing.

This is what the cake should look like at this stage.

Placed a decorated chocolate yule log tip (sprayed with white velvet coating) on one end of the log.

Repeat the operation with the other end.

Complete the decoration by drizzling silver flakes over the surface of the log.

Arrange a chocolate curl (sprayed with white velvet coating) on the surface of the log.

Reserve in the fridge and let defrost between 4 and 6 hours before serving.