'86 Yule Log — and Make This Ghoul Log Halloween Roulade Cake Instead
Yule logs are out. Ghoul logs are in. The most festive cake of the spooky season has arrived: Meet the GHOUL log, an eerie roulade cake decked out for Halloween.
A roulade cake, also known as a Swiss roll, is the typical cake style used to make yule log. Comprised of a spongy base that's flexible enough to be manipulated but sturdy enough to stay together, this seasonal treat is rolled up with buttercream or whipped cream then frosted and decorated with whatever spooky trimmings you like.
ICE Los Angeles Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructors Missy Smith-Chapman and Carrie Smith created the ghoul log for Halloween lovers everywhere.
The chefs came up with the idea while brainstorming unique Halloween treats to please a crowd. To test different decor schemes, they made two versions of the same cake and buttercream base — one with white cake and buttercream and the other with orange cake and purple buttercream.
Pro-tip from the chefs: After adding the initial food dye to your buttercream, intensify the color by scooping one-quarter of the buttercream into a microwave-safe bowl, microwaving it until just melted, and then mixing it back into the buttercream you didn't microwave. The color will deepen without having to add any more dye to your mix.
One of the most important steps when making a roulade cake is the rolling. Below are two of the chefs' top tips for a successful roll.
- Use a flexible cake base, like a sponge cake
- Roll while the cake is still warm
Roulade cakes, though often decorated with meringue mushrooms or sugared cranberries during the holidays, work for numerous occasions. At Halloween, they're fun to decorate with buttercream pumpkins, ghosts and eyeball sprinkles.
This year, try your hand at making a ghoul log. It's a perfect Halloween party centerpiece!
Ingredients
- 6 eggs, yolks and whites separated
- 6 ounces sugar, separated
- 1 ounce honey
- 6 ounces cake flour, sifted
- 4 cups Swiss meringue buttercream
- *Optional* Food color of choice
Directions
- Preheat conventional oven to 350°F.
- Whisk egg yolks, 3 ounces of sugar and honey to a ribbon stage.
- In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and remaining 3 ounces of sugar to medium-peak meringue.
- Fold meringue into ribboned yolk mixture.
- Fold in sifted cake flour.
- Spread batter into a sprayed, paper-lined ½-inch sheet tray.
- Bake until cake springs back to the touch.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Spread half the buttercream on one side then carefully and evenly roll up the cake.
- Immediately place rolled cake in freezer and allow to firm 20 to 30 minutes.
- When cake has firmed up, ice with remaining buttercream. Decorate with additional buttercream designs and sprinkles.
