Mele Kalikimaka Yule Log
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Every year for Christmas, I like to make a different flavored yule log! It's fun (and tricky!) to come up with new combinations each year, but it's incredibly rewarding once it turns out!
This year's flavor is pineapple-coconut-rum, perfect for a Hawaiian Christmas a la Bing Crosby!! Pineapple sponge cake, coconut ice cream, coconut rum frosting, with toasted coconuts and a dark chocolate drizzle - YUM!
Ice Cream
Ingredients
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup coconut flakes, toasted
8 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
Pinch salt
Directions
To toast coconut, place the flakes in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for about 5-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. I emptied a bag of unsweetened coconut flakes and scooped out 1 cup for the ice cream flavor, and reserved the rest to go on the outside of the yule log. (To make them sweet, shake the remaining coconut flakes in a ziploc baggie with a teaspoon or more of powdered sugar.)
Mix milk, heavy cream, coconut milk, and coconut flakes in a large saucepan (large enough to mix more liquid into this!) and simmer for a few minutes. Steep for 10 minutes.
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt together, long enough to dissolve the sugar - it'll become a pale yellow color!
Pour small amounts of the hot liquid into the egg mixture to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Return all back into saucepan over low heat, and stir until mixture starts to thicken. Strain through a fine meshed sieve. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
Follow ice cream maker directions to freeze - wait until you are ready to spread the ice cream in the cake roll to do this last step as the consistency is perfect for that! It's like soft serve and you won't have ice cream that's too runny or too hard.
Side note: This recipe makes a TON of ice cream, I probably only used 1/4 or less for the yule log, so we'll be having coconut ice cream on its own for a while!
Side note: This recipe makes a TON of ice cream, I probably only used 1/4 or less for the yule log, so we'll be having coconut ice cream on its own for a while!
Pineapple Sponge Cake
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup pineapple juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a cookie sheet (with sides!) with cooking spray, then place down a sheet of waxed paper and spray again.
Whip eggs, sugar, vanilla and juice until light, then mix in dry ingredients.
Pour batter onto the cookie sheet. Bake until sponge is golden and springs to the touch, approximately 12 minutes.
Lift the wax paper and cake out of the cookie sheet and place on a drying rack. Take another piece of wax paper and lay on top of the cake, and use a towel on top of that to roll up the cake. This is to prevent last year's debacle (it got stuck to the towel!!).
Let cool on the drying rack fully, then unroll the cake when you are ready to add the ice cream. Obviously remove the wax paper on both sides first ;) Then spread out the ice cream in a fairly thick layer, and roll it back up, place on a tray seam side down (as much as possible), and put in the freezer as soon as you can!
Frosting
Ingredients
1/4 cup shortening (butter or Crisco will work - I used Crisco!)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp coconut rum (we had Malibu on hand)
Pinch salt
Dash of milk
Directions
Cream the shortening, 1 Tbsp rum, and vanilla until it's nice and smooth in a mixer. Add the powdered sugar and salt and continue mixing. Only add the milk and extra rum if it's still looking a bit too thick !
Take the cake out of the freezer and ice the cake - it doesn't have to be pretty! While it's still somewhat moist, take the leftover coconut flakes from the ice cream step above and sprinkle on top of the cake and on the sides. Then take some dark chocolate (I used dark chocolate for baking - unsweetened), melt it in a baggie in the microwave, and cut off the corner to make a piping bag. Let the chocolate just drip out in a thin stream and drizzle across the top. And voila!! A beautiful, tasty, Hawaiian yule log!
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you!!
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