Black Forest Yule Log

Grease and line with baking paper a 43x28cm baking tray. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan.

Put the egg yolks into a bowl and add 90g golden caster sugar. Whisk with a handheld electric mixer until very pale and fluffy. Add the cocoa powder and beat in until you have a thick, chocolatey paste.

Whisk the egg whites in a freestanding electric mixer until stiff peaks form, then add the sugar and whisk to a smooth, thick and glossy meringue. 

Add a spoonful of the meringue to the chocolatey mixture and beat to slacken, then carefully fold the meringue into the mixture using a flat, metal spoon. Take your time and go gently, and when the mixture is all one colour pour it into the prepared tin and spread to level with an offset spatula. Bake for 10 minutes.

While the cake bakes, place a clean tea towel onto the worktop and dust it with cocoa powder.

Run a knife between the edges of the baking paper and the cake, then invert the cake onto the cocoa-dusted tea towel and very gently remove the baking paper. Roll the cake up, starting from one of the shorter edges, inside the tea towel, and allow to cool completely.

For the ganache put everything into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water. Allow everything to melt together into a smooth, glossy ganache, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat, cover the bowl with cling film and allow to cool completely.

Whip the cream with the sugar, kirsch/sherry to soft, floppy peaks that just hold their shape.

Unroll the sponge and soak it all over with some of the juice from the can of cherries. Spread the cream mixture over the sponge and top with the chopped cherries. Roll the sponge back up then trim the ends with a bread knife to neaten.

Whip the ganache using a handheld electric mixer until mousse-like. Spread the whipped ganache over the rolled cake and run the tines of a fork in lines through the ganache to create a bark effect. If you want to make it even more log-like, slice an end off on an angle, before applying the ganache, and place it onto the side of the log, then spread with the ganache.