Chocolate & clementine log

Method

• step 1

  Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a roughly 37 x 25cm tin with baking parchment. Melt the chocolate over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside to cool while you get everything else ready. Whisk the yolks and brown sugar until pale and thick enough to hold a trail. Whisk in the cocoa, chocolate, clementine zest and juice. Whisk whites until stiff, whisk a third into chocolate mixture, then fold in the rest. Transfer to tin, gently spread to corners and bake for 16 mins until firm to touch.

• step 2

  Meanwhile, dust a large sheet of baking parchment with a little cocoa. When the cake is done, turn it out onto the parchment. Don’t remove the paper stuck to the bottom of the cake – just roll the cake up with the paper inside from one of its longer sides. Leave to cool. This can be made a day ahead: wrap it in cling film or keep in an airtight container once cool.

• step 3

  For the frosting, melt the chocolate, cream and icing sugar together in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Cool and chill until spreadable. Or chill for up to 24 hrs, then leave at room temp until spreadable again.

• step 4

  For the clementine cream, whisk the cream, crème fraîche, icing sugar, clementine zest and juice until thick. Chill for up to 24 hrs.

• step 5

  To make the decoration, melt the caster sugar with 100ml water in a small pan and gently bubble. Peel the zest from the clementine with a vegetable peeler. Thinly shred into strips, then drop into the bubbling syrup. Simmer for 2 mins, then turn off and leave for another 2 mins. Scatter a little extra sugar onto a plate. Lift out the shreds with a slotted spoon and toss in the sugar. Set aside to dry.

• step 6

  To assemble, gently unroll the sponge and peel off the paper. Squeeze over juice from final peeled clementine. Thinly spread with a tiny bit of the chocolate frosting, then spread with half to two-thirds of the clementine cream. Carefully roll back up and trim each end. Transfer to a serving plate and cover with the rest of the chocolate frosting, using a round-bladed knife to stripe the surface. Scatter with the sugared clementine peel and silver balls and/or stars, if you like. Serve with remaining clementine cream.