Yule Log 2016: Snow!

I had big plans for this year’s Yule Log. The theme was “winter wonderland” – a log on a bed of pillowy marshmallow snow adorned with frosty pinecones and sparkling icy evergreen sprigs.

Alas, I ran out of time. But, I did learn to make homemade marshmallows!

I love marshmallows. Learning how to make them myself had long been a goal and I was not disappointed! I used a gelatin-based recipe, which smells quite strange when whipping the hot gelatin and the hot sugar syrup, but the end result was MAGIC.

The log was also delicious. A chocolate cake roll filled with whipped cream cream cheese, which is a cake topping of my own invention that I’ve been using for years. It tastes like cream cheese frosting but feels like whipped cream!

Here’s how I make it. Make whipped cream, lightly sweetened, then put it aside. Whip an 8 oz. block of cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla to taste and a small splash of heavy cream until it is smooth and creamy. Then add half of the whipped cream into the cheese mixture and whip until combined. Then add the rest of the whipped cream and whip again until combined.

And that’s it. That is my Yule Log for this year. Instead of a winter wonderland, it’s a lonely, fallen log lost in a snowy, pillowy mountain drift of marshmallow. :)