ALMOND AND COFFEE BÛCHE DE NOEL

Preparation 1 hour 20 minutes Cooking about 25 minutes Serves 6 You could flavour the filling on this variation of the classic Christmas chocolate log with a drop of coffee liqueur.

FOR THE CAKE 30g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly 100g caster sugar, plus extra for dredging 100g plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dredging 100g flaked almonds 30g ground almonds 3 medium eggs 1 tsp coffee extract icing sugar, for dusting FOR THE FILLING 120ml whole milk 5 large egg yolks 90g caster sugar 2 tsp coffee extract 300g soft butter, diced FOR THE MERINGUE 95g granulated sugar 2 medium egg whites

1 Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas

mark 4. Brush a 33cm x 23cm Swiss roll tin with melted butter. Line with baking paper, grease and dredge with caster sugar, then flour. Tap out excess. 2 Cook the flaked almonds on a baking sheet for 4-6 minutes until golden, stirring once. Set aside. 3 Sift the flour and ground almonds together. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer for 10 minutes until tripled in volume. Beat in the coffee extract. Fold in the flour mixture, then the melted butter. 4 Gently pour the mixture into the prepared tin, checking for any pockets of flour. Lightly level the surface and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges shrink away from the tin. 5 Lay a damp tea towel on the worktop followed by a sheet of baking paper. Dredge with caster sugar. Carefully turn the cake out on top. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then peel away the baking parchment. Trim. Make a small cut 2cm up from one short end at each side. Roll up the sponge from this end with the bottom paper inside. Cool on a rack, seam side down. 6 Bring the milk to just under the boil. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar. Gradually stir in the milk and return to the rinsedout pan. Cook, stirring, over a low-medium heat without boiling, until the custard thickens just enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the coffee extract. 7 Strain the custard into the mixer bowl and beat in the butter, piece by piece, until smooth. Cover the surface with clingfilm and chill. 8 Heat the granulated sugar and 25ml water in a small pan over a low heat until dissolved. Turn up the heat and boil until the syrup reaches 110°C on a sugar thermometer. In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of sea salt to stiff peaks. When the syrup reaches 120°C, slowly pour it into the egg whites while whisking. Whisk until cooled to room temperature. Fold into the coffee custard. 9 Unroll the cake, spread over a third of the coffee filling and roll up again. Place seam-side down on a board. Spread the rest of the filling over the log. Chill until ready to serve. 10 Just before serving, press the almonds into the log until completely covered. Dust with icing sugar.