In the past, the Christmas log was a central part of the winter solstice celebration (the longest night of the year, December 21) for Germanic peoples and in southeastern France. The youngest and the oldest of the house made a procession with a log. Some evoke its creation around 1834 by an apprentice pastry chef from Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Others believe that the Christmas log cake was born in Lyon in the 1860s in the kitchen of chocolate maker Félix Bonnat.

Ingredients

140 g of powdered sugar

100 g flour

11 g baking powder

250 g of chocolate

200 g of butter

4 eggs

1. Separate the egg whites from the yolk

2. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and 3 tablespoons of warm water, to make it foam.

3. Add little by little the flower and the baking powder

4. Whisk the egg whites then gently fold them into the previous mixture

5. Heat the oven at 350 degree, oil a long and flat mold then spread the dough / or cover with parchemin paper before spreading the dough

6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, the biscuit should be slightly golden

7. When it comes out of the oven, place a clean, damp cloth on the biscuit, then roll it up. Let cool.

8. Melt the chocolate in "Bain Marie,"  The process is dead simple: Place a wide skillet with about one inch of water on a burner. Place your chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl (stainless steel or tempered glass), and set the bowl directly in the water. Bring the water to a simmer, then turn off the flame and let the chocolate sit until it is melted

9. When melted, add soft butter and mix. You can also add some nuts to the chocolate. 

10. Unroll the cake and spread 2/3 of the chocolate on it. Then roll the biscuit back on itself. Make sure that your chocolate is cooled, room temperature when you spread it.

11. Cover the cake with the remaining chocolate then, using a fork, streak the top.

12. Put in the fridge. 

Bonne degustation et Joyeux Noel!