Mulled Wine Yule Stump Cake

Ingredients:

For the ganache coating:
100ml mulled red wine (either follow one of my recipes, or steep the wine with 2 mulled wine spice bags)
100g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
100g milk chocolate, broken into small pieces
200ml double (heavy) cream

For the sponge:
Butter, for greasing
4 medium eggs
100g caster sugar
60g self-raising flour
40g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange
Icing sugar, to dust

For the fillingL
200g frozen mixed berries
200ml double (heavy) cream

To decorate:
Edible ornaments, (sugar birds and leaves, frozen cranberries)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan) gas mark 6. Lightly grease a 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) Swiss (jelly) roll tin, and line with baking parchment or greaseproof (waxed) paper.

For the sponge: In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with a handheld electric whisk until pale and extremely thick (about 5min). Sift in flour, cocoa powder and spices. Add the orange zest and fold in gently with a large metal spoon.

Scrape into the prepared Swiss roll tin and level the top gently with a palette knife. Transfer to the oven and bake for 8–10min, or until firm to the touch. Lay a piece of baking parchment bigger than the sponge on a work surface and dust generously with icing sugar. Carefully invert the sponge onto the parchment and gently peel away the top lining parchment. While still warm, carefully roll up the sponge from a long edge, using the parchment to help. Sit on a wire rack with the open end on the bottom and set aside to cool.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the ganache coating. Put both types of chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream in a small pan on low heat until just simmering then pour over the chocolate. Set aside for 2 minutes, then stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Add 50ml (2fl oz) of the mulled wine (reserve the rest for the filling), and whisk gently to combine. Cool and leave to set at room temperature, for around 50 minutes, until the ganache is thick but still spreadable.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Gently heat the frozen berries and the remaining 50ml (2fl oz) mulled wine in a medium pan, stirring occasionally, until the berries are just starting to break down. Remove from heat, set aside to cool to room temperature then chill in the refrigerator until completely cold. Whip the cream to stiff peaks, then fold in the chilled berry mixture.

Gently unroll the sponge, then spread the cream filling over the top. Roll the sponge up again, with the help of the parchment paper. Cut the cake in half. Arrange one half with the cut-side uppermost on a cake stand or serving board. Next, cut the remaining piece into a 2/3 and 1/3 section. Arrange these smaller pieces around the larger piece, cut-side up, to resemble log stumps.

Using a palette knife, spread the ganache over the cakes and mark with the tines of a fork to create a rough bark texture. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with ornaments and/or fresh, frozen or candied fruit. Decorations made with marzipan are also excellent with this cake.