Chocoate Yule Log Cake [Merry Christmas!]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to MK readers! Wishing you a new year filled with happiness, peace and love. It is a summer Christmas here in Malaysia so I made my cake white, non-dairy cream with a hint of coffee.

This cake was easy to make and deco, but with two little boys (four naughty hands) around I was able to give only 60% attention to the cake and spending the rest watching out for those hands. Boys were happy licking the cream off the beaters and spatula, and clearing up the odd cuts of the cake. Worth to mention, the decoration took me 10 minutes or less including whipping the cream.

Ingredients:
Cake:
175 g Pett. sponge cake mix
175 g whole eggs
40 g water
30 g vegetable oil
60 g bitter-sweet chocolate
1/2 tsp instant coffee granulates

Icing:
1 cup non-dairy whipping cream
1 tsp hot water
1 tsp instant coffee granulates

Topping:
Sugar beads
Christmas decos

Methods:

1. Heat oil. Melt the chocolate in oil, mex well then add in coffee granulates. Set aside.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs and water in mixing bowl, beat with high speed till the mixture turned pale. 
3. Transfer small amount of batter into chocolate mixture, mix well then return into batter. Mix with low heat till well blended. 
4. Transfer batter onto a baking tray (22cm x 32cm) lined with baking paper, spread out evenly the tap the tray on kitchen bench a few times to release air bubbles trapped inside.
5. Bake in preheated oven, 175C for 15 minutes.
6. Spray water mist on a clean kitchen towel, invert cake sheet onto it soon after it is baked. Peel off the baking paper, roll the cake up (from the long side) together with the kitchen towel. Cool rolled cake on wire rack.
7. Meanwhile, prepare icing. Dissolve coffee in hot water and set aside to cool. Place whipping cream in a cooled bowl (I left it in freezer for few minutes), beat with high speed till stiff then add in coffee mixture. Beat till well combined and transfer whipped cream into a pipping bag.
8. Unroll cake (keep the curly shape), pipe some whipped cream onto the cake and roll it up again (remove the towel). Cut and trim the cake, make into desired shape. Pip the cream from the bottom to top until whole cake is covered with cream. Add deco on the top as desired.
9. Keep cake in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.

Cook's notes:

1. The cake sheet is about 1" in thickness.
2. If using other brand of sponge cake mix, please prepare the cake according to the instruction on the packaging.
3. I used sweetened cream, no extra sugar is needed. Leftover whipped cream can be kept in the freezer, thaw in the fridge before use.