Easter Log Cake: the recipe for a delicious Spring dessert
The Easter log cake is the spring version, both in taste and in presentation, of the classic Christmas dessert served during winter holidays. The base is a cocoa sponge cake flavored with a maraschino liqueur syrup then filled with cow’s milk ricotta cheese cream – the main ingredient of Easter desserts – and strawberry jam. The final decoration is made with white chocolate flowers that recall the cherry blossoms. You can add the mint leaves before serving, so the Easter log cake will get some color and freshness. It's an easy and impressive delicacy, perfect to serve at the end of a meal at the festive lunch. So let’s find out how to make the perfect Easter log cake by following our recipe step by step.
How to make Easter Log Cake
Sift the flour and the bitter cocoa powder and collect them in a bowl (1).
Whip the eggs at room temperature with the granulated sugar, until they have quadrupled their volume. Add the sifted powders (2) and gently incorporate them with a spatula.
Pour the mixture into a rectangular pan lined with a sheet of parchment paper (3). Level it with a spatula and cook in a static oven at 180 degrees C for 10-12 minutes.
Once the cooking time has elapsed, take the cocoa sponge cake out of the oven and immediately turn it over on a clean sheet of parchment paper, removing the one at the base (4). Cover it with a cloth, wrap it on itself when it is still hot and let it cool.
Meanwhile, collect the well-drained cow’s milk ricotta cheese in a bowl, add the granulated sugar (5) and mix well. Transfer to the refrigerator and let it rest for at least an hour.
Break up the white chocolate, put it on the fire in a bain-marie (6) and let it melt. Transfer it to a disposable pastry bag and let it rest for a few minutes to keep it from being too fluid.
Cut the tip of the pastry bag, until you get a very small hole, and make many dots in groups of 5 (as it was a flower) on a sheet of parchment paper. With the tail of a teaspoon drag each dot towards the center, thus joining the flower petals (7), and arrange some pink sprinkles. Let the flowers cool completely until they are solid.
Mix the maraschino liqueur with the water and granulated sugar, then open the roll and moisten it with the syrup (8).
Sprinkle the sponge cake with a layer of strawberry jam, taking care to leave a few centimeters free from the long side of the closure; continue with half the ricotta cheese cream and sprinkle with the dark chocolate chips (9).
With the help of parchment paper, wrap the cocoa sponge cake, gently tightening the log at each step (10). Seal the ends of the paper like a candy and transfer to the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours.
After this time has elapsed, remove the parchment paper and cut obliquely the Easter log cake, creating a branch to be placed on the side (11).
Coat the Easter log cake with the remaining ricotta cheese cream and, using the back of a spoon, recreate the typical ripples of the bark (12).
Sprinkle everything with plenty of bitter cocoa powder, then decorate as desired with the white chocolate flowers (13).
Complete the Easter log cake with the mint leaves and serve immediately (14).
How to store Easter Log Cake
The Easter log cake can be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped on the surface with a sheet of transparent film, for a maximum of 2-3 days.
