This Whimsical Chocolate Espresso Yule Log is Surprisingly Easy to Make

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line and grease a half sheet pan with a lip (12 x 17) with oil and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, on high speed, whisk together the eggs and sugar until the mixture has tripled in size, about 5-7 minutes.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Add the flour mixture to the stand mixture and then stream in the melted butter and vanilla extract. Mix until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared sheet pan, spread the batter into one even layer. Bake for 9-12 minutes until the cake is set and when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

While the cake is still warm, run a knife around the perimeter of the pan to release the cake. Dust the top with icing sugar, place a larger piece of parchment paper and cookie sheet over top and invert the cake. Gently peel back the parchment paper. Starting with the longer end, slowly and gently roll up the cake along with the parchment paper until you have a log. Let the cake cool completely as a log, about 2 hours.

To make the frosting: sift together the icing sugar, cocoa powder, set aside. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring after each time, set aside. Mix together the espresso powder and water, set aside. In the bowl of stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together the cream cheese and butter until combined. Add the icing sugar mixture in 2 batches, mixing well after each addition, about 1 minute. Add the melted chocolate and espresso mix and mix on high for 1 minute. Add the heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to whisk on high for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

To assemble: gently unroll the cake and evenly spread on a ¼ inch thick layer of frosting. Slowly roll up the cake again, without the parchment paper this time. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill. Once chill, slice off both ends to create clean edges. To create the yule log, slice off ⅓ of the log, then slice that log in half diagonally. Stagger the half pieces onto the longer log to resemble a branch, attach with a bit of frosting. Ice the entire cake with the frosting, leaving the ends exposed. To create the bark look, run a fork gently over top of the frosting to create ridges. Decorate with sugar-rolled cranberries and rosemary sprigs.