Roll up! Philip Khoury’s recipe for pistachio yule log | The sweet spot

I love a yule log, also known as a bûche de Noël. It’s a remnant from the time when Lebanon was a French colony, which lingers to the modern day, and is popular in Lebanese bakeries and patisseries over the Christmas period, often decorated with small figurines, plastic holly leaves and festive messages. Those decorations, and the trompe-l’oeil nature of this treat, enchanted me as a child, and I wanted to bring back some of that enchantment with this take on a woodland yule log.

Pistachio yule log

Prep 10 min
Cook 3 hr 15 min
Chill 7 hr
Serves 8–10

To decorate
350g amarena cherries, or tinned cherries in syrup
1 sprig dill
Icing sugar, for dusting

For the mousse, heat 90ml milk in a saucepan on a medium heat until it reaches a gentle simmer. Meanwhile, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour in the hot milk and blend with a handheld blender until completely smooth.

Add the 100ml chilled milk and blend again until the mousse is glossy and smooth, with no visible streaks. If streaks appear, blend further, scraping down the sides to ensure a proper emulsion. Pour it into a shallow dish, place a sheet of clingfilm on the surface to prevent a skin forming, then refrigerate for at least two hours.

Once chilled, transfer to the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Whip until light and fluffy with stable peaks (chilling the bowl before whipping helps speed up the process), then refrigerate until needed.

For the ganache, combine 100ml milk and the sugar in a saucepan on a medium heat and heat until just simmering. Meanwhile, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and blend with a handheld blender until completely smooth.

Add the chilled milk and blend again until completely emulsified. Pour it into a shallow dish, lay a sheet of clingfilm on the surface to prevent a skin forming, then refrigerate for at least four hours.

Next, make the pistachio praline. Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)375F/gas 5. Spread the pistachios on a baking tray, lightly roast for eight minutes, then remove and leave to cool completely.

Pulse the roasted pistachios, icing sugar and salt in a food processor or high-powered blender – they’ll turn into a fine powder and then a thick paste as the oils from the nuts are released. Stop blending and scrape down the sides whenever the paste starts catching. Continue blending until completely smooth, then set aside until needed. Any leftover praline can be stored in a sealed jar at room temperature for up to two weeks.

For the aquafaba meringue mushrooms, heat the oven to 100C/210F/gas very low and line a baking tray with baking paper. For the meringues, it is best to use the static oven setting rather than fan. Pour the aquafaba into a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat to soft peaks. Add the cream of tartar and whisk again, then continue whisking while gradually adding the sugar. Beat until the meringue forms stiff, glossy peaks.

Transfer the meringue mixture to a piping bag, then pipe small domes for the mushroom caps and thin cylinders for the stems on to the lined tray. Dust the caps lightly with cocoa powder. Bake for an hour, then turn off the oven and leave the meringues to cool inside with the door slightly ajar.

Once cooled, attach the stems to the caps by dipping the top of the stem in a little melted dark chocolate and attaching it to the top. Leave to set.

For the pistachio sponge, heat the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. Spread the pistachios on a baking tray, lightly roast for 15 minutes, then remove and leave to cool completely.

Turn up the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. Spray a large baking sheet with oil, then line with baking paper. Blend the pistachios, flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a food processor until finely ground, then transfer to a large bowl.

Warm the soya milk in a saucepan until it reaches 40C (104F) on a thermometer. Whisk together the warm soya milk, vanilla extract and vinegar in a bowl. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Spread the batter evenly over the lined baking sheet and bake for six minutes – the sponge should spring back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and immediately place a sheet of baking paper on top, weighing it down with a dish towel to keep it flexible for rolling.

To assemble, flip the sponge over and gently peel away the baking paper. Put on a clean sheet of baking paper. Spread 150g of the pistachio praline evenly over the sponge, leaving a 1cm border all around the edge. Spread a thin layer of chocolate chantilly mousse over the praline, then arrange the drained cherries in two rows along the long edge.

Using the paper to help you, roll the sponge into a tight log, keeping tension as you go. Secure with more paper and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Once chilled, trim one end diagonally, cut off a third of the log at a 45-degree angle, then reattach both pieces to look like branches. Spread the chocolate ganache in streaks over the log to mimic bark. Dust with icing sugar, then decorate with glacé cherries, dill fronds and meringue mushrooms. Refrigerate for up to two days. Leave to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

• This is an edited extract from Beyond Baking, by Philip Khoury, published by Quadrille at £30. To order a copy for £27, go to guardianbookshop.com