Snackmas Day 15- The Battle of the Yule Logs II

The battle is back and very much on! Yes, the moment is upon us for another 2 of the supermarket Yule Logs to fight it out - Sponge vs sponge, chocolate vs chocolate.. Which will reign almighty? Only time will tell.. It's M&S vs Waitrose! 

M&S Christmas Hand Decorated Chocolate Yule Log

I shall start with the Bûche De Noël that I found first and coincidently, the most expensive of this Yuletides duo at an exceptionally pricey, £6. In all of it's 595g, festively red packaged glory, the log which is designed to feed 12, is also suitable for the Veggies and can be frozen, as long as used within a month and defrosted fully in the fridge before consumption - Would one ever really go to such effort? I get that the shops are manic come "Christmas Week" but surely, it's worth risking it all and going out for the good of a "fresh" Yule Log? 

A light chocolate swiss roll filled with indulgent chocolate buttercream and generously covered in milk chocolate and a chocolate fudge frosting & delicately sparking sugar snow dusting. 

I had a bit of a meltdown over choosing which Yule Log to buy from the selection stacking M&S's shelves. They all looked completely different in both shape and size with a noticeable weight discrepancy between the lot (As an avid baker, I am a bit nifty when it comes to guesstimating the mass of things so do pick me as a date on a trip to your local Fête - I will win the "Guess the cake weight" comp for you, no problem!). I ended up picking what I thought was the best of a bad bunch but even then, I can't say it was the prettiest thing in the world.. Or remotely centered on the silver cake board!

Smelling extremely chocolate-y, the Log cut into well into slices, with minimal mess thanks to being quite a bit firmer than the usual overly soft, no substance types, I've had previously - This helped when eating as for once, it didn't go everywhere! Cocoa rich and almost fudge like, the super thick, ganache like icing had a good bite to it yet was squishy enough to contrast against the set layer of chocolate before hitting the sponge. Fine, light and moist was that of the cake itself, with a good swirl from being rolled tightly and a slightly sweeter tasting buttercream spiralled throughout. Both of the elements brought different tones of chocolate-y flavour into the mix whilst preventing things from becoming overly sickly or cloying. Expensive.. But oh so good! A 4.5 of 5 from me.

Waitrose Christmas Chocolate Yule Log

Our second contender, coming with a delightful snowy box scene, this unbeknownst freezable Yule Log which is also available on Ocado, costs a whole £1 less at a fiver and once again has the nod of approval for vegetarians to consume.. Only 8 of them though given that it's approximate 480g is to feed an octet! 

Chocolate sponge filled with chocolate buttercream, finished with a chocolate frosting and sweet dusting.

I tell you what, I don't know who's been looking after all these Yule Logs this year but they aren't half doing a shoddy job! My Waitrose had boxes and boxes of the things, all with generous sell by dates but no word of a lie, they all looked like they had been thrown down the stairs a fair few times, with bashed in cardboard and frosting everywhere but on the actual Chocolate branches, to match! Thankfully, I found one which was quite neat but the struggle was very much real - You'd think they would take more care, no? 

Lobbing off the end of the Log, purely for the joy of excess of icing, I can't say it smelt as good as the above and was much "sloppier" with the chocolate going all over the place. Sadly, things didn't approve upon first bite with an immediate cheap/artificial taste being all to apparent - Nothing indulgent, buttery or something one would want to continue eating. Texture wise, things weren't all bad - The sponge was on the dry, claggy side but the buttercream itself was smooth and silky.. Even if totally one dimensional and lack lustre in taste. A 2 out of 5 from me.

We have a winner.. Standing out by a merry mile, the M&S Christmas Hand Decorated Chocolate Yule Log! It really is a case of chalk and cheese with the scrumptious aforementioned and the frankly, abysmal Waitrose offering - I am not even sure how the so called "top class" store is justifying the price tag when it lacks any sort of quality. Save up your pennies, stop being a freezer happy hermit and splurge on the real deal - Well done M&S!

Reaching for Reflection

Having also bought the winner of 2015's battle, The Tesco Finest Belgian Chocolate Log again this year, I have come to the realisation that it is a hell of a lot sweeter and overall, much more "ooey gooey, overkill of frosting, cake" than what perhaps a Yule Log should be. This isn't a bad thing by any means and it is as indulgent and delicious as ever.. But something to bear in mind if you are looking for a more traditional, richer option. Best bet is to go with M&S, I reckon, even if it is less attractive - Sometimes you do get what you pay for in terms of calibre, I'm afraid! ..Unless you're Waitrose, then naturally, you just take all kinds of liberties.

Snackmas Day 13- The Battle of the Yule Logs

The time has come. It is the thing that Christmas dreams are made of.. It is the highlight of the season.. It is mine and Hannah's main talking point from January until its arrival in stores.. It is of course, the Chocolate Swiss Roll, the Yule Log, the Bûche De Noël! Call it what you will and hold on tight as we've got a trio of the cocoa rich, sausage shaped delights as I bring you the battle of the Supermarket, Yuletide Cakes!

Asda Extra Special Hand Finished Belgian Milk Chocolate Yule Log

Asda are well are truly in my good books - They were the first of the Supermarkets to release their version at the very beginning of November! I managed to refrain from buying one until recently when things got all to much and I caved at the expense of £3.

Indulgent, buttery sponge smothered in glossy milk chocolate and creamy Belgian milk chocolate ganache, finished with a sweet snowfall.

Guess how this smelt? You've got it it - Chocolatey! I cut myself a good chunk and although it didn't crack or crumble, I was a bit confused as to where the spiral of the roll was - It was all a bit flat and lack lustre! The texture of the cake was superb in being very soft and squidgy, which I can only assume is why it had collapsed slightly, but nothing to write home about in terms of flavour other than a very muted chocolate. Thankfully the ganache was the star of the show and boy, did it shine.. Rich and full of cocoa, surprisingly not too sickly or overly sweet, the gooey "icing" both inside and out of the log was heavenly. There was also a thin layer of set chocolate boosting the intensity further as well as adding a contrasting bite to all the soft elements. How crucial the snowflake sprinkling of powdered sugar was, I am not sure given its purely aesthetic purpose but aside from that, this was pretty brilliant - A 3.5 out of 5!

Sainsbury Luxury Chocolate Yule Log

I was uncertain if Sainsbury's actually did their own "premium" range Yule Log - I can't ever remember seeing one previously so was very happy to find a stack of these plonked at the end of an aisle with a big "Manager Recommends" sign plastered above it. Who am I to argue with the Manager so off to the express checkout I went with my £4 in hand.

Chocolate flavoured sponge filled with chocolate flavoured buttercream, covered with milk chocolate and Belgian milk chocolate fudge icing with a sweet dusting.

Folks, we have a spiral! It may not be that easy to distinguish but you can certainly see that things were much more structured that the squat offering above.. And I know exactly the reason why - The sponge was so much drier! It really was like eating the sort you use when washing up rather than the edible type and this time, even the chocolate filling couldn't rescue it. Although it was fudgy as stated, it wasn't anywhere near as smooth and tasted ridiculously cheap and artificial with a horrible sweetness that was a struggle to get down considering the lack of overall decent flavour. I am not sure if Sainsbury's just decided to ice their regular, cardboardy Swiss Rolls or what but this really was a poor excuse of a Yule Log - Its a 1 out of 5 from me.

Tesco Finest Belgian Chocolate Yule Log

I won't lie, this is the Yule log that has changed lives - It has been about for a few years now and has always blown me away. The packaging this year is different which unsettled me slightly when buying it for £2.50 as more often than not, when the design changes as does the goods!

Our chocolate sponge is made to an all butter recipe for a deeper flavour. It's rolled with chocolate buttercream and covered in milk chocolate, then hand finished by our skilled bakers. Rich and creamy Belgian chocolate makes the perfect glossy ganache frosting.

Now that is what you call a Yule Log - The roll was tight with a visable concentric spiral which hadn't been squished or forgotten about all together. As half expected, both texture and taste of the sponge itself was perfect in being moist and buttery with chocolatey tones. Complimenting this was the thick, smooth ganache with its rich, indulgent tones that were creamy but not to much to handle. The quality of the Belgian chocolate was second to none and made the cake feel very "real" and homemade verses an obvious shop bought equivalent. As seen in the Asda version, thin bits of chocolate were apparent throughout, once again, topping up the flavour as well as contrasting the textures. Its a 4.5 out of 5 from me. 

We have a winner.. The Tesco Finest Belgian Chocolate Yule Log reigns almighty! Who would have thought that the cheapest would be the closest to a Fairytale of New York? Not me thats for sure! Asda have done a mighty fine job in coming a close second so if you can't get to Tesco then that is also a good route to go down.. Just please don't bother with Sainsbury's - Clearly their Managers know nothing!

One thing I also have to note is that each of these Yule Logs are designed to feed 8 people which I can assure you won't happen especially since either end consists of about 1 inch of icing. I encourage you to fight over this part on our Winner and then continue to brawl over your size portion of cake itself - What is Christmas without a domestic after all? Personally, I can't think of a more worthy cause..