Light Chocolate & Pear Yule Log

📝 Ingredients

• 150 g 70% dark chocolate
• 500 g fromage frais, 3% fat
• 4 gelatine sheets (2 g each)
• 40 g caster sugar
• 2 very ripe pears (about 180 g each)
• 150 ml apple juice (130 ml for soaking, 20 ml for the gelatine)
• 16 sponge fingers (about 110 g)
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

🍴 Utensils

• 25 cm loaf tin
• Cling film
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Saucepan and bowl for a bain-marie
• Small sieve

📖 Steps

1. Take the fromage frais out of the fridge 30 minutes in advance: if it's too cold, it will make the chocolate seize into small grains. Line the loaf tin with cling film, leaving plenty overhanging, and smooth out the creases. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.
2. Melt the chocolate pieces in a bain-marie, in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water without the bottom touching the water, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Whisk the fromage frais with the sugar in the mixing bowl. Heat 20 ml apple juice in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds, until hot but not boiling, then squeeze the gelatine well between your hands and dissolve it in the juice, stirring until it disappears.
4. Pour the warm chocolate onto the fromage frais in three additions, whisking briskly, then immediately add the gelatine juice, whisking again. The mousse should be smooth and glossy; if small grains appear, whisk for another 30 seconds.
5. Peel the pears, remove the cores and pips, then cut into 1 cm dice. Pour the remaining 130 ml apple juice into a shallow bowl and keep the sponge fingers within reach: assembly needs to be quick, before the gelatine sets.
6. Pour half the mousse into the tin and smooth the top. Scatter over the diced pear, pressing it in slightly. Dip 8 sponge fingers in the juice for one second on each side, no longer or they will fall apart, and lay them side by side across the tin.
7. Cover with the rest of the mousse, then finish with the last 8 soaked sponge fingers, packed tightly together: they will form the base of the log once turned out. Fold the cling film over and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, ideally overnight.
8. Open out the cling film, turn the tin over onto the serving dish and lift it off, gently pulling on the film. Draw lines along the whole length with a fork to mimic bark, then dust with cocoa through the sieve.
9. Cut into 8 slices with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped between each cut, for nice clean slices. Serve well chilled; the log keeps for 2 days in the fridge, covered with cling film.