Source: 1973 McCall's magazine – Cooking School

Cake ingredients

  • 6 egg whites, room temperature (approx. 1 hr.)
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 6 egg yolks
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa 
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 dash salt 
  • Confectioners' sugar

Filling ingredients

  • 1½ cups heavy cream, chilled
  • ½ cup confectioners' sugar 
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To decorate (optional)

  • Candied cherries 
  • Angelica

Filling directions

  • Combine ingredients in medium bowl. Beat with electric mixer until thick; chill.

Cake directions

  1. Grease the bottom of a 15x10x1" jelly roll pan; line w/ waxed paper; grease slightly.
  2. Preheat oven to 375. 
  3. In a large electric mixer bowl, at high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form when beaters are slowly lifted. 
  4. Add ¼ cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form when beaters are slowly lifted. 
  5. With the same beaters, beat yolks at high speed, adding remaining ½ cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons at a time; beat until mixture is very thick, approximately 4 minutes. 
  6. At low speed, beat in cocoa, vanilla, salt, just until smooth. 
  7. With wire whisk or rubber spatula, gently fold cocoa mixture into egg whites just until blended (no egg whites should show). 
  8. Spread evenly in pan. 
  9. Bake 15 minutes, just until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertip. 
  10. Sift confectioner's sugar in a 15x10" rectangle on a clean linen towel. 
  11. Turn cake out on sugar; lift off pan; peel paper off cake. 
  12. Roll up cake jelly-roll-fashion, starting with the short end towel and all. 
  13. Cool completely on rack, seam side down. 

Assembly directions

  1. Unroll cake; spread with filling to 1" from edge; reroll. 
  2. Place, seam side down, on plate. 
  3. Cover loosely with foil. 
  4. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. 

Serving directions

  1. Sprinkle yule log w/ confectioner's sugar and decorate with red candied cherries and green angelica "leaves". If you can't find angelica, use cut up green candied cherries. 
  2. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

Notes

  • You may make the Yule Log up to a week ahead and freeze, wrapped in foil.
  • The cherries and angelica can be considered optional items.