Pineapple-coconut Yule log

Hello food lovers,

Want to celebrate Christmas with exotic flavors? ;-)

Made up of a coconut cloud, a pineapple compote and a coconut sponge, this Christmas dessert will be perfect to finish a hearty meal.

Requests for vegan recipes are pouring in... so in order to satisfy all palates, this year we offer you a vegan Yule log, light and indulgent!

Let's get started with the recipe! :-)

To make this Yule log for about 12 people you will need:

Pineapple compote

- 200gr + 50gr fresh pineapple

- 20gr sugar

- 1.5gr agar-agar

- 50gr water

- 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Coconut sponge

- 200gr vegan coconut yogurt (Andros)

- 50gr coconut milk

- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

- 1 tsp vanilla flavoring

- 200gr flour

- 50gr desiccated coconut

- 120gr sugar

- 7gr baking powder

- 1 pinch of salt

Coconut cloud

- 245gr coconut milk

- 33gr sugar

- 2.5gr agar-agar

- 65gr aquafaba (chickpea brine)

- 80gr vegan coconut yogurt (Andros)

Decorations

- 50gr vegan whipping cream

- 20gr desiccated coconut

- Fresh pineapple

- Coconut flakes

- Gold leaves

To begin, we will make the pineapple compote, as it will need to set for a minimum of 2 hours in the fridge.

Pineapple compote

First, prepare your pineapple. Cut it into pieces, you will need a total of 250gr.

Pour 200gr into a saucepan, add 50gr of water.

Cook the pineapple over medium heat until all the water has evaporated.

Meanwhile, mix 1.5gr of agar-agar with 20gr of sugar.

Before adding agar-agar to a preparation, it is important to mix it with the sugar to avoid lumps.

To weigh the agar-agar, use a precision spoon scale.

I recommend being very precise with agar-agar as it is an ultra-powerful gelling agent (4x stronger than gelatin), 1-2gr too many will completely change the texture of your compote.

Once the pineapple is cooked, blend it with an immersion blender as finely as possible.

There you have a lovely pineapple compote! :-) Put it back on the heat and add the agar-agar/sugar mixture.

Bring everything to a boil for about 2 minutes, stirring well.

The agar-agar must be brought to a boil in a liquid preparation for 2 to 3 minutes in order to activate its gelling power.

Once the preparation is ready, pour it into a bowl and cover it directly with plastic wrap.

Place the bowl in the fridge for about 2 hours.

In the meantime, we can prepare the coconut sponge.

Coconut sponge

In a bowl, mix 200gr of vegan coconut yogurt (Andros brand) and 50gr of coconut milk.

Add 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar. Thanks to this ingredient your sponges and génoise cakes will be ultra light and airy. :-) The apple cider vinegar can be replaced with lemon juice.

Add 1 tsp of vanilla flavoring and mix everything together, leave to rest for about 5 minutes at room temperature.

Now, we will mix all the dry ingredients.

In a bowl, pour 200gr of flour, 120gr of sugar, 50gr of desiccated coconut and 7gr of baking powder.

Finally, add 1 pinch of salt and mix well.

Pour the yogurt/coconut milk/apple cider vinegar/vanilla mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.

Preheat your oven to 180°C fan-assisted.

On a perforated baking tray, place a silicone mat and spray it with release spray so the sponge doesn't stick when unmolding.

Spread your sponge batter evenly using an offset spatula.

Bake your sponge for 12 to 14 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Once baked, turn it out onto baking paper.

Remove the silicone mat and let it cool.

Once the sponge has cooled, cut two rectangles, one of 6 x 34 cm and the other of 16.5 x 34 cm.

If you are not using the sponge right away, wrap it in plastic wrap until needed.

The sponge is ready and the pineapple compote has cooled nicely.

Whisk the pineapple compote to loosen it.

Cut the reserved 50gr of fresh pineapple into small cubes, add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and mix everything together.

The lemon juice will prevent the pineapple from browning.

Add the pineapple pieces to the compote and mix well. This will add a little texture when eating. :-)

Pour the pineapple compote into a piping bag.

Pipe it onto the sponge then spread it evenly using a small offset spatula.

We will now prepare the Yule log mold.

Take the extensible stainless steel Yule log mold and set it to 34 cm.

Two acetate sheets are provided with this mold. Place them inside the mold and cut off any excess that extends beyond the edges.

If you take care of them, the acetate sheets can be reused. ;-) Otherwise, you can find them in our assortment: A4 acetate plastic sheets.

Gently place the sponge in the mold, with the prettiest side facing out, as this is the part that will be visible when unmolding.

The mold is ready, we can now move on to the last step of our recipe, the coconut cloud.

Coconut cloud

For this recipe, I made a coconut cloud. Thanks to the aquafaba, you will get an ultra-airy mousse, hence the name "coconut cloud". ;-)

Aquafaba is the liquid found in cans of chickpeas (or other legumes).

If you're looking for what to do with your chickpeas, you'll find a delicious hummus recipe on our blog to use them up.

Aquafaba is a wonderful alternative to replace eggs in vegan recipes. You will see below that it whips up like egg whites. ;-)

Pour 65gr of aquafaba into the bowl of your stand mixer and whip it until you get a meringue-like texture. This will take about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix 2.5gr of agar-agar into 33gr of sugar.

To accurately weigh the agar-agar, use a precision spoon scale. It is very important to respect the quantities, 1-2gr too many or too few will completely change the texture and structure of the Yule log. Be precise! ;-)

Pour the sugar/agar-agar mixture into 245gr of coconut milk.

Bring everything to a boil, stirring well.

Once boiling, continue to cook for 2 minutes to activate the gelling power of the agar-agar.

Pour the coconut milk/sugar/agar-agar preparation into a large bowl. Add 80gr of vegan coconut yogurt (Andros brand) and mix well.

The aquafaba is now nicely whipped as you can see in the third photo below. A lovely peak like a meringue. ;-)

Attention! It is very important to add the whipped aquafaba to the preparation while it is still warm. If it has already started to cool, you will get lumps in the mousse. Agar-agar sets very quickly as it cools.

And don't panic, the aquafaba will not collapse when it comes into contact with the heat, its texture will remain the same! ;-)

Fold the aquafaba in 3 additions into the previous preparation.

Start by gently mixing with a whisk then finish with a spatula. Look at that incredible texture! :-)

Pour the mousse directly inside the sponge.

Fill with mousse up to 3/4 full. Using a small offset spatula, push the mousse up into the sides.

Place the sponge covered with pineapple compote on top of the coconut mousse. Press gently on the sponge so the mousse rises up into the sides. The sponge should be level with the first sponge.

Remove the excess mousse with your small offset spatula and place the Yule log in the fridge for 12 hours.

Once the 12 hours in the fridge are up, the Yule log has set and we can decorate it.

Decorations

I recommend decorating your Yule log a maximum of 3 hours before serving.

In a jug, pour 50gr of vegan whipping cream and add 20gr of desiccated coconut.

Using a whisk, whip everything into a firm whipped cream.

Once the whipped cream is ready, pour it into a piping bag fitted with a 12 mm star nozzle.

It's time to unmold. Turn the Yule log out onto a nice serving board.

Remove the mold first, then carefully, the acetate sheets.

Take your whipped cream piping bag and pipe cream peaks on top of the Yule log.

Add a few pieces of fresh pineapple.

Also add a few dried coconut flakes.

And for the finishing touch, place a few gold leaves. Use precision tweezers or the tip of a knife. Do not try with your fingers, the gold leaves will stick to them. :O)

And there you have it, the Yule log is ready to enjoy.

Keep it in the fridge until serving time.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, we spent a lot of time and effort testing it to bring you the best possible vegan Yule log. :-)

I wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Sophie

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.