Bake of the Week: Do something different with vegetables this Christmas with this Turnip & Chocolate Yule Log

FANCY doing something a bit different with vegetables this Christmas? Look no further than this Turnip & Chocolate Yule Log.

Blackberry Cottage produce recipes which include vegetables – and that means you’re getting one of your five-a-day while indulging yourself!

Blackberry Cottage: Cakes With Secret Ingredients From Aubergine To Zuchinni, by Kate Saunders, is out now.

You’ll need

100g turnip

70g caster sugar

3 medium free-range eggs

60g self-raising flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder For the filling

80g unsalted butter (at room temperature)

175g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract For the icing

1 large, ripe avocado

100g icing sugar

15g cocoa powder

Method

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Line a 33cm x 23cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment. Steam the turnip until soft, blitz in a food processor and leave to cool.

Whisk sugar and eggs together until fluffy. When cool, fold in the turnip. Sift the flour and cocoa powder on top, then gently fold. Pour into tin then put in oven for 10 mins.

Turn the cake on to lightly sugared greaseproof paper. Peel off the parchment and allow the sponge to cool for three mins.

Score one short side with a sharp knife, about 1cm in from the edge, then using the greaseproof paper, roll up from the scored side. Rest it, with the seam on the bottom, to cool.

Cream the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl until fluffy.

Unroll the sponge then spread the filling over the inner surface. Using the paper, carefully roll the sponge back up, placing it seam-side down.

For the icing, puree an avocado and beat with icing sugar. Once smooth, beat with cocoa powder.

Cover with chocolate icing, then use a fork to score lines to make it look like bark. Finish with a snow-like dusting of icing sugar.