Sugar plum roll recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

Feast on a fairy tale dessert with our Prosecco Yule log

Tamsin Burnett-Hall

Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking

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Ingredients

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Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5. Line a 25 x 35cm Swiss roll tin with baking paper.
2. For the sponge, beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl (for about 5 minutes if you’re using a stand mixer, or up to 10 minutes using a hand-held electric whisk), until they’re really pale, thick and foamy, and a trail is left on the surface when you take the beaters out. Add enough colouring to tint it a light pink and beat again until uniform in colour. Sift the flour over and fold in gently with a large metal spoon until incorporated, trying to knock out as little air as possible.
3. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 12-15 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Place a large sheet of baking paper on the worktop and scatter with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar. Flip out the sponge onto the sugared paper, leave to cool for another 5 minutes, then gently peel away the base paper. Roll up from the short edge using the sugared paper to help you, rolling the paper inside the sponge. Leave to cool completely, rolled up.
4. Whip the cream and Prosecco together until firmish peaks. Unroll the cooled sponge and spread the stirred jam over the surface with a spatula. Dollop the cream on top and smooth out, leaving a 4-5cm gap at the far end so that it won’t all squidge out when rolling. Scatter over the raspberries and re-roll, discarding the paper. Chill for 30 minutes to set the shape.
5. Cream the butter and icing sugar together, adding the Prosecco gradually. Beat until the icing is really pale and fluffy. Transfer the Yule log to a serving plate and use a spatula to spread the buttercream evenly over the log. Make bark-like patterns by dragging a small spatula or knife down the length of the log.
6. Top with your choice of decorations and edible glitter or gold leaf - see below.

   Tip

   How to make frosted grapes for the topping:

   Lightly beat 1 medium egg white in a shallow bowl. Add a couple of handfuls of grapes, off their stalks. Lift out with two forks, letting the excess egg white drip off. Roll in caster sugar to coat, a few at a time. Leave to set on a lined tray, at room temperature. Keep for up to 2 days, loosely covered.

   How to make mini meringues for the topping:

   Heat the oven to 120°C, fan 100°C, gas 1⁄2 and line a large tray with baking paper. Whisk 2 medium egg whites to firm peaks, then very gradually whisk in 100g caster sugar until you have a stiff, shiny mixture.

   Pipe mini meringues onto the lined trays (we piped some uncoloured meringue using a star nozzle, then added stripes of pink and purple food colouring down the inside of 2 different piping bags fitted with a 2cm plain nozzle, to create striped meringues).

   Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the meringues lift easily from the paper. Turn the oven off but prop the door ajar with a wooden spoon, and leave the meringues to cool in the oven. Makes about 36.