Traditional Maltese Christmas Log is a staple during the holidays. It’s a quick and easy, no bake recipe that you can prep in under 15 minutes. It’s different from a Yule Log, which is a type of roulade or cake roll. While it is served like cake, a Christmas Log resembles fudge in texture and method. The main ingredients are sweetened condensed milk, crushed biscuits and melted chocolate. Most Maltese people will have this in their fridge around the festive season. You can enjoy it with some coffee or tea or you can serve it after your Christmas meal. You can also take it with you if you’re invited to someone’s house, it sure makes a nice change from the typical bottle of wine.

How to make a Traditional Maltese Christmas Log

There are many different variations of the Maltese Christmas Log and most families have their own version. Traditionally, it’s made with nuts, mixed fruits (such as raisins, candied peels or cherries) and liquor (most commonly vermouth). For my recipe, I chose a delicious combination of chocolate, hazelnuts, glace cherries, spices and Kahlua (coffee liquor). The Kahlua can be substituted for espresso for an alcohol-free recipe. You can easily customize it to your choice of nuts, fruit and liquor (or skip the alcohol altogether). Some ideas are: macadamia nuts, pistachios, dried apricots, cranberries, figs, Amaretto or Baileys.

The most common method of decorating a Christmas Log is by pouring melted chocolate or ganache over it and making markings with a fork to mimic a tree texture. It’s certainly the easiest and quickest, however, I like mine to have some extra oomph. A few chocolate shards will quickly turn it from a standard Log to a fancy one. Before serving, simply sprinkle powdered sugar, add a holly and you’re good to go!

As always, let me know if you make them, I’d love to see!

Happy indulging,

Kim x

For more Christmas recipes, click here.

Yield: 6 generous servings

Traditional Maltese Christmas Log

Traditional Maltese Christmas Log is a staple during the holidays. It's a quick and easy no bake recipe. Chocolate, hazelnuts, glace cherries, spices and Kahlua - yes!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes

Decor Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Christmas Log

180g morning coffee biscuits
3 tbsp sifted cocoa powder
100g dark chocolate chunks or chips
150g whole roasted hazelnuts
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
150g glacè cherries, halved
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/4 cup Kahlua/Bailey's or other liquor

Chocolate Ganache

50g dark chocolate
50ml heavy cream

Chocolate Shards (Optional)

300g dark chocolate

Instructions

Making the Christmas Log

Crush biscuits in a food processor or put biscuits in a zip lock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Slice the hazelnuts and cherries in half. In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Christmas Log. Start with 1/8 cup liqueur. Add more if needed. Form the log by hand. Wrap it in parchment paper. Chill at least 30 minutes.
Melt the chocolate with the whipped cream to make the ganache. Set aside to cool slightly and thicken. Cover the log in chocolate ganache with a spatula. Let it set at room temperature. (If not decorating with shards, make tree markings with a fork.) Transfer to a presentation plate.

Making the Shards & Decorating

Melt 300g of chocolate for the shards. Set some aside to use for sticking the shards to the log. Pour the rest onto a parchment paper and use a spatula to spread it into a rectangle of an even thickness, around 3mm. Cover with another piece of parchment paper. Fold onto each other every 1 inch and freeze until it hardens, around 15 to 20 minutes.
Unfold parchment carefully and break shards as needed for the decoration. Use the melted chocolate that you had set aside and apply it to the back of each shard. Starting from the base, stick the shards to the log. Chill until ready to serve.
Right before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar and decorate with a holly. Enjoy!

Notes

Store in the refrigerator and take out 30 minutes before serving to soften.

Tip: For an alcohol-free log, substitute espresso for the liquor.