• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gather your equipment and ingredients so that you have everything close at hand at the counter or table.

  Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.

Making the Sponge Cake:

• In a small bowl, combine all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks until thick. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and beat until pale. Mix in flour ingredients.
• In another large bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, along with vanilla and cream of tartar. Whisk until stiff peaks form.
• Gently stir half of egg whites into cake batter, then fold in remaining egg whites to make a fluffy light batter.
• Pour batter into prepared baking sheet and spread to edges in an even layer. Bake in preheated oven until cake springs back when lightly pressed, about 10-12 minutes.

Rolling the Cake:

• Dust a clean kitchen towel with powdered sugar and run a thin knife around cake edges. Invert warm cake onto towel and a peel of parchment paper. Starting at the short end, use the towel to tightly roll cake into a log. Let cool completely rolled up.

Making the Filling and the Ganache Icing:

• To make the filling, in a large bowl, mix together the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk on high until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• To make the Ganache Icing, place chocolate chips in a medium glass bowl. Add heavy cream. Microwave for 45-60 second intervals until the chocolate has melted, being careful not to overheat the chocolate. Let it sit for 7-10 minutes until the chocolate has melted, then stir to combine. Allow to cool until it has reached the right consistency for spreading.

Assembling the Yule Log:

• When the cake is cool, carefully unroll and spread filling evenly to the edges of the cake.
• Roll back into a log, this time without the towel, and place seam side down on a platter. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.
• Spread the cooled ganache onto the cake, spreading all over along the sides and also the front and back. Using a fork, mark the sides of the cake to give a ridged appearance of bark.
• Store cake in refrigerator until time to serve. Before serving, dust lightly with powdered sugar. Serves 8-10.