Dark Chocolate Matcha Ghoul Log
Make this spooky ghoul log for your Halloween party! It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert to feed a crowd, and you’ll love the matcha and dark chocolate flavors!
Good morning! I’m posting on a Monday- a little out of the ordinary I know, but I just have so much great stuff to share with you this week. There’s a really great seasonal macaron recipe coming up for Mystery Dish, and then we’ll be closing out the week with a fun giveaway! So stay tuned 😉
But first I wanted to share this fun Halloween treat…
Are you familiar with the Christmastime yule log dessert? Sometimes they call it a buche de noel. It’s basically just a Swiss roll but you can have all sorts of fun decorating it to look like a fallen winter log. Well, I decided to make a spooky black log filled with an eerie green buttercream and crawling with hairy spiders.
You can find the recipe for the hairy spiders here. They’re an easy dark chocolate cookie dough rolled in sprinkles and decorated with candy eyeballs. I love that they’re spooky but not too scary. I’ve got little kids yo.
For the cake roll, I used a chocolate genoise recipe and baked it in a half sheet pan. If you can get your hands on black cocoa, I highly recommend it for this recipe! The color is just as dark as can be and the taste is very much like an Oreo cookie.
Doesn’t the filling just look totally gross? I mean that color is nothing short of putrid. But honestly, if it didn’t have “mold” and “spiders” all over it you probably wouldn’t think so. It’s just a fluffy buttercream with a little matcha green tea powder stirred in. No artificial coloring needed!
At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d like the taste of dark chocolate and matcha together. But I’m happy to report they actually complement each other so beautifully! I only just tried matcha for the first time recently, and it was great in this cheesecake, but I think I might like it even better with chocolate! But then again, what doesn’t taste better with chocolate, right??
Ok I will fully admit that my buttercream to cake ratio is completely off kilter here. I could have done with way less of the Swiss meringue buttercream. I recommend using half the quantities you see in these pics, and the recipe card below reflects that.
Unless you are a complete buttercream fiend, in which case, I totally feel you! Go ahead and double up and enjoy every spooky bite. 😉
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Dark Chocolate Matcha Ghoul Log
Ingredients
For the Dark Chocolate Genoise
- 1/4 cup (21.5 g) black cocoa powder,, plus a little extra for pan
- 1/2 cup (62.5 g) cake flour
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 eggs, (large)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons (59.15 g) unsalted butter,, melted
For the Matcha Green Tea Buttercream
- 3 egg whites, (large)
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened but cool
- 1 1/2 teaspoons matcha powder
For the Garnishes
- powdered sugar,, for dusting
- matcha powder,, for dusting
- cocoa powder,, for dusting
- Hairy Spider Cookies,, for garnish
Instructions
To Make the Dark Chocolate Genoise:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and mist a 12x17" rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray. Line with parchment, mist again, and dust with cocoa powder. Tap out excess, and set aside.
- Place the cocoa, flour, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Place the eggs, yolks, and sugar in a large mixing bowl set over a pot of simmering water, and whisk together until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture feels warm.
- Whip the egg mixture on high speed until very pale in color and thick (about 5 minutes).
- Fold in the dry ingredients.
- When they are almost completely incorporated, add the melted butter and continue to fold until combined.
- Spread the batter into the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 7 minutes or until springy to the touch.
- Meanwhile, overlap 2 long sheets of paper towels and dust with cocoa. When the cake has cooled slightly, run a thin knife around the edge and then invert onto the towels. Roll (while still warm) starting from one short side and incorporating the towels.
- Allow the cake to cool completely, rolled.
- Fill with Matcha Green Tea Buttercream, dust with powdered sugar, matcha, and cocoa, and decorate with Hairy Spider Cookies.
To Make the Matcha Green Tea Buttercream:
- Place the egg whites and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water.
- Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture no longer feels gritty when rubbed between the thumb and forefinger.
- Remove the egg white mixture from the heat, and whip on medium-high speed until there is no hint of warmth remaining, and the meringue holds stiff peaks.
- Add the butter, a tablespoon at a time, while continuing to whip on medium-high speed.
- Stir in the matcha powder.
- (If the buttercream seems runny, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes, then whip again until fluffy and stiff.)
I love buche de Noel cakes, and making this cute little Halloween log was such a great idea! I’ve never tried matcha tea in baking, but I have to imagine it would taste great with chocolate. Doesn’t everything?
So true. Marcie what can I say you know food. I thought it sounded like a strange combo at first but it’s actually really good! I’m so happy you like it; thank you so much for the sweet comment, dear! xoxo
I love the color of the log and the Halloween name that you have given it. Can’t wait to see all of the posts you have in mind this week.
Thanks Chineka! I’m so happy you liked, hon- thanks for the awesome feedback! 😉
This is just too cute!! Love love matcha and I can’t wait to now try it with dark chocolate.
It’s good! I wouldn’t have thought so but somehow it really works! Thanks Zainab xoxo
GHOUL LOG? I’m screaming this is seriously the cutest thing ever.
Lol yay I’m so happy you like it Graham! Thanks so much for the great feedback- you are always so creative so I know if I can make you scream then I must have done something right 😉
Geez this log is toooooo pretty to be taken seriously as a Halloween treat. It has to be utterly delicious too. I association Halloween with candy corn and skittles.
I’m sure there will be plenty of those things invading my home soon enough, Carol! Thanks so much for the sweet comment, hope you enjoy the holiday!
These are too cute, Allie. I love everything about it, especially chocolate genoise. I think I’ll need a log just for me. 🙂
Yay! So glad you like it, Linda! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Okay, this is the best kind of gross green moss that I want to face-plant into and I’m totally using the full quantities for the Swiss meringue buttercream. This matcha buttercream, I’m telling you Allie, is PURE gold! I could eat it by the spoonful but then it’ll taste 2638920 times better with this intensely dark chocolate roll cake… (do I even need to mention your photos are super awesome???) And I think this is the first time that I actually found spiders to be cute!!!!!!!!! ^_^ *_* LOVED IT (pinning) 😀
Hooray! Thank you so much for pinning sweetie and I”m so happy you like it so much! 😀 😀 😀
This is just SO super cute and clever. I love it!!! And I bet it does taste awesome too. Pinned and shared on my Facebook page 🙂
Thank you so much for pinning and sharing, Jill! You are too kind. I’m so happy you like it! xo
SO gorgeous! wow, and it looks so deliciously creamy, and perfect flavor combination.
Thanks Catalina! It is super creamy and buttery. As any good buttercream should be! Thanks so much for stopping by and for the great feedback!
This is such a great idea, Allie! It totally looks like a Halloween version of the yule log – so creative and fun 🙂 The matcha and chocolate sound delicious to me and I am absolutely in love with your photos! The colors and set up are so perfect for Halloween! Pinning 🙂
Yay! Thanks so much for pinning Kelly! I’m so happy you like it; thanks for the sweet compliments. Hope you and your family have a really fun holiday <3
This is genius! Would never ever in a million years think to turn this Christmas staple into a Halloween treat. Love it, Allie! So creative. XO
Thanks Liz! I had a lot of fun with it. So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the awesome feedback and hope you have a great holiday! xo
Oh this is so original and cute! I loooove matcha and chocolate together! (Just wanted to let you know, deary, that your recipes aren’t showing up in your emails! Instead it says “[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:147].”)
I love the way you made this log look mossy!
Hey Lina! Sorry you’re having trouble with the emails. I have been messing around with them ever since my blog makeover and I’m frustrated to death. I think I’m probably going to have to switch to Mailchimp but I’m procrastinating so bad. Anyhow thanks for the info and for the great feedback! So glad you like the ghoul log 😉
This is amazing Allie! You really let your creativity shine with this spooky cake roll. And the matcha makes it delicious!
Thanks Jen! I thought the matcha and dark chocolate combo really made the dish. Thanks so much for the kind words! xo
That is too awesome! I love what you do with matcha! So fun for the kids. Love your creativity girl!
Thanks Melanie! The kids had a lot of fun with this one. Hope you and your littles have a fun Halloween!
OMG that looks incredible! So cute, and so delicious-sounding too! Love the matcha flavors.
Thanks Baby June! I’ve only recently started baking with matcha but I love it! 😀
Could this be any cuter? No. The answer is no. Love your creativity girl!
Thanks so much Amanda! I had a lot of fun bringing this idea to life. So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the sweet comment; hope you and your family enjoy the holiday! xo