• Cake
• 1 box chocolate cake mix with pudding
• 1/2 C water
• 1/2 c oil
• 1 c sour cream
• 4 Eggland's Best large eggs
• 1 small box of instant chocolate pudding (dry mix)
• Filling
• 1 c milk
• 1/4 c flour
• 1 c butter softened
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• Chocolate Ganache
• 8oz semi sweet chocolate chopped
• 3/4 c heavy cream
• 1/2 t instant coffee granuals

1. Cake:
2. Mix all ingredients using medium speed until well blended. Pour batter into loaf pan sprayed with baking spray until 2/3 full. ( I had enough batter leftover to make an additional mini loaf). Bake in 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan and let cool completely on cooling rack. I let my loaf cool and then wrapped in plastic wrap and put in freezer. It is easier to slice when frozen, slice horizontally 2 times so you have 3 layers. Set aside.
3. Filling:
4. Place milk in small sauce pan and whisk in flour until flour is incorporated into milk keep whisking as to avoid getting lumpy. Slowly heat the milk and flour and continue to whisk as mixture heats up. You do not want any lumps. Continue to whisk until mixture is thick and resembles pudding. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl place a sheet of plastic wrap over top of mixture and place in refrigerator until it is cold. I usually do this the night before.
5. Place softened butter and sugar in bowl and blend until light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla and milk/flour mixture and beat until the filling is light and fluffy!! This may take a lot of mixing. I put it in my stand mixer and whip for about 5 minutes.
6. Ganache
7. Placed chopped chocolate and coffee in bowl. Heat cream in microwave just until it starts to boil and pour over chocolate and coffee. Let stand for 1-2 minutes to melt the chocolate then take a whisk and whisk until blended. Let cool to room temperature.
8. Assembly:
9. Place bottom layer of cake on plate and frost with about 1/3-1/2 of filling. You don't need to make this perfect. Place next layer on top of filling and press down so the filling seeps out the side just a bit. Frost second layer with 1/3-1/2 of filling and place top layer on filling and press down again to make the filling seep just a bit out of the cake.
10. With the ganache cooled to room temperature frost only the top of loaf but add extra so it drips down the sides of the cake.
11. With the extra filling pipe 3 dollops of frosting on top of loaf and garnish with chocolate covered cherries.

I have always wanted to make a traditonal "Yule Log" but never have the time or the patience to make one so I created a "deconstructed" Yule Log. Same flavors, similar look, way less time! Submitted by: "Laura Petersen"