Between TikTok hacks that transform a tube of chips into dessert and ultra-quick logs, certain recipes make you want to take your time. Nina Métayer’s chocolate log roll is one of them, with its promise of a chef’s pastry at home.
Extracted from her book to be published by Hachette in September 2026, this creation is one of Anastasia and Adèle’s favorite logs. Allow around 2.5 hours of preparation, a night’s rest and a difficulty rated 1 whisk for a log for 6 people.
A chocolate log roll from Nina Métayer in family mode
Nina Métayer’s chocolate log roll is organized in two very concrete stages. The chef suggests preparing the praline spread, the whipped ganache and the modeling chocolate on the afternoon of the 24th, then baking the biscuit and assembling the log on the 25th, just before lunch.
For a 2-year-old child, Nina Métayer prepares all the bases and then lets him take care of the assembly, like a small workshop. This organization contrasts with the TikTok hack where you fill a tube of chips with melted chocolate, described in a video relayed by 20 Minutes as giving .
Whipped ganache, Japanese biscuit and crispy praline
The recipe is based on a ganache whipped with dark chocolate. A portion of sweet liquid cream is brought to the boil, poured in two batches over the chopped chocolate, then the rest of the cold cream and a little honey are added before leaving for a long time to cool.
The day before, a modeling chocolate is prepared by mixing 100 g of dark chocolate and 40 g of glucose, while the homemade spread, made from dark chocolate, praline and unsweetened cocoa, waits the next day to become crispy with crumbled lace crepes.
Assembly and decoration of the rolled chocolate log
On the big day, the Japanese cocoa biscuit replaces the usual sponge cake. Flour and cocoa are incorporated into a mixture of butter and boiling milk, then enriched with a whole egg, yolks and finally whites whipped with sugar, for a very supple biscuit.
Once the biscuit has cooled, spread the crispy chocolate praline, then a layer of mounted ganache before rolling tightly using baking paper. The remaining ganache is poached on top, streaked and sprinkled with cocoa, then decorated with modeling chocolate flowers, meringues or Christmas shortbread.
How to organize yourself over two days?
For Nina Métayer’s chocolate log roll, we prepare almost everything the day before.
- D‑1: ganache, modeling chocolate, spread.
- D-day: Japanese biscuit, rolling and decoration.
Can we simplify this log?
Yes, by eliminating the modeling chocolate and using a good store-bought spread, while keeping the Japanese biscuit and whipped ganache.
Which chocolate to use?
Nina Métayer chooses a dark chocolate with 66% cocoa, strong enough without being bitter, which is suitable for both ganache and modeling chocolate.
