• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Egg Yolk Mixture:

• In a medium bowl, add together egg yolks, ½ cup of sugar, salt, corn syrup, vanilla, and water. Set this bowl inside a larger bowl filled with warm water and beat on high until pale yellow with ribbons form. Remove from the warm water bath and set aside.

Egg White Meringue:

• In a large bowl, add the egg whites and beat on high until soft peaks form. Start adding the ⅓ cup of sugar in three equal parts, beating each time to incorporate. Beat the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form.

Roll Cake Batter:

• Add ½ of the egg white meringue to the egg yolk mixture and gently fold it in until it's mostly mixed in. The batter should be light and airy. Next, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together and add this into the batter in three equal parts, gently folding after each time.
• In a small bowl, microwave the oil until it’s warm to the touch. Take out ¼ cup of the combined batter from the previous step and completely mix this into the warm oil. Fold this back into the combined batter. Next, add the entire batter to the remaining egg white meringue and fold it in gently.

Baking & Filling the Roll Cake:

• Pour the batter into a parchment lined pan. Bang the pan twice to remove large air bubbles and bake for 15 – 18 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean when it's done. If it's over baked, the cake will be difficult to roll and may crack.
• Take out the cake, invert the pan onto a clean, slightly damp kitchen cloth, and remove the parchment paper from the bottom. Roll up the cake and hold it in place. You can also roll up the cake with the parchment paper used to bake the cake.
• Once the cake is completely cooled, unroll it and fill it with either whipped cream or the cream cheese filling and roll it back up.

Filling (Choose One):

• Whipped Cream filling: Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla to a medium size bowl and beat on medium high speed until you get stiff peaks, about 2 minutes.
• Cream Cheese filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter together in a medium bowl until it's well combined. Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to the bowl and continue beating until it's smooth and creamy. Add more milk if it's too thick to spread.

Decorating the Yule Log Cake

• After filling the cake and rolling it back up, cut a 3 inch slice off the cake and adhere it to the side using some frosting as the glue. This is to resemble a branch coming out of the log.
• Cover the cake with the chocolate frosting. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife, make quick downward strokes down the length of the cake and lift up slightly at the end so the frosting resembles tree bark.
• Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar using a sifter and then top with the shredded coconut. This will resemble snow on the cake.
• Place the mini marshmallows on top of and around the cake to resemble small white mushrooms.
• Rinse and drain the cranberries and add it to a small bowl. While it's still slightly wet, add in the granulated sugar and mix it around until the sugar granules stick to the cranberries. Place the sugar coated cranberries on top of the cake.