Chocolate Sponge Cake

1. Beat the 5 egg whites until they are foamy.  Add salt and cream of tartar, and continue to beat until whites are stiff but not dry.

2. Sift together the sugar, cocoa, and flour. Beat 5 egg yolks with the vanilla until they are think and light.

3. Add 1/4 of the beaten egg whites to the yolks, fold them together gently, and turn the mixture out into the remaining egg whites.

4. Sift the cocoa mixture on top and fold the batter together until it is blended and uniform in color.

5. Grease a baking pan, 10 X 15 X 1. Line it with either foil or wax paper, and butter or grease the foil or paper. (The sponge cake is not easy to separate from the foil, so do not hurry that step.)

6. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake it in a hot oven 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed.

7. Spread out a dish towel and dust it with powdered sugar. Turn the sponge cake out onto the towel, peel off the foil or wax paper, and roll up the cake with the towel inside. Let the roll cool.

Cream Filling

Whip the whipping cream and flavor it with the sugar and vanilla. Unroll the chocolate sponge cake, removing the towel. Spread the whipping cream on the sponge cake. Roll up the cake and transfer it to a serving platter of cake roll board.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Beat the cocoa and butter on low speed until thoroughly mixed. Beat in powdered sugar until mixed. Beat in vanilla and enough hot water until frosting is smooth and spreadable. (you probably need more water than the recipe calls for to get a really smooth, spreadable frosting.)

For the tree stump, cuff off a 2 inch slice from one end of cake. Attach stump to the long side of the log with some frosting. Frost cake with remaining frosting. with tines of a fork, make strokes in the frosting to look like tree bark. Garnish with a light dusting of powdered sugar.