Shredded or flaked coconut gives better eye appeal, but without it you can use regular desiccated coconut instead. To make a regular cake, bake the recipe in a 9×2-inch round pan; cover with chocolate frosting and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

The Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Christmas Logs Recipe makes 4 logs. Preparation and Cooking Time is 2 hours, 20 minutes (plus standing time). Equipments used are 4 empty 415-grams corn, mushroom, or tomato cans. Open the cans at one end only. Leave on labels for extra insulation while the cakes bake. Wash and dry cans well before use.

What are the ingredients of the Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Christmas Logs?
1 cup extra light olive oil
1/2 cup port wine
2/3 cup golden syrup or corn syrup
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons mixed spice or 1/2 teaspoons each of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves
2 1/2 cups raisins, chopped
1 1/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
100 grams hazelnuts, roasted, skins removed, chopped
400 grams dark eating chocolate, chopped
5 tablespoons butter, chopped
2 cups shredded or flaked coconut

How to prepare the Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Christmas Logs?
1. Grease and line base and side of food cans with parchment paper. Place cans on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
2. Combine oil, port, and golden syrup in a medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add sifted cocoa and mixed spice, stir until smooth. Add raisins; let stand for 1 hour.
3. Pour oil mixture into a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar and eggs one at a time and mix well. Preheat oven to 300F.
4. Sift flours together over raisin mixture; stir gently to combine. Fold in hazelnuts. Spoon mixture into prepared cans so they are three-fourths full. Smooth the surface. Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer (cover with foil if starting to overbrown). Cool cakes in cans on a wire rack.
5. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; stir with a metal spoon until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside; stir occasionally until mixture has thickened to a spreadable consistency.
6. Use a sharp knife to trim the tops of the cakes and remove from cans. Place coconut on a tray. Thickly spread chocolate over the top and half the side of one cake. Turn cake to stand on chocolate end in the coconut. Spread remaining side and top of cake with chocolate, then sprinkle coconut to coat. Place coated cake upright on a piece of baking paper until set. Repeat with the remaining cakes, chocolate and coconut.