Christmas Yule Log- Bûche de Noël

I have always admired Yule Log cakes, but I thought this French-inspired dessert might be a little too complicated for me. But with Christmas right around the corner, I thought I would give it a go, and I’m glad I did!

The Yule Log cake (or Bûche de Noël in French) had its origins from pagan times when people burned logs as a symbol of rebirth. The larger logs were later replaced by small branches which were placed in the middle of the table for decoration. Cakes were then made to imitate the decorative wooden logs.

It happens that making this Bûche de Noël cake was not as difficult as I thought and turns out to be basically a 3-step process:

• Make chocolate sponge cake and roll up into a log-shape.
• Roll cake back out and add the whipped cream filling
• Roll cake back up and finish with a chocolate butter cream icing- then decorate!

Of course, it takes a bit of patience and finesse to make the cake and to carefully roll it up so that it doesn’t break.

What is the key to making a successful Yule Log cake?

One key element is to use a Jelly Roll (or Swiss Roll) cake pan to make the chocolate sponge cake. A Jelly Roll pan is typically 9 x 13 inches or 10 x 15 inches, ideal sizes for making a rolled-up cake. If you use a larger sheet pan, this might be too large and your cake would be too thin and crack.

Also, a Jelly Roll pan has squared edges and a depth of 1 inch which is perfect for holding and shaping your Yule Log cake batter.

Yule Log cakes also use sponge cake as the main ingredient- using separated eggs where the fluffy beaten egg whites are folded into the main ingredients to produce a light, airy cake.

What are the main steps in making a Yule Log Cake?

Make the Sponge Cake:

After preparing your Jelly Roll pan, beat the separated egg yolks with the sugar until a pale yellow color, then add the melted chocolate. Combine this mixture with the dry ingredients.

Beat the egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks form, then fold gently into the chocolate mixture (above). Pour batter into the pan and bake for 12 minutes.

Invert the cake, then roll up

Invert the cake onto a clean towel dusted with powdered sugar, remove the parchment paper, then gently roll the cake up tightly in the towel, ending with the seam facing down. Using a towel for the roll-up helps to ‘push’ the cake along, plus keeps the cake warm and moist as you roll. Let cake cool completely in the towel.

Add the Whipped Cream Filling, then roll-up again

After the cake has cooled, roll it out flat again and spread the whipped cream filling on top. Roll the cake back up tightly and place on a tray with the seam facing down. Cool in the fridge for at least one hour.

Remove from fridge and decorate with the chocolate butter cream icing. Spread the icing in a ‘textured’ manner to resemble wood bark.

How should you decorate the Yule Log cake?

The ‘sky is the limit’! I used some sugared raw cranberries, several rosemary sprigs and some chocolate curls. You could also place some artificial mistletoe decorations around the plate or decorative ribbons.

Enjoy your Bûche de Noël!

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