Yule Log
Recipe for a traditional sponge Yule Log roll
If you’re looking for a unique Christmas recipe, then check out this one! The Yule Log roll, also called Buche de Noel, is a delicious and intensely chocolatey cake rolled with cream and decorated to look like a tree. It might not sound appetizing, but look at the photos and tell me you wouldn’t eat a slice or two of such a chocolate roll :)
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Yule Log Roll recipe step by step
If you like intensely chocolatey cakes, and you’re looking for a recipe for a unique cake that will delight everyone, then you absolutely must try this recipe.
Yule Log Roll recipe
Składniki
ingredients for chocolate sponge cake for the roll
- 100 g wheat flour – all-purpose (- (2/3 cup) )
- 40 g dark cocoa (- 2 slightly heaped tablespoons )
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 egg whites ( – from size L eggs )
- 4 egg yolks
- 150 g sugar (- 3/4 cup )
- 50 g butter (melted and cooled )
ingredients for chocolate cream for the roll
- 250 g mascarpone cheese
- 100 g chocolate spread – Nutella type
- 50 g melted dark chocolate
- 1 handful hazelnuts (chopped and toasted )
soaking for the roll
- a little sweetened tea or coffee
ingredients for chocolate ganache:
- 250 g chocolate ( – I used dark and one bar of milk chocolate)
- 200 ml heavy cream ( – I used 30% )
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instrukcja
How to make chocolate sponge cake for the roll:
- Gently whisk the egg whites, then slowly add the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to the highest and whisk the egg whites until they are very thick, white, and glossy.4 egg whites, 150 g sugar
- Sift the flour through a sieve together with cocoa and baking powder.100 g wheat flour – all-purpose, 40 g dark cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Add the egg yolks to the beaten egg whites and mix gently.4 egg yolks
- Add the flour and butter and mix very gently.50 g butter
- Line a large baking sheet – mine was 28/42 cm – with baking paper.
- Spread the dough and smooth its surface.
- Bake at 180 degrees (top/bottom mode) for about 10-12 minutes – until a dry skewer comes out clean.
- Place a clean kitchen towel on the kitchen counter, sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
- Immediately remove the baked sponge cake from the mold along with the baking paper.
- Carefully place the cake on the towel – top side down.
- Peel off the baking paper, and roll the cake along the shorter side together with the towel – set the cake aside to cool.
How to make chocolate cream for the Yule Log roll
- Briefly mix the mascarpone cheese with the chocolate spread and cooled melted chocolate – just until the ingredients are combined.250 g mascarpone cheese, 100 g chocolate spread – Nutella type, 50 g melted dark chocolate
- Add the chopped nuts and mix.1 handful hazelnuts
Yule Log Roll – assembly
- Carefully unroll the cake together with the towel.
- Gently soak the top of the cake.a little sweetened tea or coffee
- Spread the chocolate cream – leave one shorter side clean for a few centimeters.
- Roll the cake – towards the clean end.
- Wrap the rolled cake tightly in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
How to make chocolate ganache for the chocolate roll
- Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan.200 ml heavy cream
- When hot, add the broken chocolates – mix until the chocolate is completely dissolved.250 g chocolate
- Add honey and mix – set aside to cool and thicken.1 tablespoon honey
Yule Log Roll – finishing:
- Remove the roll from the refrigerator and carefully unwrap it from the film.
- Place the cake on a plate.
- Cut off a piece of cake diagonally and place it on the side of the cake.
- Spread the chocolate ganache over the cake.
- Use a knife or spoon to give the chocolate a tree-like texture.
- Dust the cake with powdered sugar.
- Decorate as desired, e.g., with fresh cranberries and edible pine cones.
Uwagi
Wartości Odżywcze
Chocolate Buche de Noel roll – notes
The Yule Log roll is a sponge cake prepared for Christmas resembling a tree stump :)
In France, it is called Bûche de Noël, which means Christmas log (very aptly ;)).
This year, I also succumbed to this cake and prepared a very chocolatey version.
I baked the sponge cake and immediately after baking, I rolled it in a clean cloth (this helps the cake maintain its rolled shape and prevents it from cracking later).
How to make a Yule Log roll – tips
As I wrote, first we bake the sponge cake and let it cool. Then we spread it with cream and carefully roll it up.
My chocolate sponge cake is rolled with a chocolate cream resembling Rocher pralines and finally spread with a thick layer of chocolate ganache.
But here, the decoration is the most important!
To give it a more “tree-like” character, I prepared pinecones from chocolate flakes, which I once spotted on the blog Domowe Wypieki.
How to make pinecones from flakes?
Prepare chocolate breakfast flakes with a more shell-like shape and marzipan mass. You can easily buy such marzipan mass before Christmas at Lidl, or look for it on Allegro.
Add a little bitter cocoa to the marzipan mass and knead it together – this will give the marzipan a brown color and the pinecones will look more natural.
From the mass, form small teardrops and stick the flakes into them – start from the top (teardrops) and arrange the flakes tightly and close to the marzipan. Add subsequent rows of flakes to create a pinecone. You can make them more or less open and in different sizes.
You can also bake mushroom cookies (e.g., meringue) and place them next to the cake.
I also added fresh twigs and cranberries – all to give it a forest character.
I must admit that this chocolate roll with cream looked beautiful and tasted sensational – definitely worth making again :D
And how do you like this Yule Log roll?
Also, check out my other Christmas recipes :D
I also encourage you to follow my Instagram profile, where you can easily save my recipes for later.
Recommended chocolate cake recipes
Be sure to try my other recipes for delicious chocolate cakes, perfect for various occasions. Here I recommend these three recipes:
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Yule Log Roll recipe
This chocolate roll, also called Bûche de Noël roll, is a traditional cake baked mainly in France for Christmas. Besides France, this cake is known in Belgium, Switzerland, and French colonies. As a Yule Log roll, it is known in the USA and Great Britain. In Poland, this cake was not previously known. Now, in the age of the internet, it is becoming popular here too. The roll itself is a sponge cake rolled with chocolate cream. The Bûche de Noël roll is distinguished by being decorated at the end to resemble a piece of a tree trunk. It is spread with chocolate on top to create a bark-like texture. It's good to add forest-themed decorations - edible pinecones, mushroom cookies, cranberries, etc. The appearance of the Yule Log roll is so wonderful that sometimes it's a shame to cut it! But besides its appearance, this Christmas cake tastes delicious! My roll is intensely chocolatey, with a cream like Rocher pralines and an amazing chocolate ganache on top.
Bûche de Noël Roll recipe
The chocolate Yule Log roll will appeal to everyone and impress family and guests. Due to its rather large size, it's worth placing it on a decorative platter and decorating it there. It's worth additionally surrounding the cake with fresh Christmas tree branches and sprinkling it with powdered sugar imitating snow. Store the cake in the refrigerator, but it's best to take it out at least half an hour beforehand so that the Bûche de Noël roll can warm up slightly. Then the cream inside and the chocolate ganache will soften, and the cake will be easier to cut. Be sure to prepare this sponge roll for Christmas. Also, try other delicious Christmas recipes.
