Classic Chocolate Yule Log Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a traditional Yule log made of? ›

Edible Yule Logs

They are made of a chocolate sponge roll layered with cream. The outside is covered with chocolate or chocolate icing and decorated to look like a bark-covered log. Some people like to add extra decorations such as marzipan mushrooms!

Is this the same as a swiss roll? The main difference between the two cakes is the way the cakes are decorated. The Yule log cake, or buche de noel, is made to look like the logs burned on Christmas eve, whereas the exterior of a swiss roll is decorated much more simply, such as with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

yule log in British English

noun. 1. a large log of wood traditionally used as the foundation of a fire in the hearth at Christmas. 2. a chocolate-coated cylindrical sponge cake, eaten at Christmas.

Origins of Yule log tradition

As are most holiday traditions, the origins of the Yule log are believed to have stemmed from Germanic or Scandinavian paganism. The tradition of burning the Yule log began as an early winter solstice ritual, though the exact date the tradition started has been lost to us.

The Yule log was a long oak tree carved with runes (early norse/germanic letters) to wish for the protection of the gods and burned for the duration of the celebration. To let it go out was said to be a dark omen and a sign of bad luck to come. The Vikings would save a piece of the log for next year's fire.

Edible Yule Logs are thought to be the invention of the French, where the cake is known as Buche de Noel. Our bakers will have their own versions of the Yule Log. Place your orders now, to avoid disappointment. Check out our list of bakers here.

Like other traditions associated with Yule (such as the Yule boar), the custom may ultimately derive from Proto-Indo-European religion as similar traditions have been recorded in Celtic, Germanic, Baltic and Slavic paganism, among others.

Making the cake

You want your cake to be light, airy, and moist so that it's flexible enough to roll easily. If you overbeat the batter or bake the cake too long, it could become dense, gummy, or dry — and thus more likely to crack.

The Yule log cake is a rolled Genoise sponge cake, filled with buttercream and decorated with chocolate frosting or ganache, which is combed with a fork to create a bark-like texture.

In other houses, it went by the name of yule log, or chocolate sponge roll. If you were being really posh, you might also call it chocolate roulade. Actually a chocolate roulade is not technically the same thing as a sponge roll. It is not a sponge mixture, but instead is a whipped egg and cocoa mixture, with no flour.

What is the traditional name for a Yule log? ›

A Yule log or bûche de Noël (French pronunciation: [byʃ də nɔɛl]) is a traditional Christmas cake, often served as a dessert near Christmas, especially in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Lebanon, Switzerland, Vietnam, and Quebec, Canada.

Santa's elves may be able to work all day and night to get Christmas ready, but that doesn't mean you need to do the same. The beauty of festive layer cakes, chocolate-coated yule logs, and yes, even the traditional fruit cake, is that they can all be made ahead and decorated or wrapped up whenever you're ready.

In some French regions, the log was added on Christmas night, and the fire could go on until Epiphany. The ashes of the log were kept until the next year; they were said to protect and bring luck to the house.

Vin doux naturels (natural sweet wines) are good candidates to accompany the traditional log. Among the different options available, try the log with Muscat-Beaume-de-Venise, white Banyuls, Sauternes, Coteaux du Layon, Quarts de Chaume or sweet wine from Alsace, such as Vendange Tardive or Sélection de Grais Nobles.

Popularly depicted as a birch log, a Yule log may have to be a more energy-dense kind of wood if you want it to burn all day. Especially if you want leftovers for next year. While birch is picturesque, it doesn't compare with many other hardwoods in terms of the heat it gives off and how long it burns.

Yule log cake, or bûche de Noël, is a Christmas cake with a ritualistic past. Cleverly shaped and decorated to look like a 3-D log, the cake represents a melding of ancient midwinter traditions: one that celebrated the end of winter, and another honoring the Norse god Thor.

Yule Log Decor and Dessert

Today, a Yule log is still a Christmas tradition in some cultures; a large log is traditionally burned in the fireplace on Christmas Eve. For other cultures, the Yule log is a log-shaped chocolate cake enjoyed as a Christmas dessert.

The story goes that in the days preceding Christmas, children must take good care of the log, keeping it warm and feeding it, so that it will defecate presents on Christmas Day or Eve. On Christmas Day or, in some households, on Christmas Eve, one puts the tió partly into the fireplace and orders it to defecate.