Christmas Yule Log

 

What is a Yule Log Cake?**

Every year of my growing up years was filled with Christmas delight and our neighbor Elaine delivering her festive Yule Log that tasted delicious. (She also made an amazing Jelly Roll Cake that was to die for. So because of her I never learned how to make a Yule Log Cake until I moved out on my own. What a treat to make this amazing cake and remember her each year. So loved Elaine.

A Yule Log Cake, or Bûche de Noël, transforms this custom into dessert—a delightful chocolate sponge roll filled with mascarpone cream and topped with whipped ganache.

To create a Yule Log Cake, start by baking the chocolate cake in a larger pan—similar to making a jelly roll Cake Roll.

Don't forget to line the pan with parchment paper for easy rolling! 

Once baked, roll up the warm cake tightly using the parchment and let it cool fully before adding your filling. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

Decorating Your Yule Log Cake

Start by making your chocolate ganache. Whip it for a lighter texture.

While the cake chills, prepare the ganache and let it reach room temperature.

Attach a small cut piece to resemble a branch, then spread the ganache over the cake. Add fork lines for bark and finish with sugared cranberries and rosemary sprigs! A step in making a Yule Log Cake showing evenly spreading the mascarpone whipped cream filling over the unrolled baked chocolate cake.

The filling. Rather than filling it with a simple whipped cream, I use a mascarpone whipped cream. It doesn’t take over the cake but lends a flavor that is just a little more special and deserving of being your Christmas centerpiece.

The whipped chocolate ganache. The whipped texture of the ganache lightens it up and keeps this cake from feeling heavy when eating it. Since the cake and filling are so light, it needs a light frosting. The whipped chocolate ganache has rich flavor, with a light texture. Perfection!

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

3/4 cup (98g) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup (38g) Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 large eggs, divided

3/4 cup (155g) granulated sugar

5 tbsp (72g) sour cream

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mascarpone Whipped Cream Filling

1 1/4 cups (300ml) heavy whipping cream, cold

3/4 cups (86g) powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

8 oz (226g) mascarpone cheese, softened but still chilled*

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Use fresh raspberries as decoration. 

I sometimes use pieces of sugar mint candy cut into leaves also. 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 17×12-inch jelly roll sheet pan with parchment paper. Make sure the parchment paper sticks up at least an inch above the sides of the pan on all sides. You’ll use the parchment paper later to lift the cake out of the pan and roll it up.

2. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk together until well combined.

4. Add the sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla extract and whisk together until well combined.

5. Add the dry ingredient mixture (previously set aside) to the wet ingredient mixture and gently whisk together until well combined, then set aside.

6. Add the egg whites to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.

7. Gently fold about 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen up the batter.

8. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold together until well combined.

9. Spread the cake batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

10. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment paper and place it on the counter.

11. While the cake is hot, use the parchment paper the cake was baked in and start at the shorter end of the cake to slowly roll the cake up. Set the cake aside to cool completely.

12. When the cake has cooled and is ready to be filled, make the filling. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until soft peaks form.

13. Add the mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream and whip until stiff peaks form. It will happen fairly quickly.

14. Unroll the cake roll very carefully, looking out for areas where it may be sticking to release it. You can use an offset spatula or something similar and run it along the parchment paper as you unroll the cake to help release it as it unrolls.

15. Spread the filling evenly onto the unrolled cake, then roll it back up without the parchment paper.

16. Wrap it up in a plastic wrap with the seam side down and refrigerate for at least an hour to firm up.

17. When you’re ready to decorate the cake, make the chocolate ganache. Add the chocolate to a medium-sized bowl and set aside. Heat the cream in the microwave just until it begins to boil, then pour it over the chocolate.

18. Allow the chocolate and cream to sit for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. Let the ganache cool to about room temperature (or cooler, you don’t want it too warm/thin), then transfer to a large mixer bowl.

19. Whip on high speed until lightened in color and thick enough to spread.

20. To decorate the cake, use a large serrated knife to gently cut off a piece of the log about 3 inches in length. Make the cut with a slight diagonal.

21. Use some of the chocolate ganache to attach the small log to the side of the larger log.

22. Spread the remaining chocolate ganache all over the cake, then use a fork to create bark-like lines all over it. Decorate with sugared cranberries and rosemary (instructions in notes), if desired.

23. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.

 

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Phoenix University in Business Management, then a degree. Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, Gouche, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.