This enchanting Yule Log cake can be enjoyed as a festive dessert that doubles as a table centerpiece! We'll decorate this rolled chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, festive meringue mushrooms & candied cranberries.
The Most Festive Christmas Cake!
Inspired by the age-old tradition of burning a wood log on Winter Solstice to welcome the sun's return, I decorated this yule log cake to look like a real wooden log. I coated it in a thick layer of chocolate buttercream frosting, and dragged the tines of a fork through it while it was still soft, to look like wood bark. And on the short edges of the cake, I used a pairing knife to gently create circles, to look like the rings inside a tree.
A bonus of covering the entire cake in frosting is that it provides support to hold the rolled shape, and covers any potential cracks. I let my cake cool a little too long and it cracked in several places as I rolled it with whipped cream. But you'd never know, after being coated in rich buttercream!
Yule Log Cake Decorations
For a little extra whimsy, I made meringue and piped it into the stems and tops of the mushrooms. Then I melted some chocolate chips and used that as the "glue" to secure the tops and stems together for each mushroom. Since they are all different shapes and sizes, I think it makes them look more realistic. And they are super delicious to eat, with a crunchy exterior & chewy middle!
And I simmered some simple candied cranberries from another dessert, so I added them to look like little frosted berries. Finally, I arranged some fresh evergreen sprigs and small pinecones around the cake, to complete the woodland theme!
For more European-inspired Christmas desserts, try my German gingerbread cake, and classic Christmas market-style Lebkuchen Herzen!
Buche de Noel (Yule Log Cake)
developed & tested by:
Ingredients
Yule Log Cake
- 1 batch of a roulade sponge of your choice
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream (2 cups)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- ¾ cup butter, softened to room temperature (1½ sticks)
- 1½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ teaspoon salt
Candied Cranberries
- 1½ cups fresh cranberries
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Meringue Mushrooms
- 1 egg white (they're best straight from the fridge, since egg whites whip up easier when they are cold)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons chocolate chips, melted
Instructions
Make the Roulade Cake and Frost It
- Bake the sponge cake according to the recipes instructions. While it's hot out of the oven, roll it up tightly, starting from a longer end. Allow it to cool to room temperature, about an hour.
- Add the heavy whipping cream in a mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment to whip the cream to soft peaks. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until it forms medium peaks.
- Gently and carefully unroll the cooled sponge cake. Spread the whipped cream all over the cake in an even layer. Gently roll it back up, with the whipped cream filling inside.
- Place the cake in the fridge to chill while you make the buttercream frosting.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the softened butter until it is pale and soft, about five minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and sift in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Continue mixing on a medium to high speed until it is creamy.
- Trim the edges off your cake, if desired. You can also cut a two or three-inch piece off one end of the roulade and stick it onto the side of the cake, to look more like a tree log.
- Spread the chocolate buttercream over the cake and on the sides. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth. The more bumps and imperfections, the more the cake will look like a wooden log. Use a fork to draw slightly squiggly lines in the frosting to look more like tree bark. Use a pairing knife to gently draw rings in the buttercream on the edges of the cake. Chill in the fridge again until the buttercream is firm.
Create the Decorations and Add Them to the Cake
- To make the candied cranberries, rinse and dry the cranberries. In a small sauce pan, add ½ cup water and ½ cup of the sugar. Bring to a simmer on medium heat. Stir in the cranberries to fully coat them for about 2 minutes.
- Drain the cranberries from the syrup. Spread out the cranberries on a baking sheet to dry for at least one hour, or overnight.
- Roll the cranberries in the remaining ½ cup of sugar. Add more sugar as necessary to full coat the cranberries. Set aside.
- To make the meringue mushrooms, first wipe down your mixing bowl and whisk attachment with vinegar. This will clean off any residual fats, which prevent egg whites from whipping up. Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Add the egg white to the mixing bowl and whisk on low until it is frothy. Add the cream of tartar and mix on a medium-high speed until it forms soft peaks.
- Add the sugar one spoonful at a time, then add the salt. Continue whisking until it forms stiff peaks. Now you have meringue!
- Add the meringue into a piping bag with a relatively small round tip and prepare to pipe on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Pipe the tops of mushrooms by creating thick discs. Pipe the stems by piping the meringue out as you slowly pull the bag up, to make a tower of meringue.
- Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the meringue is dry and sounds hollow when you tap the mushroom tops. Let cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave on 30 second intervals. Use the melted chocolate to stick the mushroom stems and tops together. You can also use the melted chocolate to stick the meringue mushrooms and candied cranberries to the yule log cake. Enjoy!
Yum-number1 says
This is literally an edible log, looks sooo cool!!!
strawberryandcream says
Hahaha exactly! I felt a little weird slicing into it, I was thinking hmm do I need an axe instead of a kitchen knife to cut into this? ðŸ˜