Long ago, ancient Europeans celebrated the winter solstice by burning a special log, using bits of the previous year’s log in the fire. Over time, this ancient custom was blended in with Christmas celebrations, which eventually led to a most festive cake, called the Buche de Noel in France. This Yule Log cake is a creamy-filled sponge, rolled and frosted to look like a log and decorated with woodland touches, like meringue mushrooms and marzipan holly.

There are so many variations in the style and flavor of cake, filling and frosting. And then there’s the fun decorations. It’s really a chance to let your inner child come out and get into the spirit of Christmas.

I’ve included links to some recipes to get your started on your own unique creation. For my Daytime TV friends, I made two version: One with a vanilla sponge and chocolate pastry cream/mascarpone filling, the other a chocolate sponge with coffee pastry cream/mascarpone filling. Both were frosted with whipped chocolate ganache.

But you could use a box cake (with modifications), fill with whipped cream, or buttercream, and frost with your favorite frosting. Flavor combinations are almost endless. And because each element can be made well in advance, you can take your time with each step, storing or freezing as needed, then assemble the final creation weeks later.

Here’s the basic steps, followed with recipe links:

1. Bake the sponge cake. I used a large 17X12 baking sheet for mine.
2. Make your decorations. I made meringue mushrooms and dusted some shredded coconut with cocoa powder and greens powder to help create a woodsy look.
3. Make your filling: It can be any flavor pastry cream (I added some softened mascarpone), sweetened whipped cream, buttercream, etc.
4. Make your frosting: Whipped chocolate ganache sets up well, but any frosting will work.
5. Fill the sponge cake with the filling and roll up tightly. Freeze the rolled cake for several hours at least, but up to a few months is OK.
6. To assemble, unwrap the frozen cake and cut a small section off at an angle on one end. Trim the opposite end as needed for a clean look. Put the long roll on your serving tray, putting the angled end on one side to look like a part of the log that sticks out.
7. Frost all of the cake, except the ends, so you can still see the rolled cake layers. The rougher the frosting looks, the better. Think of bark.
8. Add your decorations, like the mushrooms, cranberries, rosemary, etc. I brushed my mushrooms with cocoa powder and a touch of greens powder to make them look more real. You can roll out jelly wreaths to make edible holly leaves and berries, or use fondant or marzipan. You can use real greenery as well, just wash it first. Remember some greens like real holly are not safe to eat. I used mine on the side only.
9. Let the finished cake sit out a few hours for best results. Sprinkle with powdered sugar for a snowy look right before serving.

Recipe Links:

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

For a cake version that uses a box cake: https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/chocolate-swiss-roll/eaaacebf-2d31-41ad-b547-d8f37f5afa44

For filling like I did, add 8 oz Mascarpone to my French Custard recipe: http://bakingwithjulie.com/my-fav-dessert-hack-french-custard/

Meringue Mushroom instructions:

Meringue for Piping & Baking

Video on how to put it all together:

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a24276998/buche-de-noel-yule-log-cake-recipe/