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Buche de Noel – Yule Log Cake

Buche de Noel, or Yule Log Cake, is a classic Christmas dessert for a reason.  I know you’ll love this chocolatey, rich, (gluten-free!) yet surprisingly light cake.

I make a Yule Log Cake almost every year. A big, beautiful Buche de Noel decorated with meringue mushrooms and marzipan holly is the perfect centerpiece for your holiday table.

First of all, it’s chocolate (duh, always a good thing) and, even better, it can be made well ahead of time.

The base of my Buche de Noel is a flourless chocolate sponge-cake. Since the cake is flourless this also happens to be a gluten-free dessert.

Both the sponge cake and the fluffy, whipped-cream filling are super light.  You’ll find that a bite of this festive dessert almost melts in your mouth.

Scroll through the process photos to see how to make a Buche de Noel:

Chocolate Whipped Cream in a cake roll
Spread the whipped cream over the cake then use the parchment to help roll the cake.
a partially rolled chocolate cake log
Use the parchment paper to continue rolling the roulade. Chill then ice the entire cake with chocolate ganache.
a icing comb creating lines in a chocolate cake
Trim the ends of the cake and attach to the sides to form “branches”. Use an icing comb or fork to create the “bark” on the chocolate ganache.
an icing comb forming texture on a yule log cake
Ice the ends with buttercream and use the comb to form the rings. Decorate the cake with mushrooms, holly and silver dragees. Sprinkle with sugar for “snow”.

Merry Christmas!!

You could also make this Chocolate Swiss Roll cake and decorate it for the holidays.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.

This is a slice of chocolate Buche de Noel, Yule Log Cake

Buche de Noel – Yule Log Cake

Yield: 18 servings
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Buche de Noel, or Yule Log Cake, is a classic Christmas dessert for a reason.  I know you'll love this chocolatey, rich, (gluten-free!) yet surprisingly light cake

Ingredients

Flourless Chocolate Roulade

  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (4oz, 115g) granulated sugar
  • 8 large eggs, separated
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 5 oz semisweet chocolate, melted

Chocolate Cream

  • 5 oz semisweet chocolate, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups (12oz, 350ml) heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon dark rum
  • 1/2 cup (2oz, 60g) confectioner's sugar

Assembly

Instructions

Make the chocolate roulade

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of the sugar and the cocoa until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until combined.
  3. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites to soft peak. Slowly whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar and whip to full peak. Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to an even layer. Bake about 12-15 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, cover with a damp kitchen towel and set aside to cool.

Make the chocolate cream

  1. Whip the cream with the confectioner's sugar and rum to soft peak. Add a big scoop of the cream to the melted chocolate and immediately whisk to combine. Whisk the chocolate back into the cream. Set aside about 1 cup of the chocolate cream and you'll use the remaining cream to fill the cake.

Assembly

  1. Use the parchment paper to slide the cake from the pan onto your work surface
  2. Spread the remaining cream onto the cake. Use the parchment paper to roll the cake from the long side. Flip the roll, seam side down, onto a tray
  3. Ice with the reserved cup of chocolate cream and set it into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour until the cream is set (see note).
  4. Cut an angled 2" piece from each end of the log. Attach the cut pieces to either side of the log to resemble branches.
  5. Ice the roulade with the ganache and use a fork or an icing comb to make a bark design on the surface. Decorate with holly leaves and berries and silver/gold dragees.
  6. Just before serving add the meringue mushrooms and sprinkle the cake with confectioner's sugar to look like snow.

Notes

At this point the cake can be wrapped and refrigerated for several days before finishing or frozen for several weeks.

The cake can be refrigerated until 1/2 hour before serving. Do not place the meringue mushrooms on the cake while it's refrigerated.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Sasha @ Eat Love Eat

Thursday 29th of December 2016

Hey Eileen! I love buche de noel! And I love that the sponge is flourless in your version. It looks beautiful!

Eileen Gray

Thursday 29th of December 2016

Thanks, Sasha!

Michelle

Monday 26th of December 2016

You did a wonderful job with this recipe! Yum.

Eileen Gray

Thursday 29th of December 2016

Thanks, Michelle!

Amanda Mason

Monday 26th of December 2016

I love a good classic recipe and this one looks so fantastic! Thanks for posting this one! I've never attempted to make one but I want to now!

Eileen Gray

Thursday 29th of December 2016

Thanks, Amanda!

Marie-Pierre Breton

Saturday 24th of December 2016

Just to let you know it looks fantastic, it's no big deal but the French name is "bûche"(log) not bouche (mouth), ;)

Eileen Gray

Saturday 24th of December 2016

Oh, thanks Marie-Pierre. I've changed the name of the recipe.

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