I did it. I made a Yule Log Cake! I don’t know why but that’s all I wanted to do this Christmas season. I’ve never made one but when I read a few different recipes I realized it wasn’t that hard.

I should say it’s not that hard if you have patience, time and two free hands.

What is a Yule Log Cake? It’s a chocolate sponge cake with a cream cheese filling and chocolate ganache. The key is how you cut and decorate the cake to make it look like a log.

It’s decadent and delicious, let me tell you.

As I said it’s not that complicated to make, you just need extra time to assemble it.

So E helped me make the sponge cake. That part went smoothly (minus the mess) and turned out as planned. Unfortunately, when it came to adding the filling and rolling the log (the tricky part), my boys were less than cooperative.

Naturally I chose a day when it was blizzarding to make this cake. By the time I got to rolling it, the weather was pretty bad and my husband wanted to leave for work early.

So there I was, trying to roll the cake with E hanging off my knees and baby B crying in my husband’s arms as both boys needed to go down for a nap.

I also didn’t finish the ganache until I got to my parent’s house, where once again baby B cried on my husband’s lap while I finished.

But I did it! I don’t have fantastic pictures (because of crying kids) but it didn’t look half bad and it tasted amazing.

The recipe I used is from Life, Love and Sugar. I did not adjust the sugar so it is not healthy at all. The cake itself isn’t overly sweet although the filling is very rich. I guess that’s to be expected with heavy cream!

I did make some changes to the filling and ganache. Okay, I totally cheated on the ganache because I didn’t have a lot of time. But this version is still amazing (and so easy to make).

If you are wanting a cake that looks like you know what you’re doing (with minimal effort), try this one! 😉

Bûche de Noël (Yule Log Cake)

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 eggs, divided
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 tbsp sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Filling

• 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
• 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 8 oz cream cheese (brick)

Chocolate Ganache

• 2 cups Cool Whip
• 4 oz Baker’s Chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 17×12 inch sheet pan with parchment paper. Ensure the parchment paper sticks up at least an inch above all sides of the pan (you will use the parchment later).
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 (or Greek yogurt), melted butter and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients and gently stir together until combined. It will be thick. Set aside.
6. Add the egg whites to a large mixing 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 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 to roll the cake. Start at the shorter end to slowly roll the cake up. Set aside to cool in its log shape.
12. When the cake has completely cooled, make the filling. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt to a large mixing bowl (best if the bowl is chilled) and whip on high speed until soft peaks form.
13. Add the cream cheese to the whipped cream and whip until stiff peaks form. It won’t take long.
14. Carefully unroll the cake roll. Do this slowly, looking for areas where it may be sticking to release it.
15. Spread the filling evenly onto the unrolled cake, then roll it back up without the parchment paper.
16. Wrap it up in plastic wrap with the seam side down and refrigerate for at least an hour to firm up. You also can freeze it at this point if making it ahead of time.
17. When you’re ready to decorate the cake, make the chocolate ganache. Add the chocolate and Cool Whip to a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring to combine, until the chocolate is melted and fully incorporated.
18. Let the ganache cool until it reaches your desired thickness. You still want it spreadable but not too liquid.
19. To make the cake look like a traditional log, use a large serrated knife to gently cut off a piece of the log about 3 inches in length. Cut with a slight diagonal. Use some of the chocolate ganache to attach the small log to the side of the larger log.
20. Otherwise leave the log in it’s long form.
21. Spread chocolate ganache all over the cake, then use a fork to create bark-like lines all over it.
22. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.

Notes:

I ended up with more cream cheese filling than I needed. I stored the unused portion in the fridge.

As I stated in the instructions, this cake can be frozen if you want to make it ahead of time. I took mine out of the freezer the night before and it was ready to be decorated and eaten the next day.

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