Yield: 6 servings

Easy Yule Log Recipe (Bûche de Noël)

This Easy Yule Log Recipe (Bûche de Noël) has a store-bought pumpkin cake roll (or use our Pumpkin Cake Roll recipe!) with a cream cheese frosting filling; It’s covered in dark chocolate, chopped walnuts, sugared cranberries, decorated with raspberry-pretzel “mushrooms,” dried mango slices made to look like “chicken of the woods” mushrooms, dried orange slices, sugared lavender (or rosemary) sprigs and pretzel stick “twigs,” thyme & sage leaves, and surrounded by pine tree clippings. This traditional, French cake recipe is a perfect showstopping, a centerpiece for a Christmas holiday dessert table!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Decorating Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

6.5-inch (18-ounce/510 grams) pumpkin cake roll – you can find them in the bakery section of the grocery store or use our Pumpkin Roll Recipe, see notes
10 ounces dark chocolate melting waters, see notes
dried mango, you can substitute the same amount of dried apple slices, see notes
pretzel rods, amount to taste
pretzel sticks, amount to taste
pretzel nibblers, amount to taste
6 ounces raspberries, washed, gently pat dry
6 lavender or rosemary sprigs, or amount to taste
1/4 cup sugared cranberries, amount to taste, see notes
1-2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, or, pecans, or other favorite chopped nuts of choice
granulated white sugar for making sugared lavender sprigs – you don’t have to sugar the sprigs but it makes them look like they have “ice” or “snow” on them
3 tablespoons powdered sugar, or more, for dusting the top
Optional: Non-edible decorations, like evergreen sprigs, a wreath, a pine garland, ornaments, etc.

Instructions

Melt the Chocolate: Pour the dark chocolate melting wafers into a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on high for 30 seconds, 3 times, stirring in between.
Prepare the cake roll: Place the cake on a cardboard cake round surface and then optionally, on top of a rotating cake stand. Cut 1/4 of the end of the cake roll, ideally, at a 30-degree angle, and place it on the side of the cake, adhering it with melted dark chocolate to keep it in place. Cover the cake roll with the melted chocolate.
Cover the cake roll: Using an offset spatula, cover the cake roll evenly in the melted chocolate. If it gets hard, then you can always put the chocolate in the microwave to get it melted again. You can cover all sides of the log or leave one or more of the ends exposed. Please note if any of the sides are exposed, it could make the ends dry from being exposed to the air. After you spread the chocolate, you can use a fork to make lines, squiggly and/or straight to make the chocolate resemble bark. Be careful not to go too deep with the fork.
Decorate the cake: Now here comes the really fun part, time to decorate the yule log! Please refer to the video in this post to see a visual on how to make the decorations.

To make the Raspberry-Pretzel “Mushrooms”: Using raspberries and different-sized pretzels, make the “mushrooms” by dipping them in the melted dark chocolate, using it as the “glue” to put them together. To stand them up next to the yule log, dip the ends in more melted chocolate and allow the chocolate to dry to stand them up.
To make the dried mango “Chicken of the Woods” mushrooms: Use kitchen scissors to cut the mango into half-round pieces and dip the edge into the melted chocolate and attach the mango slice to the yule log. Build up the mushroom in layers until it resembles a “Chicken of the Woods” mushroom.
Sugared Cranberries: Please refer to our Sugared Cranberries recipe for the full instructions on how to make these.
Sugared Lavender (or Rosemary): Dip the sprigs of Lavender into hot simple syrup and roll it in granulated white sugar. You can allow it to dry on a wire cooling rack and then use it as you want to decorate once it’s dry.
Dried Orange Slices: Please refer to the Dried Orange Slices recipe on our blog.
Powdered sugar: the last step for decorating the yule log itself is to give it a dusting of powdered (confectioner’s) sugar all over.
Non-edible decorations: I use pine sprigs to decorate around the yule log. I use an evergreen wreath with a festive bow, pinecones, and faux Winterberries to decorate around the cake stand. I use a pine garland and vintage Christmas ornaments on the tablescape. Let us know if you try any of these decorations or try different ones in the comments at the end of the posts. Enjoy your Yule log!

Notes

Cake roll: We use a small, store-bought pumpkin cake roll for this recipe to make it easier but you can make a homemade cake roll if you prefer, check out our Pumpkin cake roll recipe. Please note that the homemade cake roll is much larger and would require more chocolate for covering the outside.
Serving Size: Estimate a 1-inch slice for a serving size.
Chocolate melting wafers: In this recipe, we use the melting wafers to cover the log, however, a chocolate ganache would be relatively easy to make and would make it easier to slice the cake for serving, as the chocolate tends to break up when sliced. Check out our Chocolate Ganache recipe. Optionally, you can also use buttercream, cream cheese, or another frosting instead.
Sugared cranberries: We have a recipe on our blog on how to make sugared cranberries.
Recipe time: Please note, that the preparation time can really depend on how elaborate you want to make this recipe. The times listed are just an estimate, at best.
For the table display: I put the cake on a rotating cake stand and put a wreath around it, I added a pine garland on the table and vintage ornaments nested in the wreath and garland.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 745Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 423mgCarbohydrates: 103gFiber: 8gSugar: 68gProtein: 9g

Please note that the Calculated Nutrition is an estimate at best. If you make this recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating – it helps others find the recipe!