Yule Log Cake Recipe
- Preparation 1 h
- Cooking 16 min
- Servings 12
- Freezing Absolutely
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🎄 The cake everyone photographs before they touch it
A chocolate sponge rolled in cocoa, a cocoa whipped cream spiked with Irish cream, a smooth ganache scored with a fork, and red cranberries scattered on top. It looks incredible, it tastes like the holidays, and it disappears fast! I went through a pile of chocolate yule logs before I made mine, tried a few things, and kept what actually worked. This is what came out of it. Make it once for your family and watch what happens when it lands on the table.
🥃 Irish cream, just enough of it
Three tablespoons in a cup and a half of whipped cream. It is subtle, it never shouts alcohol, but it gives the filling a soft, creamy something that has people going back for a second slice without knowing why. A tablespoon of cocoa goes in with it, just enough that the filling tastes of chocolate too and the spiral reads clearly against the ganache. The cream stays on the soft side, which is normal, and it is good that way.
🍫 Rolled in cocoa, not in a tea towel
Every recipe out there tells you to roll the cake in a tea towel dusted with icing sugar. I used parchment paper dusted with cocoa instead, and it works far better. The cake does not stick to fabric, you get no lint in your sponge, and the cocoa keeps the top dark instead of bleaching it. The one thing that matters is rolling it HOT, straight out of the oven. So a word of advice: if the phone rings right then, call them back. The garage can wait two seconds, and so can your mother-in-law!
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🍫 Cocoa on parchment, never a tea towel
This was the first thing I changed and I am not going back. A tea towel dusted with icing sugar is what every recipe tells you to use, and it is exactly where things go wrong: the cake sticks to the fabric, you pick up lint, and the sugar bleaches a top you want dark. One big sheet of parchment paper dusted with three tablespoons of cocoa solves all three at once.
⏰ Roll it HOT, and do not answer the phone
This is the only critical moment in the recipe. You pull the pan from the oven, flip the cake onto your cocoa-dusted parchment, peel off the baking paper and roll it tight. Immediately. A hot cake is still supple and it takes the shape of the roll as it cools; a cake that has gone lukewarm cracks. If the phone rings during those two minutes, call them back. The garage can wait, and so can your mother-in-law.
🩹 Mine cracked a little, and here is why
I will tell you straight because nobody else does. Mine cracked a bit, and it did not happen during the rolling: it happened during the UNROLLING. Even with greased paper, the sponge had stuck slightly. The fix is simple: slide a spatula between the cake and the paper and lift it away bit by bit instead of pulling on the sheet. After that it went perfectly. And if a crack does survive, the ganache goes right over it and nobody will ever know.
⏲️ Do not overbake, or it snaps
Fifteen to sixteen minutes, no more. A rolled cake cracks mostly when it is slightly overbaked and has dried out at the edges. The test is touch: the surface should spring back under your finger. The second it does, the pan comes out. Two minutes too long in the oven and you will spend the evening hiding fissures.
🥃 Three tablespoons, and a soft cream
Three tablespoons of Irish cream in a cup and a half of cream: subtle, delicious, and it does make the whipped cream a little softer than usual. That is not a problem at all, it still spreads well and holds inside the roll. Add the tablespoon of cocoa along with the icing sugar: the filling tastes of chocolate instead of just cream, and the spiral reads clearly when you slice it.
🍯 Ganache: 45 minutes, then you look
I take the ganache from hot straight to the fridge. At 45 minutes it already looked right, but I gave it five more to be sure it was properly thick. What you want is a thick spread that still glides easily off a spatula. Too soft and it runs down the sides; too firm and it tears the cake. Ten more minutes in the fridge, or a few on the counter, and you are there.
🌲 The branch holds on its own
Cut a three-inch section on the diagonal from one end of the roll, put a little ganache on the cut face and press it firmly against the side of the log. It holds, no toothpick, no nothing. Then you cover everything in ganache and the seam disappears completely. That is what sells the look of a real piece of wood.
📅 Make it ahead
This one can be made two days ahead with no downside, and it may even be better that way: the cream has time to settle into the cake. Keep it refrigerated, assembled and frosted, and add the cranberries and icing sugar just before serving. One rule: take it out at least two hours before slicing. Straight from the fridge the ganache is hard and the cake tastes of less.
❄️ Storage
Four to five days in the fridge easily, even five or six. It also freezes once fully assembled: slice it first, then freeze the slices, which is far more practical than hacking at a frozen dessert. Cut gently, it is fragile.
✅ What to serve with my yule log cake
It is a Christmas dessert, so it arrives at the end of the meal with a port or a good coffee. Nothing else needed. If you are building a holiday dessert table, put it next to my dark chocolate mousse for the dark chocolate crowd, and my chocolate profiteroles for the people who want something they can pick up with their fingers.
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Rolled cake
- 1 ⅓ cups (157 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (10 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 large eggs, yolks and whites separated, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar, divided
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 ½ tsp (7 ml) vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (15 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, for rolling the cake
Irish cream filling
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream 35%, very cold
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) Irish cream liqueur
- ¼ cup (30 g) icing sugar
- 1 tbsp (5 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
Ganache
- 6 oz (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream 35%
Decoration
- Fresh cranberries
- A few sprigs of rosemary
- Icing sugar, to look like snow
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Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 12 x 17 inch rimmed baking sheet, line it with parchment paper, then grease the paper.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
- Using a mixer, beat the egg whites with ½ cup (100 g) of the sugar to stiff peaks, 4 to 5 minutes, then set aside in a bowl.
- Whisk the yolks with the remaining sugar, the oil and the vanilla for 3 to 4 minutes, until thickened and pale.
- Gently fold the whites into the yolks in two additions, then fold in the dry ingredients in two additions with a spatula, without deflating the batter.
- Spread evenly on the sheet, tap it twice on the counter to release the bubbles, then bake for 15 to 16 minutes, until the cake springs back to the touch.
- Dust a large sheet of parchment paper with the 3 tbsp of cocoa. Straight out of the oven, flip the hot cake onto it, peel off the baking parchment and roll it up tightly right away, with the dusted sheet inside, starting from the short side.
- Refrigerate the roll for at least 2 hours, until completely cold.
- Whip the very cold heavy cream with the Irish cream, icing sugar and cocoa until firm.
- Gently unroll the cooled cake, sliding a spatula underneath if it clings to the paper. Spread the cream to within ½ inch of the edges, then roll it back up firmly, this time without the paper.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the heavy cream to a simmer, pour it over the chopped chocolate, let it stand for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Refrigerate the ganache for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it reaches a spreadable consistency that still glides off the spatula.
- Cut a 3-inch section on the diagonal from one end of the roll, and press it against the side of the log with a little ganache to form a branch.
- Cover the whole log with ganache using a spatula, then drag a fork through it to score the bark.
- Decorate with cranberries and sprigs of rosemary, then dust with icing sugar just before serving.
Two reasons, and both are easy to fix. A slightly overbaked cake dries out and splits when you roll it: fifteen to sixteen minutes is enough, and the surface should spring back to the touch. The other reason is the unrolling. If the sponge clings to the paper, slide a spatula underneath and lift it gently rather than pulling. Mine cracked a little the first time, for exactly that reason.
Hot, and immediately. Straight out of the oven you flip it onto the cocoa-dusted parchment and roll. A hot cake is still supple and it keeps the shape of the roll as it cools. A cake left to cool flat on the counter is already stiff, and it will split along its whole length the moment you try to bend it.
Yes, easily, and it might even be better. Assemble and frost it completely, keep it well covered in the fridge, and add the cranberries and icing sugar at the last minute. Take it out two hours before serving: too cold, the ganache is hard and the flavours stay asleep.
Barely. Three tablespoons of Irish cream in a cup and a half of whipped cream is subtle: it gives a soft, creamy background rather than a boozy hit. It does make the cream a little looser, which is not a problem. If children are eating, leave it out entirely, the cocoa cream is very good on its own.
I use parchment paper dusted with unsweetened cocoa. The classic method calls for a tea towel and icing sugar, but the cake sticks to fabric, you risk lint, and the sugar bleaches a top you want dark. Parchment does not stick and the cocoa keeps the colour.
It should be the consistency of a thick spread that still moves easily off a spatula. In my fridge that takes 45 minutes to an hour. Too soft and it runs down the sides; too firm and it tears the cake. Another ten minutes in the fridge, or a few on the counter, and you are set.
Yes, once it is fully assembled and frosted. Slice it first, then freeze the slices: far more practical than attacking a frozen log later. Cut gently, it is fragile. In the fridge it keeps four to five days, and even five or six.
A port or a coffee, at the end of the meal. That is all it asks for. For a dessert table, add my dark chocolate mousse and my black forest ale chocolate cake: three chocolate desserts, three completely different textures.
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