Are you looking for a beautiful dessert that will absolutely dazzle on your Christmas table this year? Well, look no further. A twist on the traditional Christmas dessert, this Yule Log Cake Roll is full of chocolatey goodness and covered in buttercream frosting to make it look like a classic yule log. It’s the perfect dessert to help celebrate this wonderful time of year with family and friends.
For those of you who may not know how this fanciful dessert became a holiday tradition, we have you covered.
The History of the Yule Log
What exactly is a yule log? The burning of the yule log is a tradition that dates back centuries. At one point, the yule log was an entire tree that families would burn throughout the 12 days of Christmas. It would symbolize the new year to come and would bring good luck to the family that lived in the home. Over the years, this tradition has moved from the fireplace to the dinner table. Today, a yule log is a classic French dessert, more commonly known as the Buche de Noel, made from a sponge cake and decorated to look like the log people once burned in their homes. It’s a delicious tradition that we hope you share with your own family and friends this Christmas.
Start Your Own Tradition with a Yule Log Cake Roll
Ingredients:
- 1 Dutch Apron® Bakery Chocolate Crème Cake Roll
- Chocolate buttercream frosting
- Edible glitter
- 3 chocolate biscuit sticks
- Gum paste holly
- Gum paste poinsettias
Instructions:
- Cut the cake roll in half.
- Place one half of the cake roll on a small serving platter vertically and put the other half back in the refrigerator. You can enjoy it later.
- Spread the frosting around the entire cake with an offset spatula, or a similar kitchen utensil, until it is completely covered with a thick, even layer of frosting.
- With the flat side of your spatula, start making impressions in the frosting to give it a bark-like texture. Start at the base and pull the spatula up through the frosting. Continue until you’ve gone around the whole cake roll. Don’t worry about making these even or straight.
- Because you want it to look like wood, add some smaller, shorter lines on the middle, top, and bottom of the cake roll sides. This will give the frosting more depth and add to the unevenness.
Tip: Leave certain areas of the frosting raised just to add that little extra bit of woody texture.
- Next, sprinkle the cake roll with edible glitter to give it the appearance of freshly fallen snow.
- Now, take the 3 chocolate biscuit sticks and stick them into the top of the cake roll.
- Finally, add your gum paste decorations on the top of the cake roll to fill in the areas between and around the chocolate biscuit sticks.
If you’re looking to add a little festivity to your holiday celebration, this Yule Log Cake Roll is the dessert for you. After all, a yule log covered in snow and decorated with holly and poinsettias is about as classically Christmas as it gets. The luscious chocolate sponge, whipped crème filling, and rich chocolate buttercream are just the icing on the cake. Now, go ahead and indulge in a slice. ‘Tis the season to satisfy your sweet tooth.