• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Laylita's Recipes logo
  • Home
  • En Español
  • About Laylita
  • Videos
  • Recipe Index
  • Ecuadorian Recipes
    • Ecuadorian Breakfast Dishes
    • Ecuadorian Street Food
    • Ecuadorian Soups
    • Ecuadorian Main Meals
    • Ecuadorian Appetizers
  • Latin Recipes
    • Ceviches
    • Empanadas
    • Plantain Recipes
    • Fish and seafood
    • Latin desserts
  • Sites
    • Receitas da Laylita
    • Recettes de Laylita
    • Travel
    • Viajes
Home » All » By Occasion/Seasonal » Holidays » Christmas » Bûche de Noël or Christmas Yule Log

Bûche de Noël or Christmas Yule Log

By Nicolas Pujol 6 Comments

How to make a Bûche de Noël or Christmas Yule Log

Text and recipe for the Bûche de Noël by my husband Nicolas:
When I was a kid, Christmas brought a number of unique moments. The end of the year meant shorter days and a transition of seasons from fall to winter. The leaves had fallen, and snow was occasionally present during the holidays. The stories of Santa Claus with deer and its winter landscape was not that different from the landscapes I could see while looking through windows. Only the deer were missing. Christmas also meant time with family and relatives around the table. It was the only time of the year where almost everyone could see one another, a perfect setting for great meals.

Bûche de Noël or Christmas Yule Log

One of the traditional dishes for Christmas is the Bûche de Noël cake, which translates literally into a Christmas wood log given that the cake is made and decorated to look like a wood log. In English, it is commonly called Yule log or Chocolate log. The recipe for it is sometimes intimidating because it looks like a hard cake to make. It’s actually accessible to everyone provided that you are organized and can put together a few bowls on your table, whisks, and ingredients.

Yule log recipe

It’s also helpful to read the entire recipe once from beginning to end so you have a mental map of what you’ll have to do and at what time. This way you will better multi-task. The Yule Log cake is a rewarding multi-tasking challenge. There are three main steps to the recipe: a sponge cake, a butter-based cream that will be used for both the filling and the icing, and the assembly.

Buche de noel recipe

En español

Yule log recipe

Bûche de Noël or Christmas Yule Log

Buche de Noel or Yule Log is a traditional Christmas cake in France and other parts of the world. It is made of a thin rolled sponge cake with a coffee cream filling and chocolate cream icing.
4.72 from 119 votes
Print Pin Your Questions and Comments
Course: Cakes, Dessert
Cuisine: European, France
Keyword: Buche de Noel, Christmas log, Yule Log
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

For the sponge cake:

  • 3.5 ounces of flour
  • 3.5 ounces of sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

For the cream filling and icing:

  • ½ cup of water
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3.5 ounces of sugar
  • 9 ounces of butter room temperature
  • 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate
  • 3 teaspoons of instant coffee diluted in 2 tablespoons of water

Instructions

Instructions for the sponge cake (Step 1 of 3), using the cake ingredients:

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 F degrees. Take 4 egg yolks and mix them with sugar and vanilla extract. Use a hand whisk or wood spatula and blend them gently for about 3 minutes. Add the whole 5th egg and continue mixing for 3 more minutes. Slowly add the flour to the mix. Take the 4 egg whites and mix them into foam using an electric whisk. Once the egg white foam turns into firm peaks, add them slowly to the egg yolk mix. Using a floured large rectangular metal baking sheet, lay a sheet of parchment paper or if you have one, a silicone jelly roll pan. Spread the cake mix on the rectangle surface, keeping a little over half an inch of thickness across the area. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 400 F degrees. Take the cake out and cover it with a damp towel for 5 to 10 minutes. At this point, carefully detach the cake from the parchment paper or jelly roll pan.

Instructions for the butter cream (Step 2 of 3), using the cream filling and icing ingredients:

  • Melt the sugar and water in a pan over low heat. Slowly and regularly stir to avoid sticking. Mix the egg yolks in a bowl, and add the sugar syrup with a whisk. Do this slowly and gently mix until the temperature drops below the level where eggs would cook and solidify. Add the room temperature butter and mix until a thick cream forms. This is where multi-tasking comes in. At the same time in another pan, slowly melt the dark chocolate with a little bit of water. At this point, split the cream into two equal halves. In one bowl, add the liquefied instant coffee and mix. In the other bowl, add the melted chocolate and mix. Both creams should be thick. If you find the creams not thick enough, place them both in the fridge for 15 minutes and the butter will thicken them back. Mix again on exit. Thickness is important for the creams not to leak and dislocate during the assembly process.

For the Christmas log assembly (Step 3 of 3):

  • Remove the damp towel from the sponge cake and apply the coffee cream uniformly on top of it. Make it as thick as possible and use it entirely. Roll the cake length-wise by taking the shorter side and gently rolling it across the length of the cake. Do not press, and do not worry too much about the edges being non-uniform at this point. Now gently spread the chocolate cream from the top and use a spoon or flat spatula to cover the sides and bottom. One tip is to let the chocolate cream fall from the cake, catch it back with a spoon and repeat the process in empty spots until completely and thickly covered. Refrigerate for about an hour to let the icing solidify. Next, use a sharp knife to cut the edges of the rolled cake to make them clean and straight. Do all this on a “draft” plate, which will be full of chocolate and other preparation. Once the cake is all finished you can lift it and transfer it to the plate you’ll use for presentation and final serving. Use the point of chopstick to very lightly carve the chocolate cream into a log like texture, without removing it entirely. Be very soft. Decorate according to your preferences and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Buche de Noel or Christmas log Christmas yule log recipe

Step by step preparation photos for Bûche de Noël or Christmas Yule Log

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Christmas Yule Log Preparation Photo
 
Christmas yule log 
Buche de noel or Yule log
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Similar Recipes

Filed Under: All, Cakes, tarts and pies, Christmas, Desserts, Europe, France, Holidays, Vegetarian, Winter

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Blake says

    December 25, 2016 at 12:12 pm

    Awesome recipe! You were right–it looks difficult, but a little planning goes a long way. Thank you so much for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Beto says

    December 19, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    Me acuerdo de mi mama- y hacia tambien el brazo gitano con variedad de jaleas. Viva Quito!!!

    Reply
  3. Andrew says

    December 19, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    Se ve delicioso el tronco de navidad. Gracias por la receta. :)

    Reply
  4. Maria says

    December 19, 2011 at 8:48 am

    Beautiful and I’m sure delicious! Just in time for Christmas. Thanks so much Laylita!

    Reply
  5. Paz says

    December 19, 2011 at 7:52 am

    Your yule log looks beautiful and delicious! Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
  6. Platanos, Mangoes and Me! says

    December 19, 2011 at 3:47 am

    You make it look so easy and I know it is not. I will let other do the baking and i will stick with cooking. One day I will do a post of all my failures. You did a great job and it looks so beautiful.

    I send you greetings for a wonderful and Merry Navidad.

    Norma

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Post notifications by email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Available Now ¡Cómpralo ahora!

Yo cocino latino cookbook

Recipes by Category

Welcome

 Layla Pujol is an Ecuadorian modern-day nomad who loves to cook and travel. She lives in Seattle and is currently working on her first cookbook, which will focus on delicious Ecuadorian and Latin recipes (adapted to her style). More

Traditional Ecuadorian

  • Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread

    Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread

    Pan de yuca, also known as cheese bread or yuca bread, are yummy melt in your mouth warm breads made with cheese and yuca or …
  • Chaulafan de pollo {Ecuadorian chicken fried rice}

    Chaulafan de pollo {Ecuadorian chicken fried rice}

    Chaulafan de pollo is an Ecuadorian chicken fried rice made with rice, chicken, bacon, onions, garlic, peppers, bell peppers, peas, carrots, scrambled eggs, raisins, spices …
  • Humitas or steamed fresh corn cakes

    Humitas or steamed fresh corn cakes

    Humitas are savory steamed fresh corn cakes made from a mixture of freshly ground corn, onion, garlic, cheese, eggs, and cream, which is placed inside …

Footer

Stay connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

laylapujol

{Ceviche de camarón con mango y aguacate} Shrimp {Ceviche de camarón con mango y aguacate} Shrimp mango ceviche with avocado 

{La receta está en el blog} // Recipe on the blog

#ceviche #cevichedecamaron #mango #shrimpceviche #aguacate #ecuadorianfood #latinfood #comidaecuatoriana #comidalatina #recetasfaciles #recetasdelaylita #laylitasrecipes
It’s finally here!!! #YoCocinoLatino Por fin ll It’s finally here!!! #YoCocinoLatino

Por fin llego el día oficial y ya está a la venta este hermoso libro de cocina que hicimos con Vero de @lacocinadevero Clara de @simplebyclara Ale de @piloncilloyvainilla y Erica de @mycolombianrecipes 

Lo pueden encontrar en http://penguinespanol.com/ (el link también está en mi perfil)
 
#comidalatinoamericana #comidalatina  #comidacriolla  #recetaslatinas #recetas #delicioso #cocina #food #comida #foodie 
#librosenespañol #penguinenespañol #librosderecetas #laylitasrecipes #recetasdelaylita
Quick lunch salad with smoked salmon, avocado, tom Quick lunch salad with smoked salmon, avocado, tomato, cucumber, pickled onions and a soft boiled egg - on top of a bed of salad greens (tossed with a simple lemon olive oil dressing)

#easysalad #smokedsalmonsalad #softboiledegg #avocado #quicklunch #ensalada #salmonahumado #aguacate
{Patacones rellenos con cóctel de camarones en sa {Patacones rellenos con cóctel de camarones en salsa rosada picante y aguacate } Green plantain baskets filled with spicy shrimp cocktail + avocado 

#patacones #cocteldecamaron #salsarosada #plantains #shrimpcocktail #latinfood #ecuadorianfood #comidaecuatoriana #comidalatina #adios2020 #goodbye2020
Load More... Follow on Instagram
  • En Español

© Laylita.com 2021, all rights reserved. No copy without authorization. Privacy policy | Contact

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.