Classic Bûche de Noël Recipe (French Log Cake) (2024)

I am so excited to share this traditional Buche de Noel, a French Yule log cake made with a soft chocolate sponge, velvety whipped cream, and rich chocolate frosting. It feels so good to bring a French tradition to the holiday table. The perfect Christmas dessert!

Bûche de Noël, or French Yule Log Cake

Christmas time brings tasty recipes to make. Santa loves gingerbread in different variations: Gingerbread cookies, Gingerbread madeleines, French Gingerbread, and even twisted Gingerbread Pavlova.

A European Christmas tradition is to make a Christmas log cake - classic Bûche de Noël. This type of cake, shaped like an actual log, is apart of the French culinary heritage.

For the French, "A Christmas meal without a log is a bit like a Christmas without a tree or without snow: it's nice, but a little something is missing."(A quote from CuisineAZ)

The Italians celebrate a holiday season with an Italian Yule log called Tronchetto di Natale that traces back to the Northern European tradition.

I was eyeing Buche de Noel recipe for a while, waiting for the holiday season to make it. I made it once and decorated it in the same way as the chef, Caitlin Dysart.

Then, I decided to change the cake's decoration. I switched "exaggerated" long-stemmed meringue mushrooms with my favorite meringue mushrooms. I found this type of decoration more classic.

This French Yule log recipe is straightforward and is made within 1.5 hours. You only need to prepare meringue mushrooms or other Buche de Noel decorations in advance.

Ingredients

Get a quick overview of the necessary ingredients. For precise measurements and instructions, refer to the recipe card.

• Eggs: Large eggs at room temperature. Look for eggs from a carton labeled with the size "large." Each weighs about 55-60 g (2 oz).
• Cake flour: Store-bought or homemade.
• Cocoa powder: Just unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Sugar: You will need vanilla, granulated, and icing sugar. Make icing sugar with a coffee grinder or purchase powdered (confectioners') sugar.
• Milk: Whole milk is preferable, but low-fat will work as well.
• Unsalted butter: To make the sponge, melt it and cool it to room temperature. To make the chocolate frosting, use softened butter.
• Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream with at least 30% fat content.
• Condensed milk: Store-bought or homemade sweetened condensed milk.
• Dark chocolate: High-quality dark chocolate such as Valrhona dark chocolate or Scharffen Berger dark chocolate.
• Fruit preserves: Just any thick fruit preserves, jam, or marmalade. You can omit this ingredient if desired.
• Decoration: Meringue mushrooms, sugared cranberries, or fresh rosemary sprigs.

How to make Bûche de Noël step-by-step

Step 1. Prepare a silicone 12 x 16 inch (30 x 40 cm) non-spill baking sheet or a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 2. To make a chocolate sponge cake, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Using a flour sifter, sift cake flour and cocoa powder and set aside.

Step 3. Pour milk, add butter into a small bowl, and place it over a larger container with hot water. Let the liquids warm up to 122-150°F (50-60°C); use a cooking thermometer to check.

Step 3. Place whole eggs, vanilla, and granulated sugar in a heat-proof bowl and whisk a few times with a hand whisk.

Step 5. Bring the bowl over a bain-marie or water bath and beat with a hand whisk until the egg mixture reaches 104°F (40°C).

Step 6. Remove the bowl from the water bath, and with an electric or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the mixture at high speed for 6-7 minutes.

Step 7. Reduce the mixer speed once the preparation triples in volume, turns whitish, and the batter falls like a thick ribbon from the mixer beaters. Whisk at the lowest speed for 2 minutes to adjust the batter's texture.

Step 8. Sift the dry ingredients once again over the bowl with the main preparation and carefully mix with a rubber spatula. Work from the bottom of the bowl to the top while turning the container counterclockwise.

Step 9. Take a scoop of the chocolate mixture into a bowl with warm milk and butter and mix with a spatula. Pour it back into the principal preparation and mix the batter from the bottom, moving upward.

Step 10. Pour the cake batter into the silicone baking sheet from 8 inches (20 cm) above the pan. This helps to remove large air bubbles.

Pro tip: Alternatively, spread the batter onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Aim for a 12 x 16 inches (30 x 40 cm) rectangle and a perfect ½ inch (1 cm) thickness.

Step 11. Even the surface with a bent spatula or a dough scraper, but avoid excessive smoothing in the same spot.

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Step 12. Bring the baking tray to the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature from 390°F (200°C) to 375°F (190°C). Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Pro tip: Watch out for the cake not to overbake: the top should get slightly browned, and the bottom should stay pale. Check for doneness with a toothpick: it should come out dry.

Step 13. Remove the cake from the oven, and while it is hot, turn it on a clean tea towel well-sprinkled with icing (powdered) sugar.

Step 14. Carefully remove the silicone baking sheet or parchment paper from the base of the cake. Using a long serrated knife, cut the edges of the cake on all four sides.Cover the cake with a clean piece of parchment paper.

Step 15. Use the towel to roll the cake (with parchment paper inside) and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.

Step 16. Unroll it and let the cake cool to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes.

Step 17. To make sweetened whipped cream, place all the cream ingredients in a cold mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until firm.

Step 20 - see below: Dark chocolate ganache at a spreadable consistency.

Pro tip: Consult the whipped cream filling recipe for step-by-step photographed explanations, helpful tips, and tricks.

Step 18. To make chocolate ganache frosting, chop a dark chocolate bar or use chocolate callets. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to crush the chocolate.

Step 19. In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream over medium heat, stirring with a hand whisk until it reaches a temperature of 176°F (80°C). Once heated, pour half the cream over the chocolate and mix with a wooden spoon.

Step 20. Add the rest of the hot cream and stir it thoroughly. Allow the chocolate ganache to cool slightly, stirring occasionally, or cover it and let it thicken naturally at room temperature. The ganache should reach a spreadable consistency.

Step 21. To assemble the cake roll, remove the parchment paper from the top of the cake. Spread a 1-inch (2.5 cm) line of fruit preserves along the short edge of the sponge.

Step 25 - see below: Chocolate ganache over the French log cake.

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Chocolate Pudding Recipe

Step 22. Spread an even layer of the whipped cream on top of the remaining sponge and even with an offset spatula.

Step 23. Re-roll the sponge cake, starting from the short end, helping with the towel, and tightening it. Finish rolling with the seam side at the bottom. Wrap the roll inthe toweland refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Pro tip: Watch this short video by S. Serveau on how to tighten a Christmas log.

Step 24. To decorate, remove the cooled cake from the fridge and trim the cake ends to make them neat.

• Pro tip: If desired, make an oblique cut about 2 inches (5 cm) and attach it to the main branch from the slanted side.

Step 25. Transfer the log to a serving tray. Spread the chocolate ganache over the cake and spoon the frosting with the back of a tablespoon.

Pro tip: Alternatively, with a fork, make some strips to simulate the grain of a tree trunk.

Step 26. Decorate the top of Buche de Noel with meringue mushrooms, sugared cranberries, rosemary sprigs, or in the way you desire.

To serve, sprinkle the cake with icing (powdered) sugar.

Expert Tips

1. Roll the cake from the long end if desired. Read about how to roll a cake to master the rolling technique.
2. If using a jelly roll pan, recalculate the recipe ingredients using this simple cake pan converter.
3. Cut the Buche de Noel cake with a hot, sharp knife: doing so will result in a perfect cake swirl for each plate.
4. Make-ahead option: Make meringue mushrooms a few days in advance and store them in a cool, dry place. Bake and fill the cake roll with whipped cream one day in advance. Cover the cake with parchment paper (loosely like a candy) and refrigerate. The next day, 1-2 hours before serving, spread the chocolate ganache and decorate Buche de Noel.

How to decorate a Yule Log cake

Consider a few helpful tips to decorate your homemade Christmas log and impress your guests.

• Cover the cake with chocolate whipped ganache, cream cheese, or chocolate buttercream frosting with chocolate shards resembling a tree bark.

• Arrange Buche de Noel decorations like meringue kisses, marzipan mushrooms, fresh (raspberries, strawberries), sugared (cranberries, red currants) or canned berries (lychees), candies, cookies, truffles, or edible pine cones on top of the Yule log.

• Decorate the side of the cake with macarons, chocolate chips or crisps, speculoos cookie crumbs, or shredded coconut.

• Use plant decorations such as fresh or crystallized flowers, rosemary sprigs turned upside down, and even a cute actual fir branch.

• If you are experienced using a pastry bag, pipe the Chantilly cream or chocolate buttercream with different tips such as petals, flowers, or stars.

• Leave the logs' ends trimmed or decorate them with chocolate circles, cut-out shapes in marzipan, and baked meringue spirals.

• The most common final touch is to sprinkle the Yule log with powdered sugar to imitate the look of snow.

And do not forget to bring kids to decorate Buche de Noel: they are a great help and fun if you like to bake with them!

Storing and freezing

Ideally, prepare the Yule log the day before for the next day and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. But be aware that it easily absorbs the food's odors in the fridge. So, keeping the log in a separate fridge would be a good idea.

Store Buche de Noel and leftovers in an airtight container refrigerated for up to two days.

Freezing Buche de Noel depends on the filling and frosting used to garnish the cake. In most cases, you can freeze unfrosted Bûche de Noël wrapped in plastic for up to one month.

Thaw it in the fridge overnight, cover it with frosting, decorate, and serve.

Recipe FAQ

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was originally published on January 02, 2019. It has been updated and may differ from what was initially published. It was revised to include improved content and photos.