Yule Log

It’s only a few more weeks until Christmas and we have a few more traditional foods to cover. This week we are going to look at the Yule Log. It’s a Christmas staple for many and always looks so delicious.

You’ll see many variations of Yule Logs; they are known in many countries France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Lebanon, the UK, and many French colonies. The origin of the Yule Log is thought to be French in about the 19^th century. The French call the Yule Log, Buche de Noel. The original and traditional Yule Log is made from a yellow sponge cake baked thin in a shallow baking pan. Then it’s iced, rolled to make a cylinder or “log,” and then it’s iced again and decorated usually to look like some sort of decorated log. You might see berries, snow, branches, mushrooms, and bark like textures on Yule Logs. Typically you’ll have a yellow sponge cake with a chocolate buttercream but you’ll see all sorts of combinations now including adding alcoholic, coffee, and citrus flavouring.   

Instead of making an actual Yule Log, we decided to make a deconstructed one (somewhat) and make mini yellow sponge cupcakes with a chocolate buttercream frosting.   

Take a look below at my favourite yellow cake recipe and buttercream recipe. You can use it to actually make a Yule Log of your own this Christmas!

Yellow Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

½ cup of whole milk

4 large eggs

2 tsp. of vanilla extract

1 ¾ cups of flour

1 ½ cups of granulated sugar

2 tsp. of baking powder

¾ tsp. of salt

16 Tbsp. of butter or margarine, softened

1-2 tsp. of orange extract if using

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Line mini muffin tins, regular size muffin tins, or grease and flour a cake pan and layer the bottom with parchment.

Whisk the milk, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl and set aside. If you are adding in another flavour like orange extract or coffee, add it in now and whisk.

Now in the bowl of your mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix in the butter slowly until it looks like moist crumbs.

Beat in all but ½ cup of the milk mixture and increase the speed to medium. Allow it to beat until light and fluffy looking.

Next on low, slowly add in the last bit of milk that you left out earlier. Beat until the batter looks slightly curdled.

Stir your batter one last time and then pour or spoon into the prepared pans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely before icing. I stashed them away in the fridge overnight.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

3 sticks of butter or margarine, softened

3 Tbsp. of heavy cream

2 ½ tsp. of vanilla

¼ tsp. of salt

3 cups of icing sugar

1/2 - 3/4 cups of unsweetened cocoa powder

Beat the butter, cream vanilla, and salt on high until smooth.

Once beaten, add in the icing sugar and cocoa powder slowly. Once it’s all somewhat incorporated, then put your mixer on high and whip it up for about 5-10 minutes or until light and fluffy looking.

Ice your cooled cupcakes or cake and enjoy.