7 Impressive Yule Log Recipes for Christmas

a Yule log decorated with chocolate "bark", meringue mushrooms, and confectioners' sugar snow
Photo: kaolinite

Bûche de Noël, or Yule log, is the most traditional Christmas cake in France. It's a light jelly-roll style cake that's filled with a decadent chocolate cream filling and rolled up into the shape of a log for an impressive holiday dessert. Yule logs are often covered with chocolate ganache to create the appearance of tree bark and dusted with confectioners' sugar to resemble freshly fallen snow. Find lots of inspiration in this scrumptious collection of Bûche de Noël cake recipes that don't just look beautiful — they taste wonderful, too!

01 of 08

Chocolate Decadence Yule Log

yule log with meringue mushrooms

This detailed, step-by-step recipe tells you how to create a classic French Bûche de Noël for a spectacular holiday cake. Decorate the log with edible holly leaves, berries, and meringue mushrooms. "All I can say is WOW!" says home cook DLA IN BETHANY. "I made this for our Christmas Day dinner and it knocked people out! Chocolaty and creamy — truly decadent!"

02 of 08

Chocolate Yule Log

Chocolate Yule Log
Chocolate Yule Log. Chef John

Chef John's chocolate Yule log is a must-try for the holiday season! You can drizzle the baked sponge with a splash of rum or kirsch if you are serving adults. Carve lines into the ganache using the tip of a knife to create the appearance of tree bark and garnish with meringue mushrooms and fresh rosemary sprigs to resemble tree branches.

03 of 08

Buche de Noel (Yule Log)

Buche de Noel (Yule Log)
bookchick07

Impress your guests with this chocolate cake that's filled with sweetened whipped cream, then rolled up into a log shape and covered in rich chocolate ganache for a superb Christmas dessert. "This is a no fail cake!" says home cook Mary Ellen. "I did roll it while hot and it rolled beautifully. When I unrolled it to cover in cream it was perfect!"

04 of 08

Classic Yule Log

Classic Yule Log
Tracy M

A chocolate jelly-roll style cake is filled with cream and covered in a rich chocolate frosting. Run a fork through the chocolate frosting to create a tree bark effect and have fun garnishing the Yule log with marzipan red and green leaves, cinnamon candies, and snowmen for a very festive Christmas dessert that the whole family will adore!

05 of 08

Buche de Noel

Buche de Noel
kaolinite

See how to make this heavenly gluten-free chocolate cake. You'll fill it with chocolate whipped cream, then roll it up and decorate it to look like a Yule log. Dust the finished cake with confectioners' sugar to resemble freshly fallen snow on a log for a show-stopping festive dessert. Home cook AGGIE2004 gave this recipe a glowing review: "This cake received applause at our Christmas dinner!"

06 of 08

Yule Log Cake

yule-log-cake
Allrecipes

Rich chocolate buttercream and a delicate sponge cake create this Christmas Yule log cake. "As delicious to eat as it is pretty to look at!" says Stella, the recipe submitter. "Add optional decorations, such as forest berries, meringue mushrooms, mini evergreen trees, etc."

07 of 08

Chocolate Swiss Roll

Chocolate Swiss Roll
Deb C.

This chocolate Swiss roll cake (or roulade) is a simpler and smaller version of the French classic Bûche de Noël. It's filled with a Nutella-flavored cream, and well worth a try if you're looking for a deliciously light but impressive dessert for the holidays.

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