However, I have had so many requests for a version that uses flour and cocoa powder and is a bit easier to make… and that’s where this one has come from! This is a beautiful recipe based on one from Martha Collinson and Waitrose’s recipewith slight changes here and there. Neither Annie nor Delia bother with any icing, but the others all use a kind of ganache, made by melting chocolate in warm cream. Geraldene Holt also adds butter, which means her icing sets more solid than the others, but also makes it more prone to seizing up, so I'm keeping it simple. As noted above, you can freeze this buche de noel cake before frosting and garnishing it. This really helps to keep it from flattening out and losing its pretty round shape. The Yule log is recorded in the folklore archives of much of England, but particularly in collections covering the West Country and the North Country. [2] For example, in his section regarding "Christmas Observances", J. B. Partridge recorded then-current (1914) Christmas customs in Yorkshire, Britain involving the Yule log as related by "Mrs. Day, Minchinhampton (Gloucestershire), a native of Swaledale". The custom is as follows:

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is light and frothy and the whisk leaves a trail when lifted out. Sift the flour and cocoa into the mixture, carefully folding them in at the same time. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and give it a gentle shake so that the mixture finds its own level, making sure that it spreads evenly into the corners.You can make components of this Yule log ahead of time. You can make and store the meringue mushrooms for 2 to 3 days before serving. Keep them in a dry place at room temperature. Durham, M. E. 1940. "Some Balkan Festivals" in Folklore, Vol. 51, No. 2 (June 1940), pp.84–89). Taylor and Francis. Make the chocolate frosting by beating together the butter, salt, and cocoa powder. With the mixer on low, beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Slowly stream in the heavy cream while beating. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy and easily spreadable. Spread the remaining frosting all over the cake roll, leaving the ends exposed.

Just before serving, dust the bûche de Noël with a little cocoa powder and garnish with grated chocolate or chocolate curls. If desired, slice the end off the log and place it on top. To serve, paint the cake with melted apricot jam, then cover with marzipan, then with fondant icing and decorate as you wish. Pour the batter into a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan that’s been lightly greased and lined with a sheet of parchment paper. For the buttercream I did a simple american buttercream flavoured with peppermint extract, and coloured with a good quality green colouring. Colouring the buttercream is optional, but I love to make something look minty if I can help it! You could leave it white, or even go red! Line a Swiss roll tin with baking parchment, leaving a generous overhang at the ends and sides, and folding the parchment into the corners to help the paper stay anchored.It’s a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas. If you’re hosting a holiday party, this yule log will the highlight of your dessert table! It’s so impressive, both in the way it looks and tastes. Your guests will be amazed! HOW TO MAKE A YULE LOG CAKE Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some additional baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add ½ teaspoons baking powder. Can the yule log be made gluten or dairy free? I like to leave a little “tab” of parchment paper overhanging on the one side. This is easy to grab onto when you go to roll the cake! HOW TO ROLL THE YULE LOG CAKE Carefully unroll the chocolate Swiss roll. Remove the paper and spread the chestnut filling all over the cake, then re-roll. Cut a small slice off at an angle from one of the ends of the roll, then place the roll on a serving plate or board and attach the slice to look like a branch.