Bûche de Noёl (Yule Log)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350ºF). Line a Swiss roll tin (23 x 33cm / 9 x 13 inch) with baking parchment, leaving a generous overhang at the ends and sides (I used a roasting pan of similar sized dimensions, which worked really well). Place another piece of baking parchment on the kitchen bench or a large board or tray and dust with icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) – you’ll be placing the cooked cake on this later.
In a large, clean bowl beat the egg whites until thick and peaking, then, still whisking, sprinkle in 50g (¼ cup) of the caster sugar and continue whisking until the whites are holding their peaks but not dry.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is moussey, pale and thick – a good couple of minutes. Add the vanilla extract, sieve the cocoa powder over, then fold both in.
Lighten the yolk mixture with a couple of dollops of the egg whites, folding them in robustly. Then add the remaining whites in thirds, folding them in carefully to avoid losing the air.
Pour the cake mixture into the Swiss roll tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean and the surface is firm and spongey. Let the cake cool a little before turning it out of the tin onto the baking parchment you prepared earlier, and peel off the baking parchment. Cover the cake loosely with a clean tea towel.
To make the icing, melt the chocolate – either in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave and let it cool.
Put the icing sugar into a processor and pulse to remove lumps. Add the butter and process until smooth. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and the tablespoon of vanilla extract and pulse again to make a smooth icing.
You can trim the edges of the cake if you like, however I left it as is. Spread some of the icing reasonably thinly over the sponge, going right out to the edges. Start rolling from the long side facing you, taking care to get a tight roll from the beginning, and roll up to the other side. Pressing against the parchment, rather than the tender cake, makes the process easier. If the cake cracks while you’re rolling it, that’s pretty normal, though I had no such issues.
Cut one or both ends slightly at a gentle angle, reserving the remnants, and place the Swiss roll on a board or long dish. The remnants are to make a branch or two; you get the effect by placing a piece of cake at an angle to look like a branch coming off the big log.
Spread the yule log with the remaining icing, covering the cut-off ends as well as any branches. Create a wood-like texture by applying the icing with a narrow spatula. On the ends, create swirling patterns to represent tree rings.
I then put the cake in the fridge to harden the icing (this was necessary given the summer heat). Once it set I took the cake out of the fridge and dragged a fork back and forth along the length of the cake to ‘roughen’ up the icing to look more like bark. I then got a skewer and etched out the ‘tree rings’ on the cake ends. I returned the cake to the fridge to keep the icing firm and lightly covered with plastic wrap.
When you are ready to serve the cake, and if you’re storing it in the fridge, take it out to sit at room temperature. Dust some icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) over top to represent freshly fallen snow (if the weather’s too warm, you might find the icing sugar dissolving into the icing, so leave it to the last minute). Serve with softly whipped cream and fresh fruit to balance the sweetness.

Ingredients

For the cake

For the icing

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

Bûche de Noёl (Yule Log)

Ingredients 1x2x3x

For the cake

For the icing

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

Ingredients