Enrich your holiday table with a Yule Log (Bûche de Noël) full of chocolate sweetness!

Yule Log is a cake in the shape of a log of wood, which is eaten during Christmas after the midnight mass, including in France. Its base is butter cream and sponge cake, from which a roll is shaped. In this post, we will slightly modify the traditional recipe for this holiday cake - we will add a tea accent to it! Thanks to it, the roll will gain a subtle, fruity aftertaste.

What ingredients are needed to prepare a Christmas roulade?

Chocolate sponge cake:

• 2 large eggs
• 20g sugar
• 38 g flour
• 10g cocoa
• 50 g fruit infusion, e.g. Basilur Strawberry & Raspberry from the Fruit Infusions collection

Fruity decaffeinated tea with papaya, apple, cherry, strawberry, goji berries, hibiscus and strawberry and raspberry aroma.

Filling and decorations:

• 500 g Nutella
• 260 g dark chocolate icing
• 240 g green ganache (cream consisting of cream, white chocolate and food coloring)
• 20 g tempered chocolate

How to prepare a Christmas chocolate roulade?

Preparation of sponge cake

1. Preheat the oven.

Preheat oven to 170°C. Then line a cake tin or baking sheet with baking paper.

2. Prepare the dough.

In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs with sugar – the mixture should become fluffy and triple in volume. The whole process usually takes 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the dough.

Sift the flour and cocoa through a sieve. Then pour both of these ingredients and the dried fruit infusion Strawberry & Raspberry into the beaten eggs. Mix everything gently to create a uniform mass.

4. Time to bake!

Spread the dough evenly in the prepared form and put it in the oven for exactly 7 minutes. Remember that the oven temperature should be 170°C.

5. Cool the cake.

Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. In the meantime, spread a tea towel on the countertop and sprinkle cocoa on top. Remove the baked sponge cake from the tin together with the baking paper, place it on the towel (top side down), tear off the baking paper, then roll up the cake together with the tea towel – starting from the shorter side. Set the cake aside and leave to cool completely.

Preparing the filling and topping

1. Prepare the Nutella.

The cream should be at room temperature – then it is easiest to spread.

2. Unroll and re-roll the dough.

Unroll the sponge cake and soak the top of the cake in sweetened tea or coffee. Then spread an even layer of Nutella cream. Roll the sponge cake again using a kitchen towel and wrap the whole thing tightly in cling film so that the cake maintains its shape. Finally, put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Time for frosting and decorating!

• Prepare the ganache and dark chocolate icing.

Chop the white chocolate into small pieces. Heat the cream (until hot). Then pour the hot cream over the chocolate, mix everything lightly and wait 1-2 minutes. Then mix the chocolate mass thoroughly and leave at room temperature to thicken. To make it easier to whip the ganache into a cream, you need to add a portion of cold cream to the liquid mass. In addition, to obtain a green color, you need to add a small amount of food coloring intended for fat masses or for working with chocolate.

The preparation of the icing is quite similar. Take the same amount of heavy cream and dark chocolate. Heat the cream, add the crushed chocolate and wait a moment (until the chocolate melts). Mix the ingredients together and it's ready!

• Pour the icing over the cooled sponge cake to cover it evenly.

Important! Before the icing sets:

• Sprinkle the cake with crumbled chocolate.
• add chocolate pieces to the sides of the cake.
• Place pieces of tempered chocolate and green ganache on top.

Tips:

• Before you start making the dough , make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
• Do not keep the sponge cake in the oven for too long because it will crack when you roll it.
• Roll the sponge cake while it is still slightly warm – this will prevent the cake from cracking.
• Create a wood bark texture on the frosting with a fork.

Create your own version of the Yule Log Christmas roll!

• Before applying Nutella , you can add a layer of raspberry jam .
• Use meringue mushrooms as a decorative element!
• You don't have to limit yourself to one fruit infusion. You can create a combination of several dried fruit blends, thanks to which the cake will gain a unique flavor profile.
• Add crushed nuts.
• Sprinkle the top of the cake with coconut flakes to create a snowy effect.

Note: To make baking a cake more enjoyable and efficient, prepare all the ingredients in advance.