Yule Log
by Nigella. Featured in NIGELLA CHRISTMASIntroduction
I know the recipe looks finicky, and I can’t promise it’s a doddle, but it works easily and you will soon find you are rolling chocolate logs without a care. In fact, if you have a lot of people coming round, and you can find a serving dish or board long enough, it might be worth making 2 cakes and sitting them end to end, to look like a really long log. But even if you’re making just one log, I advise at least a freestanding mixer or a hand-held electric whisk: I wouldn’t contemplate this by hand.
Now, it doesn’t look anything like a log when it is just a bald roulade, but once you’ve spread on the chocolate icing, made approximations of wood-markings on it (I use the sharp end of a corn-on-the-cob holder for this) and all, it does look quite impressive. I don’t go as far as the French, and make sugar mushrooms to adorn it: this is not only because I lack the talent, but also because a light snowfall of icing sugar is all this yule log really needs to complete its wintry perfection.
And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
I know the recipe looks finicky, and I can’t promise it’s a doddle, but it works easily and you will soon find you are rolling chocolate logs without a care. In fact, if you have a lot of people coming round, and you can find a serving dish or board long enough, it might be worth making 2 cakes and sitting them end to end, to look like a really long log. But even if you’re making just one log, I advise at least a freestanding mixer or a hand-held electric whisk: I wouldn’t contemplate this by hand.
Now, it doesn’t look anything like a log when it is just a bald roulade, but once you’ve spread on the chocolate icing, made approximations of wood-markings on it (I use the sharp end of a corn-on-the-cob holder for this) and all, it does look quite impressive. I don’t go as far as the French, and make sugar mushrooms to adorn it: this is not only because I lack the talent, but also because a light snowfall of icing sugar is all this yule log really needs to complete its wintry perfection.
And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Ingredients
Yields: about 12 fat slices
For the Cake
- 6 large eggs (separated)
- 150 grams caster sugar
- 50 grams cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 teaspoons icing sugar (to decorate)
For the Icing
- 175 grams dark chocolate (chopped)
- 250 grams icing sugar
- 225 grams soft butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the Cake
- 6 large eggs (separated)
- ¾ cup superfine sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 teaspoons confectioners' sugar (to decorate)
For the Icing
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
- 1⅔ cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 sticks soft butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/350ºF.
- In a large, clean bowl whisk 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, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is moussy, pale and thick. 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.
- 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.
- Pour in the cake mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a little before turning it out onto another piece of baking parchment. If you dust this piece of parchment with a little icing sugar it may help with preventing stickage, but don’t worry too much as any tears or dents will be covered by icing later. Cover 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, my preference, in a microwave following the manufacturer’s guidelines — and let it cool.
- Put the icing sugar into a processor and blitz 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 do this by hand, but it does mean you will have to sieve the sugar before creaming it with the butter and stirring in the chocolate and vanilla.
- Sit the flat chocolate cake on a large piece of baking parchment. Trim the edges of the Swiss roll. Spread some of the icing 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 this easier.
- 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, along with the trimmed-off bits earlier, 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 marking along the length of the log with a skewer or somesuch, remembering to do wibbly circles, as in tree rings, on each end.
- You don’t have to dust with icing sugar, but I love the freshly fallen snow effect, so push quite a bit through a small sieve, letting some settle in heaps on the plate or board on which the log sits.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/350ºF.
- In a large, clean bowl whisk the egg whites until thick and peaking, then, still whisking, sprinkle in 50g / ¼ cup of the superfine sugar and continue whisking until the whites are holding their peaks but not dry.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining superfine sugar until the mixture is moussy, pale and thick. Add the vanilla extract, sieve the unsweetened cocoa 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.
- 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.
- Pour in the cake mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a little before turning it out onto another piece of baking parchment. If you dust this piece of parchment with a little confectioners' sugar it may help with preventing stickage, but don’t worry too much as any tears or dents will be covered by icing later. Cover 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, my preference, in a microwave following the manufacturer’s guidelines — and let it cool.
- Put the confectioners' sugar into a processor and blitz 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 do this by hand, but it does mean you will have to sieve the sugar before creaming it with the butter and stirring in the chocolate and vanilla.
- Sit the flat chocolate cake on a large piece of baking parchment. Trim the edges of the Swiss roll. Spread some of the icing 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 this easier.
- 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, along with the trimmed-off bits earlier, 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 marking along the length of the log with a skewer or somesuch, remembering to do wibbly circles, as in tree rings, on each end.
- You don’t have to dust with confectioners' sugar, but I love the freshly fallen snow effect, so push quite a bit through a small sieve, letting some settle in heaps on the plate or board on which the log sits.
Additional Information
MAKE AHEAD:
Make the Yule Log up to 1 week ahead and store in an airtight container in a very cool place.
FREEZE AHEAD:
Make the Yule Log and freeze in a rigid container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in a cool room and store in an airtight container until needed.
For gluten-free, check the packet of your cocoa powder and icing sugar to be certain they are gluten-free.
MAKE AHEAD:
Make the Yule Log up to 1 week ahead and store in an airtight container in a very cool place.
FREEZE AHEAD:
Make the Yule Log and freeze in a rigid container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in a cool room and store in an airtight container until needed.
For gluten-free, check the packet of your cocoa powder and icing sugar to be certain they are gluten-free.
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Show more commentsI use your yule log recipe every Christmas without fail and we absolutely love it. We know it's Christmas when we get your cookbook out!
A delectable Yule Log making a light as air sponge cake, baked until slightly shrinking away from the side of the tin it should be soft yet firm to the touch. Ice with chocolate Ganache frosting and serve with icing sugar dusted over to represent snowfall. A scrumptious light as air chocolatey sponge cake it's absolutely beautiful! Many thanks Nigella on another winner. Enjoy!
A wonderful light chocolate Yuletide log that I filled with a rich dark luscious ganache frosting rolled up with whipped double cream covered with rich chocolate buttercream icing, dredged with icing sugar to resemble snow fall it's a fantastic cake I made almond paste mushrooms to decorate the festive log it's the most fantastic chocolatey Swiss roll ever. Enjoy!
Best Yule log recipe I’ve tried, thanks Nigella! I make mine dairy and gluten free. I initially made it for the kids as a dessert over Christmas a few years back but it was so popular it all went in the first sitting, so now I always make 3 in advance and keep them in the freezer. They only take a few hours to defrost at room temperature. A few beads of condensation sometimes form but they’ll disappear (don’t be tempted to dab them and don’t sprinkle your icing sugar until they’ve evaporated). It’s such an easy recipe that the kids can get involved in helping bake and decorate it too. This dessert has proved a big hit with everyone on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years,for the kids and us big kids too! :)
Nigella - you never fail!
Never a fail. Thank you legend for this recipe. I first made it as a Yule log for Christmas but now this has become our every birthday cake, every dessert cake, and every tea cake. So easy to make and such a delicious cake. I make 2 cakes and layer with the icing and top it with strawberries or raspberries when I’m not making a Yule log. And decorate the top with some icing piped when I feel extra glamorous.
A firm favourite over the last couple of years of making this Yule Log. I'm now requested to make it at Christmas, and goes down a treat with even those who aren't huge chocolate fans. Thank you Nigella.
My one question would be whether it is possible to make this entirely vegan-friendly? If anyone knows how, I would be very grateful to hear. Thank you!
This is definitely my go-to Yule Log recipe each year. I have tried other recipes including the Mary Berry version, but alas, none of them turn out as well as this. It is light, fluffy, and not too sweet which is a nice balance to the icing (although I like to make a whipped cream chocolate mousse and homemade raspberry jam as I find a buttercream a bit too heavy on this sponge). Decorate it with chocolate shavings as bark and fresh raspberries with mint leaves to resemble holly and you’re good to go!
I just finished making this and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm not particularly artistic but I was able to use some of the cut off bits to make twigs and I used spearmint leaves and icing sugar to decorate and it ended up looking really good. The only thing would be that I ended up with a lot of icing leftover at the end so next time I will probably start with only making half the amount of icing that's in the recipe.
I love this recipe. My kid who doesn't eat cake (I know, right) also loves this recipe so after she spent most of Christmas week gradually demolishing this one, it's definitely earned its place as a Christmas staple. The French mushroom and holly decorations are actually really easy to do with marzipan - couple of drops of food colouring for the holly, and the mushrooms you just do with the raw marzipan and then dust with a little bit of chocolate powder. They also didn't last long!
I love it. Nigella, thank you.
I always follow nigella recipe for Yule Log each year. My friends love coming over for it. NicNoo