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–+ servings
Buche de Noel cake on a platter with mushrooms and greenery.
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5 from 60 votes

Bûche de Noël

This stunning Buche de Noel or Yule Log Cake will make ANY holiday table more festive this holiday season!
Prep Time2 days
Cook Time12 minutes
assembly time3 hours
Course: Dessert, Holiday
Cuisine: French
Servings: 10 Servings
Calories: 706kcal
Author: Laura

Equipment

  • stand mixer
  • hand mixer
  • offset spatula
  • rimmed baking sheet

Ingredients

Cake Roll

  • 1/2 cup cake flour sifted
  • 1/4 cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Meringue mushrooms

  • 1/4 tsp Lemon juice or a ¼ tsp cream of tartar
  • 2 egg whites
  • ½ cup sugar

Stabilized Whipped Cream

  • 2 TBSP water very cold
  • 2 tsp powdered gelatin
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting (feel free to use any frosting you like)

  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cocoa powder use a little less if you like a light color
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 TBSP heavy cream

Decorations

  • 1/4 cup graham crackers crumbs
  • greenery
  • frosted cranberries

Instructions

  • To make the cake roll:
  • Preheat the oven to 375°
  • line a a baking sheet, 11×17, with parchment paper and then grease it
    Pan lined with parchment paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together several times and set aside
    Dry ingredients for Bûche de Noël sifted into a bowl.
  • beat the eggs in a stand mixer until fluffy
    Eggs in stand mixer getting beaten.
  • add the sugar slowly and beat until very light and thick
  • beat in the vanilla
  • Then fold in the flour
    Adding the flour to the eggs and sugar to fold them in.
  • pour into the prepared pan, spread evenly with a rubber or if you have a offset spatula
    Smoothing batter into a the pan with a rubber spatula.
  • bake 9-12 minutes, watch out for over cooking you don’t want crisp edges
  • While it bakes dust a clean dish towel with confectioners sugar
    Clean dish towel laid out for rolling the cake
  • after it comes out of the oven let it set for a minute
  • Then flip the cake upside down on the towel, peel off the parchment
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar
  • starting from the short end roll the cake with the towel to keep it from sticking to itsel
  • leave it to cool overnight, I like to wrap it lightly in a plastic wrap to keep t from drying out too much
  • To make meringue mushrooms:
  • preheat the oven to 250°
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • Beat two egg whites until frothy, then slowly add the sugar Tablespoon by Tablespoon until fully incorporated
  • Beat until stiff peaks form
    Egg whites beat until stiff and glossy.
  • Use a disposable piping bag and snip off the end of the bag, about ½ inch or so
    Disposable piping bag with the tip cut off for making mushrooms.
  • Fill with meringue, make meringue stems and mushroom caps on the prepared baking sheet
    Meringue mushrooms and stems.
  • use a wet finger to smooth the pointy tops as needed
    Smooth tops of mushrooms and stems.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes and then let them cool in the oven undisturbed for an hour or so
  • Dust with a little cocoa powder for a mushroom look, set aside
    Use a paint brush to sprinkle with cocoa powder to make them look like mushrooms.
  • To Fill:
  • Put water in a small saucepan sprinkle with the powdered gelatin, let it sit for 2 minutes
  • Heat over low heat JUST until the gelatin is liquified, let it rest
  • Beat the heavy cream with the sugar until its thick but not full set up
  • With the mixer on low drizzle in the gelatin
  • Beat until it’s thick, add vanilla and beat again
  • unroll cake
  • Fill it evenly with the whipped cream
    Unrolled cake roll filled with stabilized whipped cream.
  • Roll it back up gently Lay it seam side down on a baking sheet and cover it
  • Chill it while you make the frosting
  • to frost:
  • beat the butter until soft and fluffy, 2-3 minutes
  • add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth
    Cooling melted chocolate chips.
  • if the frosting is too thin add more powdered sugar OR more cocoa powder
  • if its too thick thin it down with a little extract cream or vanilla extract
  • Lay the chilled cake roll on a serving platter, lay two pieces of waxed paper or parchment along either side to keep it clean(you might keep it cleaner than I did)
    Rolled cake ready to be chilled.
  • Then trim off one end to reveal the swirl, if your swirl shows up you do not need to trim it off
  • Then cut off a chunk to use as a branch, set it to the side of the cake as the branch
  • Generously frost the cake roll
    Generously frosted buche de noel.
  • dip a fork in water and score the frosting to look like bark
    Frosting scored with a fork to look like bark.
  • Use extra frosting to glue the mushroom stalks to the caps
    Finished meringue mushrooms.
  • Place the mushrooms all over the log, wherever you like
    Add meringue mushrooms to the log wherever you like.
  • Decorate as desired, sprinkle some graham cracker crumbs around the tray and add some greenery, or frosted cranberries, or anything your heart desires

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 706kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 173mg | Sodium: 361mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 78g | Vitamin A: 1428IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 1mg