This particular cake recipe dates back to my childhood in terms of my own recollection, but the Yule Log aka BÛCHE De NÖEL has been a holiday favorite for centuries.
Before moving out to the suburbs, my mother worked in the city–New York City to be exact.
There was a famous and unusual eatery there called the Horn & Hardart “Automat” where sometimes, for a splurge, on a vacation day she would go and get a rare lunch out, or sometimes just a dessert.
Other images of the Automat from that time can be found here. The last New York City based Horn & Hardart “automat” concept restaurant reportedly closed in 1991.
My mother had fond memories of a wonderful Yule Log treat she had enjoyed at the Automat and years later, after becoming a homemaker, she decided to re-create the treat, but with a twist of her own.
Since it turns out that I had a fondness for chocolate from a very young age, by the time I was 4 the cake became my birthday cake. With a birthday falling between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cake was perfect for the season and so special to me.
Usually when I bake & cook now, I use in part a bit of natural unsweetened cocoa powder to help achieve a chocolate-like flavor in a number of recipes, but this dessert is an exception to the rule. You will see variations of this type of cake being made with between 1/4 – 1/3 cup of natural unsweetened cocoa powder and perhaps 2 Tbsp. extra flour mixed in with the cocoa, as an alternative to using the 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate. Another potential substitution would be to make up a lighter version of the whipped cream filling. Of course, another trick to reduce fat calories in the frosting would be to skip it and alternatively dust the cake with powdered sugar for a festive look–using a doily to do that could create a bit of a lace pattern effect mimicking newly fallen snow on a log.
For a special occasion, whether you use substitutions or not, here is my birthday cake recipe for you to enjoy.
Chocolate Cream Roll
(Bûche de Noël)
Holiday Log Cake
Yule Log
Pan Size: 15 inch long X 10 inch wide X 1 inch deep jelly roll pan
Time and Temp: 375°F for 15 – 20 minutes
Be sure to have available Cake ingredients, Frosting ingredients, and Maraschino cherries, which could also be halved before placing on the iced log cake.
Chocolate Sponge Roll Cake
Cake Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sifted cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 squares unsweetened chocolate
- 5 large eggs or 4 extra large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (no lumps)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- confectioner’s sugar (for powdering the cake cloth)
Method:
- Line bottom only of jelly roll pan with double-sided silicon coated parchment baking paper sheet cut to fit size of pan bottom.
- Thoroughly stir together the sifted cake flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
- Melt chocolate either in the microwave or in small heat proof container set over hot water (as in a Bain Marie or double boiler); do not cover (this is important to prevent unwanted water droplets from falling into the melting chocolate).
- Meanwhile; break eggs into large mixing bowl, pour 3/4 c of lump-free granulated sugar over them, then beat at high speed until very thick and light, approximately 5-7 to 10 minutes depending upon your mixer.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Fold flour mixture into beaten egg mixture all at once.
- To the melted chocolate, add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar & 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Stir well, then add a small amount of the batter to the melted chocolate mixture stirring it in, then fold this new chocolate mixture into the cake batter, blending it in evenly.
- Turn finished batter into silicon coated parchment paper lined jelly roll pan, bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until cake springs back when touched in the center.
- While cake bakes, place a clean dish towel on large wire cookie cooling rack, sift a thick layer of confectioner’s sugar over a large enough area to cover cake (starting close to bottom hem) and using a spatula edge, press the sugar into the cloth by drawing the edge of the spatula along the cloth.
- When cake is done, quickly loosen edges with spatula and carefully lift and then slide cake out of the pan still attached to the parchment paper, placing it onto another large cookie cooling rack–an offset spatula is good to start this process.
- Cover the cake with the sugared side of the clean dish towel.
- Place the other wire cookie cooling rack upside down over the cloth and then carefully flip the two racks with the sandwiched sponge cake in between. The sponge cake should now be resting on the sugar coated clean dish towel which is on top of a wire cookie cooling rack.
- Quickly, but carefully, peel off the parchment paper, using a sharp knife if needed to aid in the process by keeping the knife blade edge against the paper as you pull it away from the sponge cake.
- Next, carefully using a very sharp knife and being sure NOT to cut the clean dish towel, proceed to trim the edges of the sponge cake to square up the corners and side edges of the long rectangle to even them out (this will later make rolling up the cake much easier).
- Let cake cool exactly 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, fold edge of towel over edge of cake and gently and loosely roll up the cake starting at the short end, without rolling the towel in it which prevents the cake from sticking since the powdered sugar residue will be there. The cake is already on a wire cookie rack and just needs to finish cooling … which will take approximately 1 hour.
- After cake is thoroughly cooled, carefully unroll and quickly spread with stabilized whipped cream filling to within 1/2″ of each edge. Gently roll up cake, using towel as the pusher.
- Frost with mocha chocolate frosting. Decorate with Maraschino cherries. Refrigerate promptly.
Stabilized Whipped Cream Filling
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 4 tsp room temperature water
Method:
- Refrigerate the mixing bowl and beater for at least 15 min.
- To make the gelatin mixture: in a small heat proof measuring cup, pour in gelatin and water and let mixture sit, allowing gelatin to soften for 5 min.
- Set heat-proof cup containing gelatin mixture into a sauce pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until gelatin is dissolved (this can alternatively be done in a microwave on high power for 10 seconds stirring once or twice)
- Remove cup and completely cool gelatin mixture to room temperature (about 7 min) (it should still be liquid, but NOT warm)
- Gelatin mixture must be liquid, but NOT warm when added to heavy cream
- In the chilled bowl, beat the cream and powdered sugar just until traces of beater marks begin to show distinctly and mixture is beginning to thicken.
- Add the gelatin mixture in a steady stream, beating constantly.
- Add the almond extract and beat just until stiff peaks form when beater is raised. Do NOT overbeat or else you will make butter!
- Cover & refrigerate for later use as a topping or as a filling.
Mocha Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons natural unsweetened baking cocoa
- 2 oz butter (4 Tbsp.), softened
- 1/4 cup hot coffee (not more)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Method:
- Combine sugar, salt, and cocoa together.
- In a separate large bowl, cream butter until soft
- Add sugar mixture a little at a time, alternately with a little hot coffee, and cream well after each addition. Only add enough coffee to achieve a good spreading consistency.
- Add vanilla, cream until smooth.
- Spread finished frosting on rolled cake using long strokes to imitate graining of a wood log.