Yule Log Cake

5 from 35 votes

This festive yule log cake is beautiful to look at with its chocolate roll cake, rich ganache, and adorable decorations.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1 42

Chill Time8

Total Time10 42

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Yule Log Cake Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 238kcal

Ingredients

Meringue Mushrooms

2 large egg whites, room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cocoa powder
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar

Candied Fresh Cranberries & Rosemary

1 cup fresh cranberries
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
½ cup water
1½ cups granulated sugar, divided

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

8 ounces high-quality semi-sweet baking bar, broken into pieces (the Ghirardelli brand is what I used)
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Cake

½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
powdered sugar, for dusting

Ermine Frosting Filling

½ cup whole milk
½ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Instructions

Meringue Mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a large baking tray with a piece of parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites (be careful not to get any yolk in the bowl) and beat on low speed with a whisk attachment for 2 minutes. Once the egg whites start to get frothy, turn the speed up to medium and slowly add the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and cream of tartar. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl every couple of minutes.
You will whisk the egg white mixture for a total of 9 to 10 minutes or until the meringue is glossy and has fairly stiff peaks. Transfer the meringue mixture to a large piping bag fitted with a large simple round piping tip. I used a Wilton 2A tip. Pipe ½-inch to 1-inch sized caps and stems onto the parchment-lined baking tray. You can wet the tip of your finger and gently smooth the top of the mushroom caps if they have a little point to them. You want to keep the points on the stems.
Bake for 1½ hours. Once the meringue mushroom pieces are baked, you need to set them on the counter to cool, undisturbed, and continue to dry out for a minimum of 8 hours, but overnight is perfect. DO NOT refrigerate.

Candied Cranberries & Rosemary

In a medium bowl, add the fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs.
In a small saucepan on medium heat, add the water and ½ cup granulated sugar. Bring to a simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, just enough to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat and add the warm sugar syrup to the bowl of the fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs. Make sure to push the cranberries and rosemary down into the sugar syrup. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours, but overnight is best.
Once the cranberries and rosemary have soaked in the sugar syrup, place a colander over another large bowl or in the sink, and pour the cranberries and rosemary into the colander to allow all the excess liquid to drain off of them.
Add the remaining 1 cup sugar into a shallow dish and toss the cranberries and rosemary around in the granulated sugar. Place them onto a clean plate once they are coated in the granulated sugar. You can place the plate of sugar-coated cranberries and rosemary sprigs into the refrigerator, uncovered, to help set the candied garnish until you are ready to use it to decorate your yule log.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

In a medium bowl, place the broken pieces of semi-sweet chocolate bar and heavy cream. Heat on high in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and heat for another 30 seconds if needed to warm the heavy cream. Allow the chocolate to sit for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract, instant espresso powder, and salt to the warm chocolate. Stir to completely incorporate the heavy cream, and until the melted semi-sweet chocolate is smooth and silky.
Loosely cover with a piece of plastic wrap and allow to cool completely, on the counter, for a minimum of 8 hours but up to overnight is good too.
Once your meringue mushrooms have baked, you will turn the oven temperature up to 350°F. Line a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan with parchment paper and lightly spray the parchment paper only with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Cake

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed for 5 to 7 minutes or until the eggs become pale and frothy.
Add the flour mixture and beat on medium for another minute or just until the batter is fully incorporated. This will be a very light and bubbly batter which is exactly what you want for a sponge cake.
Pour the batter into the prepared jelly roll pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Once the cake has cooked, generously sprinkle it with powdered sugar and run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake to make sure it does not stick. Cover the cake with a piece of parchment paper or a very clean tea towel that is larger than the cake, and then place a large cooling rack or cutting board on top.
Very carefully invert the jelly roll pan (be very careful because the pan will be hot) onto the cutting board. Remove the jelly roll pan and carefully peel away the parchment paper.
Generously sprinkle the cake again with powdered sugar. Starting from one of the short ends, fold the parchment paper or tea towel that is longer than the cake onto the cake and start rolling the cake into a log. Don’t roll the cake too tight. Be careful and go slow so as not to crack the cake as you roll. Place the rolled-up cake onto a cooling rack to allow the cake to cool and any moisture not to get trapped on the bottom of the cake. While your cake is cooling, you can make the ermine filling.

Ermine Frosting Filling

In a small saucepan on medium heat, add the whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and all-purpose flour. Whisk together and bring the mixture to a low boil for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking often until the mixture resembles a pudding-like consistency. Remove from the heat and pour the cooked milk mixture into a small dish. Cover with plastic wrap, being sure to push the plastic down onto the mixture to prevent a skin from forming, and place into the refrigerator for up to 2 hours to cool completely.
In a large mixing bowl, add the softened unsalted butter and beat with a handheld mixer on medium speed for 1 minute until fluffy. Add the cooled milk mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure to incorporate it completely before adding the next tablespoon, until all the cooked and cooled milk mixture has been incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the filling is light and fluffy.

Assembly

Once your cake has cooled, carefully unroll it and spread the ermine filling into an even layer. Gently roll the cake back up into a log.
Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator to chill and firm up. The cake can chill for a minimum of 8 hours, but overnight works great as well. This allows all the elements to have adequate time to chill, set, and get ready for decorating your yule log cake.
The next day, when you are ready to assemble your yule log, gather all your ingredients onto the counter. You will want to have your serving platter out to place the yule log on to decorate it directly on the serving platter.
Unwrap your yule log and carefully slice off a 1½ to 2-inch end piece at a slight angle if you want your yule log to have a little piece of side branch. If you want to keep it simple, you can just place your cake roll onto the serving plate. Set aside.
To assemble your mushrooms, carefully remove a mushroom cap and turn it over. On the underside of the mushroom cap, using the point of a chopstick or something similar, make a little hole that the point of the stem will fit into by twisting the point of the stick into the bottom. Handle the mushrooms very gently.
Take a little bit of the firm chocolate ganache and spread it onto the bottom of the mushroom cap, then place a stem into the ganache to hold the two pieces together. Place the assembled mushrooms onto a plate. Repeat until you have assembled enough mushrooms to use for decorating your yule log. Once you have made all your mushrooms, you can then whip your chocolate ganache to make the frosting.
In the bowl of a stand mixer on high speed using the whisk attachment, whip the chocolate ganache for 7 to 8 minutes or until light, fluffy, and doubled in volume. Stop the mixer every couple of minutes to scrape down the sides.
Once you have whipped your chocolate ganache frosting, you will spread some onto the angled side of the piece you cut⅜ off of your cake roll to adhere it to the side of your yule log.
Frost the remaining cake with a small offset spatula. Try to be mindful to frost the cake in long strokes to resemble the bark of a tree. You do not need to try to frost the bottom/underside of your cake as it is delicate and may break apart your yule log. That is why you are frosting and decorating directly on your serving platter.
Place your candied rosemary sprigs around the bottom and sides of your yule log, then place the candied cranberries on top.
Place your meringue mushrooms onto the yule log and on the platter. You can use a small amount of leftover ganache frosting to adhere the mushroom to the platter to prevent them from moving or falling over.
Dust your yule log and serving platter with a light dusting of powdered sugar to make it look like snowfall.

Notes

This recipe has a few components, so it is best to split this into a two-day preparation as some of the elements of the recipe need 8 (or more) hours before they are ready to use. I like to prepare all the elements the day before I plan to decorate and serve the cake. Please read through the directions thoroughly before preparing this yule log cake. It is worth the time and effort!
I would suggest following the recipe in order of making each element. I wrote the recipe to be as time efficient as possible. This yule log cake has many steps, but each step is simple, so please read through each section before starting to get familiar with the recipe and not get overwhelmed.
I do not suggest making your meringue mushrooms more than the day before you plan on serving your yule log. Do not assemble them with the ganache until you are ready to decorate your cake.
You can wet the tip of your finger and gently smooth the top of the mushroom caps if they have a little point to them. You want to keep the points on the stems.
Your meringue mushrooms will start to get soft if they are put into the refrigerator or if the room temperature is too warm or moist, so it is best to store them in a cool, dry place until you are ready to use them.
You can make the candied cranberries and rosemary sprigs a couple of days ahead and keep them in the refrigerator to save time.
Your ganache can stay on the counter at room temperature overnight as long as your home temperature is not too hot. If needed, you can put your ganache into the refrigerator, but you will need to remove it from the fridge and allow it to come back to room temperature before moving forward with the recipe and decorating.
You can make the cake and ermine filling 2 to 3 days ahead of time.
You will want to keep the assembled cake roll tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator, until ready to decorate and serve.

Nutrition