Bûche de Noël is a traditional French dessert. Freely translated, it’s a Christmas branch, but let’s face it, Bûche de Noël sounds a lot tastier 😉 . And it is delicious! It is the perfect showpiece to finish off your Christmas dinner and an amazing baking project for the whole family.

The perfect holiday season dessert

Yule log, also known as Christmas log, Christmas yule log cake or Bûche de Noël, is a traditional dessert served mainly around Christmas eve in almost all French-speaking countries such as Belgium, France, Canada and even in parts of Vietnam and Lebanon!

The latter two may sound a bit strange, but they were once colonies of France and this cake recipe is still a tradition in some areas.

Festive Bûche de Noël

When you see this gorgeous cake, it immediately puts you in the Christmas spirit, doesn’t it? Simple as it may be, this recipe is absolutely festive in look and taste! It is also the perfect cake to share with family, friends or relatives.

Another fun and festive way to bake together is of course this chocolate lava cake recipe, which is also in high demand in my household. Don’t feel like turning on the oven? You could make my ice cream cake, using store-bought or pre-made pound cake. Assemble, stick it in the freezer, garnish before serving and you’re guaranteed a few ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ah’s’!

Easy Buche de Noel recipe

As I said, this is a very simple recipe. The base is a moist chocolate sheetcake filled with a mixture of whipped cream and mascarpone. The Christmas buche is quite reminiscent of a Swiss roll!

You can also experiment with the filling. For example, you can add a layer of jam before spreading the filling on top, or add coconut. You can also make a vanilla version by omitting the cocoa and adding vanilla bourbon. As you can hear, the possibilities are endless!

Make your own Buche de Noel cake

To make sure your Christmas bûche is just as beautiful, here are a few tips:

It’s best to use a food processor to make the batter and filling, but if you don’t have one, you can use a whisk.
After baking, let the cake cool briefly and then roll it up for the first time to make sure it holds its shape when you spread the filling on top and roll it up for good. Moisten a tea towel and roll the cake in it the first time, so that it cools completely. This will prevent the cake from breaking easily when you finally roll it up.
Use an au bain-marie for your melted chocolate for the topping. This way it will melt evenly with the butter without burning.
It’s not called a yule log for nothing. The chocolate shavings imitate a kind of tree bark (but tastier…). You can often buy chocolate shavings from (online) bakery shops, but you can also make your own very easily with a cheese slicer or peeler and a bar of chocolate of your choice.
You can also use other edible decorations for an even more festive dessert, and don’t forget the powdered sugar!

Enjoy this festive recipe and happy Holidays!