Easy Chocolate Christmas Yule Log Cake (Bûche de Noël)

Bring the magic of the forest to your holiday table with this Easy Christmas Yule Log Cake. This traditional Bûche de Noël features a light-as-air chocolate sponge, a velvety whipped cream filling, and impressive homemade chocolate shards that mimic real tree bark. It is the most significant centerpiece for your Christmas table and is guaranteed to make your home feel truly Christmassy!

Ingredients: Chocolate Sponge Cake

Eggs – 04
Sugar (divided) – 100g
Vanilla – 1 tsp
All-purpose Flour – 30g
Cocoa Powder – 30g
Baking Powder – ¼ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp

Ingredients: Cream Filling

Whipping Cream – 125ml
Sugar – 40g

Ingredients: Chocolate Shards & Topping

Semi-sweet Chocolate – 120g
Semi-sweet Chocolate (Small pieces) – 40g
Icing Sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

Prepare the Chocolate Sponge

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C. Line a 33cm x 23cm x 4.5cm baking tray with parchment paper.
In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add half of the sugar (50g) and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until the mixture is thick, pale, and creamy. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture.
Fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate batter in three batches, being careful not to deflate the air. Spread the batter evenly onto your prepared tray. Bake for 10–12 minutes.
Dust a fresh sheet of parchment paper with icing sugar.
Turn the hot cake out onto the dusted paper and carefully peel off the paper used for baking.
While the cake is still hot, roll it up tightly (including the parchment paper) starting from the short end. Let it sit for 1 hour to cool and "set" its shape.

Whipped Cream Filling

Beat the whipping cream and sugar together until stiff peaks form.
Gently unroll the cooled cake and spread the whipped cream evenly across the surface.
Re-roll the cake (without the paper this time!) and refrigerate for 2–3 hours to set.

Create the "Bark" Shards

Melt the 120g of semi-sweet chocolate. Spread it into a very thin layer on a sheet of parchment paper.
Roll the parchment paper up and refrigerate for 30–40 minutes.
Once set, unroll the paper; the chocolate will naturally crack into beautiful, rustic shards.

Final Decoration

Melt the remaining 40g of chocolate pieces to use as "glue."
Apply the chocolate shards to the outside of the cake. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes to ensure everything is secure.
Just before serving, dust with icing sugar to create a beautiful "snow-covered" effect.