A Yule log or bûche de Noël () is a traditional

Christmas cake Christmas cake is a type of cake, often fruitcake, served at Christmas time in many countries. British variations Christmas cake is an English tradition that began as plum porridge. A traditional English Christmas cake is made with moist Zan ...

, often served as a dessert, especially in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Vietnam, and

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. Variants are also served in the United States, United Kingdom, Cambodia, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, and Japan. Made of

sponge cake Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during ...

, to resemble a miniature actual Yule log, it is a form of sweet roulade. The cake emerged in the 19th century, probably in France, before spreading to other countries. It is traditionally made from a genoise, generally baked in a large, shallow Swiss roll pan, iced, rolled to form a cylinder, and iced again on the outside. The most common combination is basic yellow sponge cake and

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

buttercream Buttercream, also referred to as butter icing (food), icing or butter frosting, is used for either filling (cooking), filling, coating or cake decorating, decorating cakes. The main ingredients are butter and some type of sugar. Buttercream is ...

, though many variations that include chocolate cake,

ganache Ganache ( or ; ) is a glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries, made from chocolate and cream. In the broad sense of the term, ganache is an emulsion between (melted) solid chocolate (which is made with cocoa butter, the fat phase) and ...

, and icings flavored with

espresso Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

s exist. Yule logs are often served with one end cut off and set atop the cake, or protruding from its side to resemble a chopped off branch. A

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

-like texture is often produced by dragging a fork through the icing, and powdered sugar sprinkled to resemble

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

. Other cake decorations may include actual tree branches, fresh

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

, and

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

s made of

meringue Meringue ( , ) is a type of dessert or candy, of French cuisine, French origin, traditionally made from Whisk, whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acid, acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or potassium bitartrate, cream of t ...

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

. The name ''bûche de Noël'' originally referred to the Yule log itself, and was transferred to the dessert after that custom had fallen out of popular use. References to it as ''bûche de Noël'' or, in English, Yule Log, can be found from at least the Edwardian era (for example, F. Vine, Saleable Shop Goods (1898 and later).

Gallery

File:Yule Log Cake.jpg File:Bûche de Noël facile (2014-12-23).jpg File:Bûche de Noël with marzipan mushrooms, December 2008.jpg File:Bûche de Noël in Colomars.jpg File:Buche de Noel (Yule Log).jpg File:Yule log cake.jpg

References

Citations

General references

* "la Bûche de Noël" in: ''Le Calendrier Traditionnel'', ''Voici: la France de ce mois'', vol. 2, no. 17–21, Voici Press (1941). * Albert Goursaud, Maurice Robert, ''La société rurale traditionnelle en Limousin: ethnographie''
pp. 471, 474
* Claude Seignolle, ''Traditions populaires de Provence''
pp. 84-87
* Arnold van Gennep, ''Manuel de folklore français contemporain'', pt. 2, ''Du berceau à la tombe'' (1946)

External links

Buche de Noel
(via foodtimeline.org) * {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2024 Belgian desserts Chocolate desserts Christmas in Canada French cakes Chocolate-covered foods Sponge cakes Swiss cuisine Culinary Heritage of Switzerland Yule Christmas cakes World cuisine

Gallery

See also

References

Citations

General references

External links