Christmas yule log
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Black Forest Christmas Yule Log

My scrumptious black forest Christmas yule log is a chocolate cake filled with whipped cream and bing cherries and is topped with a whipped chocolate ganache.

A yule log made with chocolate, cherries, and fresh cream… what’s not to love about all of that? My husband’s favourite cake is the black forest cake. Every once in a while he’ll be sitting on the couch and will say, “Ah, I think I could go for a slice of black forest cake!” So, making him a Christmas treat that he loves made total sense.

The Ingredients for the Christmas Yule Log

A few ingredients for the cake, some for the filling, and some for the icing, will get you an amazing dessert to die for.

Ingredients for yule log

The Ingredients List for Christmas Yule Log

  • Cake:
  • 4 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 5 tablespoons sour cream (or plain yogurt)
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
  • 3/4 cup cake and pastry flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons icing sugar
  • Filling:
  • 1 tin bing cherries
  • 2 tablespoons brandy or sherry
  • 1 cup fresh whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • Ganache:
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup whipping cream

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The Eggs for the Cake

Let’s start with the cake. Making this cake is pretty easy and the baking time is so short, that it makes up for the rest of the process.

  • Let’s start with separating 4 egg yolks and whites.
  • Place the whites in a bowl and set them aside.
  • Add sugar to the bowl with the yolks and using a hand blender or a whisk, whip them till the sugar gets dissolved into the yolks and you get a yellowish ribbon-like consistency.
  • Now we can add 5 tablespoons of sour cream and 1/4 cup of softened unsalted butter. Mix well for a further 1 or so minutes until everything is well combined.

The Dry Ingredients

Let’s get the dry ingredients ready.

  • In a separate bowl, mix 3/4 cup of cake and pastry flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/3 cup of cocoa powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the bowl containing the egg yolk mix and combine everything to get a chocolatey mixture.
  • Cover and set aside.
Cake mix

The Egg Whites

Now we can get to the egg whites.

  • Using the hand blender, whip them till you get stiff peaks. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
  • Remember to wash off and completely dry the hand blender attachments before you use them in the egg whites or else the egg whites will get destroyed.
Egg whites for yule log
  • Gently lift some of the whites and add them to the bowl containing the chocolatey mix.
  • Fold the egg whites in until there are no white bits visible.
  • Once that is done, we can add the remaining egg whites to the bowl and fold them in. Remember to fold the eggs in gently so as not to lose the air you just added to the egg whites.
  • You now have your cake batter and can bake the cake.
Cake batter with egg whites

Baking the Christmas Yule Log

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

  • Pour the batter onto the parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
  • Do not overbake the cake or else it will break when we roll it. The best way to check for readiness is to gently touch the center of the cake. If it bounces back, it’s ready to be removed from the oven.

Rolling the Cake

  • Once the cake is ready, allow it to cool down for about 5 minutes – be sure to turn the timer on.
  • Quickly sprinkle the icing sugar onto the cake. I place the icing sugar onto a sieve and gently shake it so I can evenly sprinkle it onto the cake. The idea is to do this quickly so the cake doesn’t start to cool down anymore.
  • Place a clean dishcloth over the icing sugar and flip the cake over onto the dishcloth.
Christmas yule log
  • Gently pull the parchment paper off the cake and starting from the short side of the cake, roll it into the dishcloth.
  • This will form a roll of cake with the dishcloth in between the layers. Let it sit like that until it completely cools down.
  • Once it’s cooled down, you can unroll it and the cake will “remember” the shape.

The Filling

Now we can get the filling ready.

  • Place 1 cup of whipping cream and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a bowl and whip until you have a soft but firm whipping cream.
  • Unroll the cake and remove the dishcloth.
  • Lay the cake down on a chopping board or a clean counter space.
  • Using a baking brush, brush 2 tablespoons of brandy all over the unrolled cake.
  • Then liberally spread the whipping cream all over the cake.
Cake with cream and cherries for yule log
  • Drain 1 can of bing cherries from the juice and spread the cherries around on top of the whipping cream.
  • Do not discard the juice. It can be used for other things.
  • Now we can roll the cake back up the same way it was rolled in the dishcloth. Only this time, we are just rolling the cake – with the cherries and cream in the center.

The Whipped Ganache Icing:

We are almost ready to enjoy our yule log. Let’s make the ganache.

  • Bring 1 cup of whipping cream to a boil in a pan.
  • Add 1 cup of dark chocolate chips to a bowl and pour the hot cream onto the chips.
  • Allow them to sit in the bowl for about 3-4 minutes then using a spoon mix the cream into the chips.
  • By now the chocolate should have melted. You have your ganache ready to use. You can pour it onto the log as is or do what I do.
Black forest Christmas yule log
  • Using a hand blender whip the ganache until you have a fluffy and slightly lighter brown version of the ganache.
  • Slather it onto the log and allow it to cool down for a few minutes.
  • Then using a fork, form the “bark” design and top them with a few cherries. Enjoy your Christmas yule log with a cup of coffee.

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Black Forest Christmas Yule Log

Course: DessertCuisine: CanadianDifficulty: Moderate
Servings

12

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Baking time

10

minutes
Calories

306

kcal
Resting time

15

minutes
Total time

40

minutes

My scrumptious black forest Christmas yule log is a chocolate cake filled with whipped cream and bing cherries and is topped with a whipped chocolate ganache.

Ingredients

  • Cake:
  • 4 eggs (yolks and whites separated)

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 5 tablespoons sour cream (or plain yogurt)

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)

  • 3/4 cup cake and pastry flour

  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • pinch of salt

  • 3 tablespoons icing sugar

  • Filling:
  • 1 tin bing cherries

  • 2 tablespoons brandy or sherry

  • 1 cup fresh whipping cream

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • Ganache:
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips

  • 1 cup whipping cream

Directions

  • Cake:
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
  • Separate the egg yolks and whites into separate bowls.
  • Add the yolks to a large mixing bowl and add the sugar to the bowl. Whip them together until you get a pale yellow ribbon like consistency.
  • Add the sour cream and the softened butter to the bowl and whisk again for about a minute or so.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Add to the bowl containing the egg yellow mix and combine everything to get a chocolatey mixture. Cover and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whip the egg whites until you get stiff peaks.
  • Gently lift some of the egg whites and fold them into the chocolate dough mix. Mix the egg whites in slowly so as not to lose the air you have just added to them.
  • Add the remaining egg whites and gently mix them in until you have a cake batter.
  • Pour the cake batter into the parchment lined baking sheet you had set aside earlier. Bake the cake for 10 mins. To test for readiness, touch the center of the cake. If it bounces back, remove it from the oven immediately.
  • Allow it to cool down for about 5 minutes. Then sprinkle some icing sugar on the cake. Line it with a clean dishcloth and flip the cake onto the dishcloth.
  • Gently peel off the parchment paper. Starting with the shorter side, roll the cake into the dishcloth and let it sit rolled up until it cools down completely.
  • Filling:
  • In a large bowl, add the whipping cream and the sugar. Whip until you get a soft but firm cream.
  • Drain the juice from the cherries and set them aside. (Do not discard the juice. See note). Reserve a few cherries to place on top of the log.
  • Gently unroll the cake from the dishcloth and place it on a clean counter surface or chopping board.
  • Using a cooking brush, brush the brandy onto the whole cake.
  • Evenly spread the whipping cream all over the cake and randomly place the cherries on top of the cream.
  • Rolling the cake when it’s hot allows it to form a shape and hold it. So, once you are done filling it, Gently roll it again – in the same direction that it was rolled in the dishcloth.
  • Set it aside while you make the ganache.
  • Ganache:
  • Bring your whipping cream to a boil in a pan.
  • Add your chocolate chips to a bowl and pour over the boiling whipped cream. Set it aside for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to melt.
  • Using a spoon mix the chocolate and the whipping cream together to form a chocolatey ganache. Using a hand blender, whisk the ganache until you have a light fluffy slightly lighter whipped ganache.
  • Slather over the cake and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Once it’s cooled down a little, form the “bark” lines using a fork. Place some more cherries on top and enjoy.

Notes

  • – Use the cherry juice and make a delicious drink. Add some lime juice or lemon juice to the cherry juice and pour that into a glass and then pour over some sparkling water. You will love the end result.

What is the difference between Swiss Roll and Yule Log?

A main difference between a Swiff roll and a Yule log is the way it is decorated. A yule log is made to look like a “log” with a ganache icing using a fork. The Swiss roll just has icing spread on it.

Why did my Yule log cake dry up?

The reason that a Yule log cake dries up could be that the cake batter was over-mixed. Or it could be that you left the cake to cool down for too long and it dried up.

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