Peppermint Yule Log

Well, we’ve almost done it! We’ve almost made it through another holiday season, and soon it’ll be time for a vacation from this vacation. This time of year can be so rewarding, but sometimes it’s so stressful too. And if you’re anything like me, your favorite stress reliever often comes in the form of something particularly sweet. And such is the case with our project today- a peppermint yule log! I started making these several years ago after unsuccessfully scouring the internet for a recipe that looked tasty but wasn’t full of impossible ingredients or 300 picky steps. It’s Christmas and ain’t nobody got time for that. And while some recipes use a chocolate filling, I switch it up for a great peppermint buttercream frosting that just helps everything taste a little more festive. Alright, let’s make this log so that we can eat it… and then lay on the couch like a log.

There’s a fair amount of prep work for this recipe, in that you’re going to want to make your frostings first- before you bake the cake. We want everything ready ahead of time because we’re going to work with the cake while it’s still hot. I know that working with a cake right out of the oven feels intimidating if you’re not used to doing it, but the particular cake that you’ll be baking is very forgiving and easy to handle. I’ll be giving you lots of good tips to help your roll up the cake like a pro, even if it’s your first time. Don’t worry- you can totally do this! All my hints are below, and you can find a printable version of this recipe at the bottom of the post.

Frosting First!

Let’s start by making the frostings that we’ll need. I like to store my frostings in 18″ decorating bags so that they stay fresh and don’t begin to crust over while I’m working on another step. First up is the peppermint buttercream filling. Keep it as white as possible by using the palest butter you can find.

TIP: Honestly, when I need pale butter I find it at Walmart or Aldi- the generic brands. Save the fancy stuff for something else!

Once you’re done with the peppermint fulling, clean your beaters and bowl and make the chocolate buttercream frosting. Bag that as well and set all the frostings aside while we get to work on the cake.

Sponge Cake!

Set yourself up for success by using large pans. I use two 14″x20″ pans in this recipe, because otherwise the cake can end up a little stumpy (forgive the pun!) if it’s too short. You’ll be cutting off the end of the log later, so you want to have some length to work with. Line one pan with parchment paper and coat the paper with melted butter or a baking spray. Don’t use regular Pam because it just doesn’t come out right- but a spray with flour in it works just fine. You’ll only need the other pan for a moment after the cake is done baking, so don’t worry about doing anything with the second pan. If you don’t have pans of this size, use two of whatever the largest size you have at hand.

The cake you’ll be making is a sponge cake- that means a lot of eggs and a lot of mixing. This recipe calls for a sponge cake instead of a traditional batter cake because it’s so light and fluffy, and it can be rolled up while it’s still warm and not break into a million pieces. Make an excellent sponge cake by making sure your eggs are whipped very, very well before doing anything else. I use a whisk attachment and beat them for about 5 minutes on medium high. They should get nice and pale and hold their shape if you whip them into soft peaks. Once you’re satisfied with your eggs, you’ll want to be careful while you add in the dry ingredients because you don’t want to deflate them.

TIP: Sift your dry ingredients together before you add them to the eggs to minimize how much more mixing you’ll need to do.

Add half the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, and then add in the other half and do the same again. When you pour the batter into the pan, use a silicon spatula to gently move the batter into all the corners and ensure it’s evenly distributed. Keep an eye on the cake as it bakes, and pull it out when the edges of the cake start to pull away from the corners of the pan.

Cake Rolling 101!

Now comes the tricky part. You’ll want to do a couple things while your cake is baking so that you’re ready to move when it comes out of the oven. The first is to spread confectioner’s sugar all over a clean kitchen towel. I like to use a flour sack towel because it doesn’t really shed any lint or fluffy bits. Rub the confectioner’s sugar right into that towel!

When the cake comes out, flip the towel over so that it’s sugar side DOWN and put it right on top of your hot cake. Now grab the second pan in the same size and put that right on top of the towel. Don’t press, just fit it on top. Grab the stack of two pans and flip the whole thing upside down, then pull the cake pan off the top. You should be looking at the 2nd, clean pan on the bottom, then the towel, and then your cake sitting on top of it all. Peel off the parchment paper that’s probably stuck to the bottom of your cake and slide the towel and cake off of that 2nd pan and onto the counter.

Continuing to move right along, begin rolling up your cake on the left (or right, if that’s your preference) side and moving across. The first roll of the cake is the tightest and where you run the chance of getting a little bit of cracking or breakage. Don’t worry if this happens, just do your best to fold it gently. It doesn’t need to be flat against the rest of the cake, just curled enough that you can continue to roll up the cake and towel together.

TIP: If you have extra towel at one end, fold it over one edge of your cake a few times first to help cushion the first curl of the cake.

Now leave the rolled up cake and towel on your counter for about 15 minutes so it can lose some of its heat.  I like to position the cake so it’s sitting right on the seam so that as it settles, it stays as round as possible.

Filling and Decorating!

Carefully unroll your cake once the 15 minutes are up. Spread a thick line of the peppermint buttercream at the end with the tight curl and roll it back over. I like to get the first curl done quickly to keep the chance of any cake cracking as low as possible. Once you’re done with the edge, spread the rest of the peppermint buttercream across the surface of the cake, keeping it as even as possible. Chocolate cake is kind of notorious for kicking crumbs up into frosting, so do your best to only spread in one direction so that you don’t get too many chocolate spots in the buttercream. Once you’re all rolled back up, dust the entire outside of the log with powdered sugar and wrap it in plastic wrap before letting it cool completely in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Now it’s time to make that little side log that pokes out the side all cute and stumpy and… log-like. Using a sharp knife, cut off about 3″ of cake from one end of the log. Press 3-4 toothpicks or dowels about halfway into the cut off piece. I usually put two into the cake and two into the frosting. Squeeze a dollop of frosting onto the large log where you’d like to place the extra piece and then gently stick the two together. Between the toothpicks/dowels and the frosting, it should be quite sturdy.

And finally, it’s time for the chocolate buttercream! (Vanilla buttercream, I’mma let you finish but chocolate buttercream is my favorite frosting of all time!) Just like I mentioned above, chocolate cake makes crumbs when you frost it. Prevent this by crumb coating the entire cake with about 1/2″ of the chocolate frosting and putting the cake back in the fridge for about an hour. Then spread another layer of frosting over the top. You can make a ‘bark’ pattern on the log with almost anything you have at hand, but I like to use the three-pronged cookie fork from the cheap Wilton decorating kit. It also works really well to make circular tree rings on the ends of the log and the extra stump.

Finally, sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top to represent a bit of snow and decorate with whatever else that you have on hand that jingles your bells. Sometimes I cut springs from my Christmas tree! Berries also look lovely. Heck, I’ve stuck a pine cone or two on the platter for presentation, so you go crazy and make it as festive as you want!

Chocolate Yule Log Cake

A soft, flexible yule log cake from But First, Cookies!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Resting Time 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 6 eggs
• ¾ cup sugar granulated
• ⅔ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp flour all purpose

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400°
• Prepare a 14"x19" pan by placing parchment on the bottom of the pan and coating the parchment with butter or baking cooking spray (not generic Pam spray)
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add in the sugar and beat again (about 5 minutes). Egg mixture should hold soft peaks.
• Add half of the dry mixture to the egg/sugar mixture, mixing until just combined. Add the 2nd half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, using a silicone spatula to gently press the batter into the corners. Bake for 10-12 minutes, cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when gently pressed with a fingertip.
• Place a clean kitchen towel dusted with confectioner's sugar on top of the hot cake and another baking pan on top of the towel. Invert the stack onto a counte rtop. Slide the towel and cake off the 2nd pan and gently roll the cake up with the towel. Allow to cool 15 minutes on the counter top.
• Gently unroll cake, remove towel, and fill with the peppermint frosting, re-roll the cake and refrigerate for 2 hours. Frost the outside with chocolate buttercream and decorate as desired.

Keyword cake, chocolate, yule log

And there you have it! A yule log to be proud of, and to share with anyone lucky enough to know you! Make sure to let me know what you think and feel free to ask me any questions you might have in the comments. See you in 2020, bakers!