It wouldn't be Christmas without a deliciously festive dessert and this Vegan Yule Log Cake is perfect to serve up for your Christmas guests!
It is created with a simple vegan chocolate sponge cake base, topped with a chocolate ganache and decorated with dark chocolate bark to get that stunning yule log look.
You can easily decorate this vegan dessert to your liking, using vegan chocolate or buttercream and even sprinkles, nuts or marzipan and slice the chocolate log to serve, making it perfect for sharing during the holiday season!
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What is a Yule Log?
Traditionally, a yule log is a specially selected wooden log that is then burnt on a hearth in celebration of the return of the sun at winter solstice and its origin lies in Norway. It is often also called a 'Christmas block' or a 'Yule clog'.
The word 'yule' comes from the Norse word 'hweol' which means 'wheel'. The ancient Norse believed that the sun was a wheel of fire that rolled towards and then away from the earth, giving the yule log tradition its name.
Nowadays, when it comes to baking, a yule log cake is a traditional Christmas dessert that is especially popular in France, Switzerland, UK, Belgium and Canada. It is named after the Norse yule log as its look and shape resembles a wooden log and it's traditionally enjoyed around Christmas time.
Other names for this festive dessert are Swiss roll and Bûche de Noël.
What is a Yule Log made of?
A yule log is traditionally created with a rectangular sponge cake which is then topped with a creamy filling and rolled into a log. It is then coated and decorated with chocolate ganache or buttercream and sliced to serve.
Ingredients
Here's everything you need for this recipe:
- Flour - I like to use all purpose flour for the vegan sponge cake base. If you're in the UK, look for plain flour.
- Almond flour - for a slightly nutty flavor of the chocolate sponge cake
- Sugar - I used caster sugar for the sponge cake and confectioner's sugar (icing sugar) for the chocolate ganache filling
- Baking soda - this gives the sponge cake the perfect fluffy rise.
- Vegan chocolate - you can use dark chocolate or a vegan chocolate that resembles milk chocolate. I personally love to use a milk alternative chocolate inside the vegan yule log and dark chocolate for the outside. Using chocolate instead of cocoa powder will give the yule log a rich chocolate flavor overall.
- Aquafaba - Aquafaba is the liquid of a can of chickpeas. For this recipe, we're using aquafaba to replace eggs and give us a fluffy vegan sponge cake. Make sure to use unsalted chickpeas.
- Milk - I mostly use soya milk in my baking, but you can use your plant milk of choice, such as almond milk, oat milk or coconut milk.
- Espresso - a shot of espresso helps balance the chocolate flavors of the entire yule log.
- Oil - I used vegetable oil. Make sure the oil you're using is flavor neutral and intended for baking.
- Vegan cream - for the chocolate ganache, I use used vegan Elmlea Double Cream which is the equivalent to heavy cream in the US.
- Vanilla - I used liquid vanilla extract for the flavor of the chocolate ganache.
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.
Equipment
Here's everything you need for this recipe:
- large mixing bowl / large bowl
- medium bowl
- large sieve
- electric hand mixer / electric whisk
- parchment paper
- Swiss roll tin - I like to use a silicone mat as it's so much easier to remove the cake without cracking. Alternatively, you could use a sheet pan.
- baking tray
- cooling rack
Instructions (Step-by-Step)
Here are all the steps for making this chocolate yule cake a success:
Sift all the dry ingredients for the sponge cake into a bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine melted vegan chocolate, aquafaba, plant milk, espresso and vegetable oil.
Combine dry and wet ingredients with a whisk.
Make sure it's mixed well and no lumps are left.
Pour the batter into the swiss roll tin on a baking tray and spread evenly into all corners. Then bake in the preheated oven at 350°F at for 8-9 minutes.
Allow for the cake to cool down to room temperature on a cooling rack, then carefully remove it from the swiss roll tin.
Top tip
To prevent your cake from cracking when you roll it, try rolling it into a clean tea towel whilst it's still warm and let it cool down rolled up.
In the meantime, prepare the filling by mixing melted chocolate and vegan cream.
Sprinkle in the confectioner's sugar and mix until combined.
Whip with an electric hand mixer for 5-8 minutes or until the mix becomes, smooth, lighter in color and a little bigger in volume.
Spread the chocolate cream filling crossed the cooled sponge cake.
Carefully roll up the yule log, make sure it is rolled tightly, but be gentle to not crack the outside.
Firmly wrap the Christmas log in parchment paper and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Once set, remove the parchment paper and cut 1 inch from the end of the yule log.
Place it onto the side of the log to create a more realistic wooden log shape.
Use a piping bag to coat the roll cake in vegan chocolate ganache.
Attach chocolate bark (find out how to make it below!) and other decorations of your choice.
To finish off, decorate with sprinkles, holly and dust the top of the cake with icing sugar to make it look like a snowy winter log.
Serving
To serve, slice the yule log into portion sized by using a sharp knife and serve the piece of yule log on its own or with a side of vegan whipped cream.
Storage
Store your chocolate log in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze individual slices: to save space in your freezer, simply wrap them in plastic wrap and place them into a freezer container until solid.
How to make vegan chocolate bark
The chocolate bark is optional for decorating, but it gives your vegan Yule log a fantastic look that will simply be a stunner at Christmas dinner.
To create the chocolate bark, all you need is vegan chocolate. I like to use dark chocolate for my vegan bark as it creates the best wooden log look.
Here's how you make it:
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave, then spread it thinly across a sheet of parchment paper.
Carefully roll up the parchment paper, leaving about 1 inch of space on the inside.
Once rolled up entirely, transfer it to the fridge for 15 minutes.
When the chocolate is set, you can firmly unroll the parchment paper, letting the chocolate crack into pieces. Try to touch the chocolate as little as possible to prevent it melting.
You can carefully snap the bark into smaller pieces and use them for your Yule log decorations!
Substitutions
In case you don't have everything to hand, here a few ideas and notes for possible substitutions:
- Almond flour - I love adding a little almond flour to the cake batter, it gives it a subtle nutty note! If can replace it with the same amount of coconut or hazelnut flour or simply use all purpose flour.
- Sugar - you can replace the sugar with maple syrup or agave nectar by volume (⅓ cup in this case) and add 1 extra tablespoon of flour to the batter to balance the extra liquid.
- Vegan cream - instead of a heavy cream replacement, you can also use coconut cream.
- Vegan Chocolate - for a perfect chocolate flavor, I recommend using vegan chocolate in the sponge cake but if you have run out, you can replace it with a mix of cocoa powder, sugar and vegetable shortening. Refer to this conversion for the amounts.
- Espresso - you can simply leave it out or replace it with equal amounts of plant milk.
- Vegetable oil - replace with melted vegan butter or coconut oil.
Variations
If you want to shake things up, why not try taking this recipe to the next level:
- Coffee Liqueur - a delicious addition to the chocolate ganache filling, if you love coffee flavor and a little booze in your Christmas dessert. Add a shot of the coffee liqueur at the end of the whipping process to mix it into the ganache.
- White chocolate - this recipe works just as well with vegan white chocolate, so why not try something different?
- Chocolate piping - instead of decorating with chocolate bark, you can also use chocolate ganache only and pipe it with a large star nozzle to create a tree look.
Frequently Asked Questions
This might take a little bit of practice, but the best option would be to roll the cake in a clean tea towel as soon as you can whilst it's still warm, then allow it to cool down whilst rolled up.
Try to be as gently as you can whilst rolling firmly. If the cake still cracks lightly in a few places, don't worry - you can easily cover up the cracks with chocolate ganache and the chocolate bark decoration later.
Related Recipes
If you're looking for a delicious dessert for Christmas or Thanksgiving, check out these vegan dessert recipes:
📌 If you love Pinterest you can pin any of the images to your boards!
📖 Recipe Card
Vegan Yule Log (Bûche de Noël)
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 medium bowl
- 1 bain marie double boiler to melt chocolate
- 1 electric whisk
- 1 large sieve
- parchment paper
- 1 Swiss roll tin
- 1 baking tray
- 1 cooling rack
- 1 piping bag with star nozzle
Ingredients
For the vegan sponge cake:
- ¾ cups all purpose (180 g) plain flour
- 2 tablespoon almond flour
- ⅓ cup caster sugar (90 g)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda bicarbonate of soda
- ⅓ cup vegan chocolate (80 g, 2.8 oz) melted
- ⅓ cup aquafaba (85 ml) chickpea brine, unsalted
- ¼ cups plant milk (60 ml)
- 2 tablespoon espresso (30 ml)
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil (45 ml)
For the chocolate ganache filling:
- ⅔ cup vegan chocolate (160 g, 5.6 oz) melted
- ⅓ cup vegan whipping cream + 1 tablespoon (100 ml) I used vegan Elmlea double cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup confectioner's sugar (50 g) icing/powdered sugar
For the coating:
- ½ cup vegan chocolate (120 g) melted
- ¼ cup plant milk (60 ml)
- extra chocolate for the bark 100-200 g (3.5 oz - 7 oz)
Instructions
Create the chocolate sponge cake:
- Sift the flour, almond flour, salt and baking soda into a large mixing bowl. These are your dry ingredients.
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave, then mix in a medium bowl with the aquafaba, plant milk, espresso and vegetable oil. These are your wet ingredients.
- Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and pour the mix into the Swiss roll tin. If - like me - you're using a silicone Swiss roll tray, make sure to make it onto a firm baking tray first. Spread out evenly using a pallet knife or spatula.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 8-9 minutes and remove from the heat once the edges begin to brown slightly. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and whilst it's still warm, try to roll it in a clean tea towel so it can cool down in the log shape. This will help avoid cracks in the cake when rolling later on.
Prepare chocolate cream filling
- Whilst the cake cools down, prepare the vegan chocolate ganache filling. Melt the chocolate, then use a spatula to combine it with vegan cream and vanilla extract.
- Sift in the confectioner's sugar and place it in the fridge for 2 minutes.
- Use an electric whisk to to mix for 5-7 minutes or until soft, airy and lighter in color.
Filling & rolling the yule log
- Move the unrolled sponge cake onto a parchment paper and spread the ganache evenly on top of the sponge cake.
- Lifting the parchment paper, carefully and gently begin to roll up your yule log. Be as gentle as you can whilst rolling it firmly. Once rolled up all the way, wrap the log firmly in the parchment paper and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set.
Coating & decorating
- Melt the rest of the chocolate and mix it with plant milk until smooth.
- Transfer the mix to a piping bag and pipe it onto the log to evenly coat it. Press your chocolate bark onto the coating before it sets and decorate the yule log to your liking with vegan sprinkles and Co.
- To finish off, dust the entire log with icing sugar (optional).
Notes
- Serve - to serve, simply slice the yule log into portions using a sharp knife and serve on its own or with a little vegan whipped cream on the side.
- Swiss roll tin - I like to use a silicone mat as it's so much easier to remove the cake without cracking. Alternatively, you could use a lined sheet pan.
- Decoration - you can decorate the yule log with chocolate ganache or add chocolate bark, like me, to give your yule log an awesome wooden look. In addition, you can decorate with festive sprinkles, edible holly leaves and dust the entire log with icing sugar to make it look like it's in a Winter wonderland. Find out how to easily make your own chocolate bark in the blog post above (with step-by-step photos)
- Storage - Store your chocolate log in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Almond flour - I love adding a little almond flour to the cake batter, it gives it a subtle nutty note! If can replace it with the same amount of coconut or hazelnut flour or simply use all purpose flour.
- Vegan cream - instead of a heavy cream replacement, you can also use coconut cream.
- Sugar - you can replace the sugar with maple syrup or agave nectar by volume (⅓ cup in this case) and add 1 extra tablespoon of flour to the batter to balance the extra liquid.
- Vegan Chocolate - for a perfect chocolate flavor, I recommend using vegan chocolate in the sponge cake but if you have run out, you can replace it with a mix of cocoa powder, sugar and vegetable shortening. Refer to this conversion for the amounts.
- Espresso - you can simply leave it out or replace it with equal amounts of plant milk.
- Vegetable oil - replace with melted vegan butter or coconut oil.
- White chocolate - this recipe works just as well with vegan white chocolate, so why not give it a go!
- Coffee Liqueur is a delicious addition to the chocolate ganache filling if you love coffee flavor and a little booze in your Christmas dessert. Add a shot of the coffee liqueur at the end of the whipping process to mix it into the ganache.
More Vegan Christmas Desserts?
If you're looking for the ultimate list of vegan Christmas dessert ideas, have a look at this article with more than 60 vegan Christmas desserts!
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Alie
Hello! I'm interested in making this cake but don't entirely understand the directions. If you roll the cake up while it's still warm and let it cool this way, you would need to unroll it again to frost. Is this correct? It seems like that would increase the risk of cracking, but I've never made a roll cake before so idk. Thanks!
romylondonuk
Hi Alie! I'm only just getting through to your comment now - apologies for the delay, the weeks before Christmas, I always feel like I need to clone myself 10x 😉 Appreciate it's a little too late for the Christmas recipe now, but just in case anyone else reading through is wondering the same, I thought I'd still reply 🙂 The cake base is actually more likely to crack when rolling it up once the cake has cooled, so pre-rolling it whilst warm and letting it cool down like that actually prevents the worst. I admit it takes a bit of practise to get these log cakes done without any cracks at all - hence why I also include the chocolate coating and bark in this recipe. They make it easy to cover up any imperfections in the sponge cake. When I photographed this recipe, I actually had a few cracks myself (mostly cause I have zero patience and did it all too quick, oops!) but as you can see in the images, they're not visible at all 🙂