The Roots of the Yule Log Cake

The Roots of the Yule Log Cake

In France, the yule log cake, or “bûche de Noël” is a celebrated tradition in patisserie windows and on holiday tables across the country. But where did this strange tradition of making a cake in the shape of a log for Christmas come from?

Yule logs and Solstice celebrations can be traced back to pre-Christian traditions in Celtic Brittany when people celebrated the end of winter by lighting a log, marking the warmth of the sun and return of spring. In medieval France, a feudal tax was levied on peasants, called “the right of the log,” in which they had to bring a log to their lord’s manor.

Later, they brought the logs back to their own homes and memorialized the event with a ceremony. The burning of the Yuletide log to ward o literal and figurative darkness remained a tradition across Europe, but faded as hearths grew smaller into the late 19th century.

The first written recipe for bûche de Noël appeared in pastry chef Pierre Lacam’s cookbook Le Memorial Historique et Geographique de la Patisserie in 1898. Rail travel was bringing the Parisian middle-class to the countryside and they were falling in love with, well, nature. It is believed that the cake is a city slicker’s enchanted interpretation of the Yuletide tradition.

The cake itself is a roulade, or sponge (“biscuit” in French) cake rolled with chestnut or co ee buttercream, to form a spiral when you cut into it. It’s typically covered in more buttercream and then decorated simply with powdered sugar snow or more elaborately with meringue mushrooms and marzipan holly, and of course, its signature “bark” pattern scored into the frosting. The possibilities for fantasy bûches are endless!

Want to carry the tradition on to your holiday table?

Our bakery makes Yule log cakes — or try your hand at making one. They’re not di cult, but do take a little time. We’ve made an easy version using chocolate ganache frosting for the “bark” and a whipped cream nut butter filling. You can decorate as simply or fancy as you’d like — either way it will be a showstopper.

Check out the recipe on the next page for easy DIY Buche de Noel.

Don’t have the time? You’ll find beautiful and delicious bûches baked fresh at BriarPatch!