Butterscotch yule log: A retro Christmas dessert recipe from the 60s - Click Americana (2024)

FAQs

What is the history of the Yule log dessert? ›

The Yule log was originally part of Celtic culture. During the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year – the Celts would keep a wooden log burning throughout the night to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. The first rolled, log-shaped cakes appeared in France in the late 19^th century.

Yule log cake, or bûche de Noël, is a Christmas cake with a ritualistic past. Cleverly shaped and decorated to look like a 3-D log, the cake represents a melding of ancient midwinter traditions: one that celebrated the end of winter, and another honoring the Norse god Thor.

The most common combination is basic yellow sponge cake and chocolate buttercream, though many variations that include chocolate cake, ganache, and icings flavored with espresso or liqueurs exist.

The cake is designed to resemble a Yule log, drawing inspiration from the traditional Yule log that was burned in the fireplace as part of winter solstice celebrations. The cake is widely seen around Christmas time in the United States, United Kingdom, Cambodia, Scandinavia, Portugal, and Spain, among other places.

For Christians, the Yule log took on a symbolic role, representing the stable's warmth where the Infant Christ was born. The Yule log's symbolism is weaved into diverse cultural practices. In England, oak is the wood of choice for the Yule log, while Scotland prefers birch.

The Dessert

The cake usually consists of yellow sponge cake with chocolate buttercream in a spiral fashion, though many variants of the traditional recipe are used today. The frosting is often scraped to give it a bark-like texture to resemble the traditional Yule practice.

Is this the same as a swiss roll? The main difference between the two cakes is the way the cakes are decorated. The Yule log cake, or buche de noel, is made to look like the logs burned on Christmas eve, whereas the exterior of a swiss roll is decorated much more simply, such as with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, and subsequently North America.

The tale of the Christmas Yule log was born in the faraway lands of Norway. Deriving from the Norse word, “Hweol,” meaning wheel, the Norse people would use the Yule log to celebrate the sun's return during the winter solstice.

Many of us have heard of celebrating with Yule logs during the Christmas season, and French families enjoy the tradition in the form of a delicious bûche de Noël. Traditionally, a bûche de Noël, which literally means “Christmas log” in French, is a sponge cake and buttercream roulade that is modeled after the Yule log.

What country is Yule log from? ›

While the French bûche de Noël is a yule-log-shaped Christmas cake now commonly found on holiday tables across the United States, the origins of the yule log tradition go back centuries to Scandinavia. For centuries, celebrants observed Yule, a festival commemorating the winter solstice.

The longest yule log measured 1,136.36 m (3728 ft 2.52 in) long and was created by Club Ashtarout Mayfouk, in Mayfouk, Lebanon, on 21 December 2018. The attempt happened to celebrate the Christmas season in a different way.

While the French bûche de Noël is a yule-log-shaped Christmas cake now commonly found on holiday tables across the United States, the origins of the yule log tradition go back centuries to Scandinavia. For centuries, celebrants observed Yule, a festival commemorating the winter solstice.

Christmas pudding may be Britain's best-known festive dessert, but in France, the bûche de Noël — or yule log — reigns supreme, with skilled pâtissiers and home bakers creating an array of different versions, from the classic to the outré.

This traditional Christmas cake originated in France during medieval times to honor the burning of the Yule log, a giant and heavy log that was placed in the hearth and not allowed to ever burn out completely. Families would take little pieces of the remaining log to bring them luck and prosperity in the year ahead.