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

FAQs

What is the difference between a Yule log and a bûche de Noël? ›

The name bûche de Noël originally referred to the Yule log itself, and was transferred to the dessert after the custom had fallen out of popular use. References to it as bûche de Noël or, in English, Yule Log, can be found from at least the Edwardian era (for example, F. Vine, Saleable Shop Goods (1898 and later).

The Yule log cake is a rolled Genoise sponge cake, filled with buttercream and decorated with chocolate frosting or ganache, which is combed with a fork to create a bark-like texture. Woodsy decorations are a must.

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.

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.

While both desserts feature a thin layer of cake and fluffy filling rolled into a log, the difference between a yule log and a Swiss roll is how the two are decorated. Swiss rolls are typically kept plain while yule logs are cut, frosted, and adorned to look like, well, logs!

If you overbeat the batter or bake the cake too long, it could become dense, gummy, or dry — and thus more likely to crack. Our yule log recipe has 1/4 cup (25g) oil in it, which provided some helpful moisture.

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. Comments below may relate to previous holders of this record.

Pagan and Medieval Origins: The Yule log cake's history is closely tied to the tradition of burning an actual Yule log during the winter solstice, which was a pagan practice in many European cultures. The Yule log symbolized the year's turning point, with the sun's return and longer days.

It was believed that the larger the log you brought, the better your luck would be the following year. In some English towns, a small wish was made while the Yule log was burning. The belief was that if the log remained burning throughout the night your wish would come true.

yule log in British English

noun. 1. a large log of wood traditionally used as the foundation of a fire in the hearth at Christmas. 2. a chocolate-coated cylindrical sponge cake, eaten at Christmas.

What is another name for a Yule log? ›

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.

In the 1980s, a woman unmarried by 25 was dismissed as "Christmas cake" — thrown out on Dec. 26. These days the big number is 31, and women unmarried by that age are "New Year's Eve noodles," noodles being a typical New Year's Eve dish.

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.

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 Bûche de Noël — or, Christmas Log — is said to date back to around 1870, when a Parisian pastry maker was inspired by the Christmas eve ritual of burning a log in the fire (a tradition that can in turn be traced back to the winter solstice rituals of ancient Celts).

In French, the yule log is referred to as bûche de Noël, which in modern times became the Christmas cake that's now beloved across the globe. The chocolate roulade with cream filling is often decorated in meringue mushrooms or pistachio-nut "moss" and makes for an impressively festive centerpiece at holiday gatherings.

These bakers are creating a bûche de Noël, or Yule log. 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.