Mary Berry’s yule log
Yule log is a traditional Christmas dessert and a spectacular festive centrepiece. It’s surprisingly easy to do making it perfect for getting kids involved in the kitchen.
Yule log is a delicious traditional Christmas dessert. It makes the perfect festive centrepiece for any Christmas celebration. Don’t be put off thinking it’s too difficult, as it’s surprisingly easy.
There are different ways of making a Yule log but I like this Mary Berry Yule log because its just made from a simple chocolate Swiss roll with a ganache topping and a bit of decoration.
Some recipes are close to a meringue roulade and involve separating eggs. Not only does that become harder for children but there’s more that can go wrong which you don’t necessarily want at Christmas time.
If you’re not a fan of Christmas cake or Christmas pudding, this ‘buche de Noel’ is an equally festive dessert that’s always a hit with the kids. It’s perfect for chocolate lovers.
What is in Mary Berry’s Yule log?
This Yule log from Mary Berry, is simply a chocolate Swiss roll filled with cream, decorated with a delicious chocolate ganache.
How can kids help make Mary Berry’s Yule log?
This Yule log is a fun recipe for kids to help make at Christmas time. My kids enjoyed measuring and mixing everything together to make the chocolate sponge and the ganache.
You need a fairly light touch when mixing in the flour and cocoa powder and when rolling up the Swiss roll. So these steps might not be for very young children or those who might be a bit too heavy handed.
The best bit for kids to help with is decorating the Yule log. Adding the ganache and making it look like a ‘log’ is a fun activity. The ganache is quite forgiving so even young children should enjoy helping with this.
Tips for making the Yule log
Make sure to whisk the eggs and caster sugar together for long enough. We did it for about 5 minutes. The lightness of the sponge comes from the air you put into the eggs/sugar so don’t cut this time short.
When you add your flour and cocoa, make sure you scrape down the sides and base of your bowl otherwise you’ll end up with unmixed in flour/cocoa.
Cover your baking paper with caster sugar before you turn the baked Swiss roll sponge out on to it. If you don’t your sponge will likely stick to the baking paper, and won’t roll unroll to let you add the cream.
Leave your ganache to set in the fridge for about half an hour or so. You want it to have firmed up a little, but not to the point where it’s turning solid otherwise it will be difficult to add to your Swiss roll.
How long does a Yule log last?
A Yule log should keep in the fridge for a few days so you can make it ahead of time. As it is filled with cream, it won’t keep at room temperature.
To store it, pop it in the fridge and cover it with foil or cling film. Dust it with icing sugar just before you serve it.
Other Christmas desserts
If you liked this yule log you’ll love some of our other easy festive desserts:
No bake orange cheesecake
No bake berry cheesecake
Chocolate roulade
Christmas pavlova wreath
Chocolate pavlova
Mary Berry pavlova
Peach trifle
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this Yule log:
Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Hand held mixer
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Swiss roll tin
Sieve
Serving plate
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Difficulty: A wee bit harder
Time: 30 minutes + 10 minutes baking + 10 minutes icing
Serves: 8
Ingredients
For the sponge
4 eggs, large
100g (½ cup) caster sugar
65g (½ cup) self raising flour*
40g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
For the filling
300ml (1 ¼ cup) double or heavy cream
For the chocolate ganache
300ml (1 ¼ cup) double or heavy cream
300g (1 ¾ cup) dark chocolate (35% cocoa solids minimum)
* If you don’t have self raising flour, use ½ cup of plain or all-purpose flour with ½ tsp of baking powder.
How to make Mary Berry’s Yule log
Preheat the oven to 200C / 180C Fan / 400F and grease and line a Swiss roll tin.
When you are lining your tin with baking / parchment paper, snip the corners of your paper so that it sits nice and neatly in the corners.
Whisk the eggs and sugar
Get your kids to crack the eggs into a small bowl then put them in a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.
It’s best to do them in a small bowl just in case any shell goes in. If it does, simply use a larger piece of shell to fish it out. Shell sticks to shell better than it does your finger.
Measure the caster sugar then add it to your mixing bowl.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together using the whisk attachment of your free-standing mixer or a hand held whisk.
Do this for a few minutes until the mixture is pale and frothy. You want to make sure there is a lot of air in this mixture. It’s ready when, if you remove your whisk it leaves a trail or ‘ribbon’ in the mixture that doesn’t disappear straight away.
Add the flour and cocoa powder
Get your kids to measure out the flour and cocoa powder then sieve them into the frothy egg/sugar mixture.
Very gently, with a spatula or metal spoon fold the flour and cocoa powder into the eggs/sugar. Make sure you scrape all the flour/cocoa from the bottom of your bowl.
If you have young children and you’re worried they might be a bit too heavy handed, you might need to do this yourself so you don’t knock too much air out.
Bake the Yule log
Pour your mixture into your prepared tin and tip it so the cake batter fills every corner.
Bake it in the oven for 8-10 minutes. It’s ready when it has risen up and feels a little firm if you touch the top. The sides should also be coming away from the sides of the tin.
While your Swiss roll is baking, put a sheet of baking/parchment paper down on your work top. Make sure it is larger than your sponge.
Dust the baking paper with caster sugar. Be quite liberal with it as this will stop your sponge sticking later. Mary Berry’s original Yule log recipe says to use icing sugar, but when we tried this we found the sponge still stuck to the baking paper.
When your sponge is ready, remove it from the oven and flip it on to your prepared baking paper. Remove the tin and carefully peel the baking/parchment paper off the bottom.
Score a line along one long side of your sponge about 2cm (1 inch) in from the edge. Now roll your sponge up with the baking paper. Leave it to cool. If you roll up from the long edge you’ll have a longer thinner yule log, but if you want a shorter, fatter one you can roll it up from the short edge.
Make the ganache
Pour the cream into a pan and gently heat it up. Keep heating it gently until it is warm but not hot. You should be able to put your finger in it without it burning (don’t let your kids try this without checking first!)
While the cream is heating, break or cut up the chocolate into pieces.
When the cream is warmed, remove it from the heat and add the chocolate. Give it a stir until the chocolate has melted and your mixture is smooth and glossy.
Put the ganache in a bowl and leave it to cool, then put it in the fridge to cool. As it cools it will thicken and you want it to be nice and thick (but not solid) so you can add it to the top of your Yule log.
Form the Yule log
Start by getting your kids to whip the cream until it is thick enough to hold it’s shape.
Unroll the Yule log then get your kids to spread the cream into the middle, leaving a little gap around the edges.
Re-roll the Swiss roll and lay it on your serving plate with the cut side down.
Cut the end of the roll off on a diagonal, from about a quarter of the way along. Arrange that on the side of the remaining long sponge to form your log.
Add the ganache
You can pipe the ganache on with a large star shaped nozzle, but we found it easier to use a palette knife to spread it on.
If you like, you can give your kids a fork or skewer and get them to gently add some ripples.
Dust with some icing sugar.
Serve and enjoy.
Mary Berry's Yule log
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Freestanding mixer
- Mixing bowl
- Hand held mixer
- Measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Swiss roll tin
- Sieve
- Serving plate
Ingredients
- 4 eggs large
- 100 g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 65 g (½ cup) self raising flour*
- 40 g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
For the filling
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cup) double or heavy cream
For the chocolate ganache
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cup) double or heavy cream
- 300 g (1 ¾ cup) dark chocolate (35% cocoa solids minimum)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200C / 180C Fan / 400F and grease and line a Swiss roll tin.
Whisk the eggs and sugar
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl then put them in a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer along with the caster sugar.
- Whisk them together for a few minutes until the mixture is pale and frothy. You want to make sure there is a lot of air in this mixture. It's ready when, if you remove your whisk it leaves a trail or 'ribbon' in the mixture that doesn't disappear straight away.
Add the flour and cocoa powder
- Measure out the flour and cocoa powder then sieve them into the frothy egg/sugar mixture.
- Very gently, with a spatula or metal spoon fold the flour and cocoa powder into the eggs/sugar. Make sure you scrape all the flour/cocoa from the bottom of your bowl.
Bake the Yule log
- Pour your mixture into your prepared tin and tip it so the cake batter fills every corner.
- Bake it in the oven for 8-10 minutes. It's ready when it has risen up and feels a little firm if you touch the top. The sides should also be coming away from the sides of the tin.
- While your Swiss roll is baking, put a sheet of baking/parchment paper down on your work top. Make sure it is larger than your sponge. Dust the baking paper with caster sugar.
- When your sponge is ready, remove it from the oven and flip it on to your prepared baking paper. Remove the tin and carefully peel the baking/parchment paper off the bottom.
- Score a line along one long side of your sponge about 2cm (1 inch) in from the edge. Now roll your sponge up with the baking paper. Leave it to cool.
Make the ganache
- Pour the cream into a pan and gently heat it up. Keep heating it gently until it is warm but not hot. While the cream is heating, break or cut up the chocolate into pieces. When the cream is warmed, remove it from the heat and add the chocolate. Give it a stir until the chocolate has melted and your mixture is smooth and glossy.
- Put the ganache in a bowl and leave it to cool, then put it in the fridge to cool and thicken.
Form the Yule log
- Whip the cream until it is thick enough to hold it's shape. Unroll the Yule log then spread the cream into the middle, leaving a little gap around the edges. Re-roll the Swiss roll and lay it on your serving plate with the cut side down.
- Cut the end of the roll off on a diagonal, from about a quarter of the way along. Arrange that on the side of the remaining long sponge to form your log.
Add the ganache
- Spread the ganache onto your yule log with a palatte knife or a piping bag with a large star shaped nozzle. If you like, use a fork or skewer to gently add some texture.
- Dust with some icing sugar.
Notes
Pin Mary Berry’s Yule log for later:
Similar recipes
If you liked Mary Berry’s yule log, check out our other favourite festive recipes for kids including our:
Christmas reindeer brownies
Gingerbread men
Gingerbread house
Lebkuchen
Stained glass window biscuits
Christmas sugar cookies
The recipe for Mary Berry’s yule log was first published in December 2016 and updated in November 2020.
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
Such a lovely simple recipe, but you know it’s going to taste good! Eb 🙂
cookingwithmykids says
Thanks, yes it tastes delicious!
Julie McPherson says
Oh yum, who doesn’t love a chocolate yule log? I’m planning on make one this year too. Commenting as BritMums Baking Round-up Editor.