Bûche de Noël

Making this bûche de Noël is not for the faint of heart. It has four elements: chocolate sponge cake and a rich chestnut mousse filling for the Yule log base, silky dark chocolate buttercream for the bark, and meringue mushrooms to complete the look. It’s the Everest of Christmas desserts, but worth it if you’re a passionate project baker and looking to claim bragging rights this holiday season.

You need to be strategic about your prep time, especially if it’s your first time making such an elaborate dessert. As cookbook author and certified bûche de Noël aficionado Claire Saffitz explains: “space the baking and decorating over several days. The mushrooms can be made 3 days ahead, the buttercream 2 days ahead, the roll 1 day ahead.” Then, all you have to do is garnish it with a dusting of freshly fallen snow (i.e., powdered sugar) before serving on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or whenever you plan to celebrate.

Note that this recipe uses a half-sheet pan to bake the cake, not a jelly roll pan, which is traditionally smaller in size. This does two things: Gives you a larger cake to share with more people, and saves you from buying another piece of equipment. (You’re welcome.)

Rolling is the hardest part of making a Yule log cake, but a little oil helps to keep the sponge cake pliable even when cool. If this is the part where you can feel yourself getting stressed, follow Claire’s step-by-step tutorial and know that you can make this into a simpler Swiss roll cake with a whipped cream filling and a drizzle of melted chocolate ganache—or garnish with sugared cranberries (like the ones in this cranberry pie recipe), and it will still impress. Note: If you’re using whipped cream, don’t assemble your cake more than an hour in advance.