The Best Yule Log Recipes for Your Holiday Table

The Yule Log cake recipe (or Bûche de Noël) is one of the most iconic desserts of the Yule and Christmas season inspired by the old European tradition of burning a Yule log at midwinter. The historical Yule log was a medieval Christmas custom, and modern pagans honor it today as a Yule symbol of those winter fires and the return of the light at the Winter Solstice.

Exactly who created the first Yule Log cake is still debated, but sources agree it came from 19th century French pastry chefs. Some sources credit an apprentice pâtissier in Paris in the 1830s, others point to a chocolatier in Lyon in the 1860s, and chef Pierre Lacam published the first “Christmas log” recipe in 1898 in his book Le Mémorial historique et géographique de la pâtisserie, and attributed to the creation of Antoine Charabot at La Maison Quillet bakery.

No matter who created it, the Bûche de Noël quickly became a holiday favorite and bakers have been reinventing it ever since.

Today’s Yule Log recipes range from classic chocolate sponges with buttercream bark to red velvet rolls, mascarpone-filled logs, glossy ganache versions, and even ice-cream Yule logs for a no-bake option. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Yule, or just want a show-stopping winter dessert for your Yule party, these Yule Log cake recipes offer something for every taste and skill level.

Enjoy them as the finale for your Yule feast (here’s 50 recipes for Yule if you need those too).

1. Chocolate Yule Log with Mascarpone and Sugared Cranberries

This Yule Log cake keeps things classic. It has a chocolate sponge cake made with cocoa, cake flour, eggs, oil, and vanilla that gives you a moist, tender cake base. The filling is made with creamy mascarpone mixed with whipped heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla and a touch of cocoa. For a finishing holiday touch, you can top the log with sugared cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.
Get the recipe from I Heart Naptime

2. Red Velvet Yule Log with White Chocolate Peppermint Frosting

This festive Yule Log is a brilliant, modern departure from the classic, built around a vibrant Red Velvet sponge. Instead of cream cheese frosting, the cake is filled and covered with a white chocolate and peppermint buttercream frosting, giving it a bright, snowy look and minty holiday flavor. It’s finished with a generous sprinkle of crushed candy canes on top.
Get the recipe from Platter Talk

3. Classic Bûche de Noël

This take on the Yule log builds on a light, airy chocolate sponge that’ filled with a whipped-cream (plus a touch of condensed milk for richness). For the exterior, this log uses a dark chocolate ganache frosting, spread smoothly and grooved to mimic wood bark. To give it more of a found-in-the forest look, add meringue mushrooms.
Recipe at Baking Like a Chef

4. Storybook Bûche de Noël

This Yule log cake recipe uses a classic chocolate sponge paired with a smooth chocolate ganache exterior and chocolate filling (or chocolate mousse). But what makes this version extra special are the handcrafted meringue mushrooms piped from whipped egg whites.

Once baked, the tiny meringue stems and caps are glued together with melted chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder to mimic woodland mushrooms, that when added to the cake, turn it into a rustic centerpiece.
Get the recipe at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

5. Ice Cream Yule Log Cake with Chocolate Ganache

This version of the Yule Log swaps the usual sponge for layers of ice cream, making it a frozen dessert rather than a traditional cake. The ice cream layers are assembled in a loaf pan and then frozen solid. Instead of buttercream or whipped-cream frosting, the log is finished with a rich chocolate ganache poured over the frozen ice-cream base.
Get the recipe from The Dinner Bell

6. Chocolate Hazelnut Bûche de Noël

This Yule log by Sally’s Baking starts with a light cocoa sponge that is filled with a cocoa-hazelnut whipped cream. What really sets this one apart, though, is the chocolate ganache coating and the festive finishing touches. The outside is spread with ganache, textured with a fork to resemble bark, then decorated with meringue mushrooms, sugared cranberries, and rosemary sprigs. The result is a rustic, forest-log look that makes it feel like a holiday centerpiece.
Get the recipe at Sally’s Baking

7. Ice Cream Yule Log (Bûche de Noël Glacée)

Rather than a sponge-cake base, this version swaps in a creamy chestnut-vanilla ice cream (optionally spiked with orange-curd or candied chestnut/peel filling). To make it, you’ll fill a loaf tin, layering ice cream with chopped candied chestnuts and citrus partway through, then top with more ice cream and freeze. For the finish, there’s an optional meringue coating.
Get the recipe from Mad About Macarons

8. Chocolate Mascarpone Yule Log Cake

This Yule log stands out for its filling: instead of a typical buttercream or plain whipped-cream cream, the log is filled with a mascarpone and whipped cream mixture combined with a dollop of sour-cherry jam. The latter adds a bright, slightly tangy burst that balances the deep chocolate sponge. The exterior is finished with a dark chocolate ganache glaze and chocolate shards that gives the surface a smooth, rich, bark-like finish.
Get the recipe from Chef’s Pencil

9. Classic Chocolate Yule Log Cake

This version of the Yule Log cake begins with a light, airy genoise-style sponge. The batter folds together eggs, cocoa powder, a bit of cornstarch for softness, flour, sugar, and instant coffee if you want to add it. Once the cake has been baked, rolled and cooled, you’ll add a cream cheese filling.

The cake’s frosting is the same as the filling, but with cocoa added. The final step is to slather that frosting over the outside of the log, then use a fork to texture it so it resembles bark. For a classic touch, you can slice a small wedge off one end, attach it to the “trunk,” and let it serve as a branch to give the cake the full “log” appearance.
Get the recipe from Platter Talk

10. Chocolate Yule Log with Brandy Crème Fraîche

This Yule log cake swaps the usual buttercream or heavy filling for a lighter, more grown-up interior: crème fraîche spiked with a splash of brandy. The sponge is a straightforward cocoa-based roll that lets the richness of the filling shine rather than overpowering it. On the outside, the log is coated with a smooth chocolate frosting. It’s enough to evoke that “bark” texture when you score it with a fork or a corn on the cob holder as the Rachel recommends.
Get the recipe from Rachel Phipps