White Chocolate French Buche de Noel Recipe

White chocolate buche de noel recipe

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 14 servings
Yield: 1 cake

Classic yule logs comes in countless flavor combinations. This snowy looking bûche de Noël recipe hides layers of airy vanilla sponge hidden under thick, silky white chocolate buttercream frosting. Meringue mushrooms are the traditional choice for garnishing yule log cakes, but this particular dessert looks gorgeous surrounded with edible sprays of chocolate twigs, sugar-frosted cranberries, and a light dusting of confectioners' sugar "snow."

Ingredients

For the Sponge Cake:

  • 4 large eggs, room temperature

  • 2/3 cup sugar

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup cake flour

For the White Chocolate Buttercream:

  • 9 ounces white chocolate, chopped

  • 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

  • 3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Steps to Make It

Make the Cake

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Cake ingredients
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Butter a 10 x 15-inch baking pan with a 1-inch lip (jelly-roll pan) and line it with parchment paper.

    Baking tray
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  3. Butter the parchment or spray it with cooking spray. Set the pan aside.

  4. Beat the eggs for 5 minutes, until they turn thick and foamy.

    Eggs in mixing bowl
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  5. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and salt to the eggs and continue beating for 2 minutes.

    Add flour
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  6. Fold the flour, a few tablespoons at a time, into the whipped egg mixture.

    Fold in
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  7. Once the flour is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. Do not overmix or the cake will bake up into a tough texture.

    Put batter on tray
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  8. Gently spread the batter into the prepared pan. There will be peaks of batter; gently smooth over them, but do not press the batter down.

    Spread
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  9. Bake the cake for 10 minutes, until the cake is just set.

  10. Invert the baked cake onto a clean, dry kitchen towel and peel off the parchment paper.

    Turn cake out of pan
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  11. Wait 3 minutes and then gently roll the cake, still in the towel, starting at the 10-inch end. Allow it to cool completely.

    Roll cake
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Make the White Chocolate Buttercream

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    White chocolate buttercream
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  2. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler and allow the chocolate to cool.

    Melt white chocolate
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  3. Add the softened butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl and beat the mixture on medium speed until it becomes smooth and fluffy.

    Add softened butter
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  4. Switch the mixer speed to low and add the cream and vanilla.

    Mix
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  5. Beat the frosting on medium speed until it becomes fluffy again.

    Beat butter
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  6. Beat in the melted, cooled white chocolate.

    Add white chocolate
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Assemble the White Chocolate Yule Log

  1. Unroll the cake and set aside the towel.

    Rolled cake
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  2. Evenly spread 2 cups (or desired amount) of the white chocolate buttercream on the inside of the cake and following its natural curve, gently form it into a cake roll.

    Rolled cake
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  3. Cut off the ends of the cake roll on the diagonal and reattach them in the center of the cake with a bit of buttercream to fashion a “branch” coming off the main yule log.

    Cut off ends of cake
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  4. Spread the exterior of the bûche de Noël with enough white chocolate buttercream to cover it and gently pull a butter knife or small offset spatula through the frosting to give the appearance of rough tree bark.

    Frost
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  5. Add a Père Noël figure and meringue mushrooms to complete the festive look.

    Add decorations
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
  6. Chill the cake before serving it and refrigerate any leftovers.

    Chill cake
    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
501 Calories
29g Fat
58g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 14
Amount per serving
Calories 501
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 29g 37%
Saturated Fat 18g 88%
Cholesterol 116mg 39%
Sodium 117mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 58g 21%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 49g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 56mg 4%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 95mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)