Dominique Ansel’s bûche de Noël is a Christmas dessert for the ages. The look and technique are as classic as they come, but the pastry chef riffs on the traditional French preparation with kirsch syrup and brandied cherries — infusing this chocolaty roll cake with the flavors of a German Black Forest gâteau.
This version is also a lighter dessert than many holiday yule logs: Ansel replaces the typical sponge cake with a flourless chocolate cake made with airy beaten egg whites, frosting it with whipped cream instead of buttercream. There’s no denying that this bûche de Noël is a big baking project, but the payoff is an exquisite holiday finale that guests will remember long into the new year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “bûche de Noël” mean?
The French “bûche de Noël” translates to “Yule log,” a special log traditionally burned around Christmas in France and other parts of Europe. This rolled cake, meant to resemble the log itself, is a French holiday baking tradition that dates back to the late 1800s. While it looks elaborate, the dessert traditionally consists of a simple, thin sponge cake spread with a thick layer of rich pastry cream and rolled up into a cylinder. From there, pastry chefs decorate the top as they like; classic decorations include chocolate shavings, marzipan leaves, and tiny meringue mushrooms.
What is kirsch?
Kirsch, also called kirschwasser, is a clear brandy made from sour cherries. (Kirsch means “cherry” in German, and kirschwasser is, literally, “cherry water.”) Kirsch is not sweet like cherry liqueurs; a double-distilled clear spirit, it can be 90 proof or higher. But it still has a subtle cherry aroma and taste, as well as notes of almond, the result of fermenting the cherry pits alongside the fruit itself.
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
One of the trickiest parts of making a bûche de Noël (or any roll cake) is the rolling. To prevent the cake from cracking, be sure to roll slowly and carefully using the parchment paper. Brushing the cake with the kirsch syrup before rolling should help it stay moist and pliable.
Once you’ve rolled up the cake, you can use a ruler to tighten it up: Wrap one end of the parchment paper up and over the log and fold under the cake, then place a ruler along that side of the log and pull the loose end of the parchment away from you. The ruler will keep the log in place as the paper tightens around it. If the cake has cracked by this point, it’s okay; refrigerating will help everything stay intact, and the final whipped-cream frosting and cocoa powder will hide any minor flaws.
Make ahead
To ease prep, you can make nearly all of the recipe components ahead of time. The kirsch simple syrup can be made long in advance, up to one month, if stored in the refrigerator (or one day in advance if stored at room temperature). The sponge cake can be baked and filled (but not frosted!) a day in advance and refrigerated overnight. Be sure to wait until just before serving to frost it with the whipped cream.