This chocolate peppermint bark Yule log (traditionally known as a bûche de Noël) features a soft chocolate cake rolled with peppermint American buttercream and topped with whipped chocolate ganache frosting. Growing up in Switzerland, we always had a yule log for Christmas day, and little kid me would have loved this version with toadstools! It really is the perfect Christmas dessert!
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After making my peppermint bark cake and peppermint mocha cake, I knew I couldn't stop there. So, ta-da, a peppermint bark yule log!
Think of this as the peppermint version of a traditional bûche de Noël! Just like my black forest yule log, it has the soft and spongy chocolate Swiss roll, but it's filled with festive red and white stripes. I've even added little red meringue toadstools to make it extra Christmassy, but you could also decorate with actual peppermint bark or crushed candy canes.
This yule log can be a big project, but there are ways that you can split it up to make your life easier around the holidays.
Make Ahead of Time
I know how busy the holidays (and your kitchen!) can get this time of year. Here are a few ways you can make elements of this cake ahead of time:
- If you're going to decorate the cake with meringue mushrooms, you can make them up to 3 days ahead of time. Just store in an airtight container at room temperature. Note, meringue + humidity does not mix well!
- The chocolate Swiss roll can be made up to a day ahead of time. Keep it rolled up in the kitchen towel in the fridge. You can also fill the cake with the frosting and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- The peppermint buttercream can be made a day ahead of time. Store in an airtight container. You may need to rewhip it before filling the cake.
- The filled and frosted cake can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days. I recommend not decorating until ready to serve!
Grab Your Ingredients
- Eggs: You'll need to separate the egg whites from the egg yolks for this light and airy cake! We'll whip up the egg whites separately, which is going to make the cake more flexible and easier to roll.
- Cocoa Powder: I'm using Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- Peppermint Extract: Adding peppermint extract to the American buttercream will give us that peppermint bark flavor.
- Food Gel: For the fun candy cane stripes, I used Americolor in the shade 'Super Red'.
Chocolate Swiss Roll
Start by whipping up your egg whites while slowly adding ¼ cup of sugar, until you have stiff peaks. Take the whipped egg whites out into a separate bowl.
In the same mixer (no need to clean the bowl!) add the remaining wet ingredients (egg yolks, oil, vanilla, and remaining sugar) and whip until pale and thick.
Add the egg whites back in two additions, gently folding them in. Follow up by adding the dry ingredients in two additions.
Pour the cake batter into a greased and parchment-lined half sheet pan. While baking, dust a (clean!) kitchen towel with cocoa powder. We're going to use this to roll up the cake while it's still warm, to help train it to stay in a log shape.
Quickly and carefully flip the baked cake onto your kitchen towel. Peel off the parchment paper - make sure you do this slowly and gently! Roll up the cake with the tea towel inside and let cool completely.
Peppermint American Buttercream & Ganache
Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt. Pour in the heavy cream. Once you have the consistency you like, scoop out half of the frosting into a piping bag with a round tip. Add your red food gel to the other half, and mix until the frosting is red.
Place the red frosting in another piping bag. Gently unroll your completely cool cake. Pipe red and white stripes onto the cake. You want the stripes to go from long edge to long edge, not the short edge (see above for reference!).
Gently roll the cake back up, leaving out the kitchen towel, and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge.
Make your ganache (I've got a whole post on how to make whipped chocolate ganache!) and set it aside so it can firm up. Once ready to assemble, whip up with a handheld mixer. Decorate your cake with ganache and enjoy!
My Yule Log Baking Tips! 🎄
- Gently Fold Together. When adding the whipped egg whites and then the dry ingredients, make sure you fold everything very gently with a rubber spatula. We don't want to knock too much air out of the batter.
- Don't Overbake. This cake doesn't need much time in the oven; you'll know it's ready when you gently press on the cake and it springs back.
- Roll While Hot. Make sure to roll the cake up in a kitchen towel while it's still hot. It'll be easier to roll up with less chance of cracking.
- Dust with Cocoa Powder. I like to dust my kitchen towel with cocoa powder so it doesn't stick to it!
- Decorating. I've decorated this yule log with homemade meringue mushrooms and chopped pistachios (as moss!). You can also decorate with crushed candy canes, confectioners' sugar, cranberries, or rosemary sprigs!
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Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Chocolate Peppermint Bark Yule Log
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or Handheld Mixer
- Bowls
- Kitchen Scale
- 12x17-inch Baking Pan I used Nordic Ware half sheet pan
- Parchment Paper
- 2 Piping Bags
- Thin Kitchen Towel
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
Chocolate Swiss Roll
- 1 cup (120 grams) All Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup (25 grams) Dutch-Processed Cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 5 large Eggs separated and at room temperature
- ¾ cup (175 grams) Granulated Sugar
- 4 tablespoons (45 ml) Neutral Oil vegetable, sunflower, or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Cocoa Powder for dusting the kitchen towel
Peppermint Bark Filling
- 3 sticks (339 grams) Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ¾ teaspoon Peppermint Extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 6 cups (720 grams) Confectioners' Sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Heavy Cream
- Red Gel Food Coloring
Whipped Chocolate Ganache
- ¾ cup (170 ml) Heavy Cream
- 6 oz (170 grams) Semisweet Chocolate finely chopped
- pinch Kosher Salt
Instructions
Chocolate Swiss Roll
- Set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line a 12x17-inch baking pan with parchment paper. making sure the sides are well greased too.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.1 cup (120 grams) All Purpose Flour, ¼ cup (25 grams) Dutch-Processed Cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon Baking powder, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy. Slowly pour in ¼ cup of sugar. Beat until you have stiff peaks.5 large Eggs, ¾ cup (175 grams) Granulated Sugar
- Transfer to a separate medium bowl and set aside.
- Using the same mixer bowl (no need to wash it!), beat the remaining ½ cup sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, and oil together until the mixture is thick and pale on medium-high speed. We want this to get to the 'ribbon stage'. Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to lift up some of the batter, creating a figure-8 shape with the falling batter. If the batter sinks immediately, you need to continue mixing. If the figure-8 stays for a few seconds, then it's ready!5 large Eggs, ¾ cup (175 grams) Granulated Sugar, 4 tablespoons (45 ml) Neutral Oil, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Add half of the egg whites to the yolk mixture with a rubber spatula, gently folding until just combined. Repeat with the second half of the egg whites.
- Fold in half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then repeat once more. We don't want to knock too much air out of the cake batter.
- Spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan using an offset spatula. Gently tap the pan on your counter to remove air bubbles.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cake springs back lightly when touched.
- While baking, place a clean thin tea towel on the counter and dust it with cocoa powder. This will help the cake not stick to the tea towel. You can use parchment paper, but I've found that a kitchen towel works better!Cocoa Powder
- Once baked, carefully flip the hot cake onto the tea towel. Gently peel off the parchment paper (which is now on top).
- Starting from one of the short ends, gently roll the cake up with the towel inside. Roll slowly to avoid cracking the cake. You want to make sure the beginning of the roll is very tight so you get that nice roll effect when you slice into it.
- Let the rolled cake cool completely, seam side down. Feel free to place in the fridge to speed up this process. You can do this 1 day ahead of time!
- If you want to decorate with meringue mushrooms, I recommend doing that while the cake cools.
Peppermint Striped Filling
- Make your filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter with the confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy.3 sticks (339 grams) Unsalted Butter, 6 cups (720 grams) Confectioners' Sugar
- Add the peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix once more. I make sure to stop the mixer once in awhile and scrape the sides of the bowl, that way everything is getting well combined!1½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract, ¾ teaspoon Peppermint Extract, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Pour in the heavy cream and mix once more. At this point your frosting should be smooth and silky. If it's too thick, feel free to add more heavy cream a tablespoon at a time.¼ cup (60 ml) Heavy Cream
- Remove half of the frosting and place in a large piping bag with a round tip, or a snipped off tip.
- Add your red food gel to the remaining frosting and mix to combine. Depending on the brand of food gel, you may need more. I'm using Americolor Super Red.Red Gel Food Coloring
- Place the red frosting in a separate piping bag, also with the edge snipped off or a round tip.
- Once cooled, slowly unroll the cake. Pipe red and white stripes, going from long edge to long edge (see image above for reference). You might have a little bit of frosting left over! Gently roll the cake back up, this time leaving out the kitchen towel.
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
Chocolate Ganache
- When ready to decorate, make your whipped chocolate ganache. Chop up your chocolate and place it in a large bowl.6 oz (170 grams) Semisweet Chocolate
- Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave until it is simmering. Make sure it does not boil!¾ cup (170 ml) Heavy Cream
- Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Stir the chocolate and cream mixture with a rubber spatula until completely smooth, then stir in the salt.pinch Kosher Salt
- Let it sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours until set. Note, if you just want regular ganache and not whipped ganache, you can pour it over your cake once thickened and skip mixing it with an electric mixer.
- Once the ganache has set and is firm but still soft, use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer to whisk until light and fluffy.
Assemble & Decorate
- Use a small offset spatula or spoon to cover your chilled and rolled yule log with the whipped ganache. I like to use a fork to create lines that resemble bark! Decorate with meringue mushrooms, a dusting of confectioners' sugar, and some rosemary. Enjoy!
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Jen says
This recipe turned out good overall! My cake did crack but I think I overbaked it just a smidge. If you're piping on your whipped ganache, I found that I needed more, about 10 oz chocolate and cream each. Perfect amount of peppermint, though!