Tiramisu Yule Log Cake
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There’s nothing more impressive than bringing a log to Christmas dinner; a tiramisu yule log cake that is! I don’t believe I’ve ever intrigued my family more with a dessert than when I brought this over to my parents’. It’s one of those cakes that forces people do a double take, back up and admire the details.
This yule log (aka Bûche de Noël) is not a difficult cake to make, but there are a good number of steps involved. Lets just call it a labor of love :). No worries, I have pictures for every step of the way, as usual ;). The cool thing is, you can make every part of this cake ahead of time and assemble it later. I made the cake base and ganache 2 days in advance and left it at room temp which is totally fine.
If you’re pressed for time you can simplify it by omitting the decorative toppings and leaving it a classic chocolate-covered yule log, but because it’s Christmas, I find it’s worth it to add the pistachios for moss, oreo cookies for dirt and meringue mushrooms growing all over the place :).
Tools You’ll need:
15×21 rimmed baking sheet (aka three quarter sheet) – even if all you bake is cookies, this large baking sheet is awesome!
Parchment paper
Ingredients for the Yule Log Cake Roll:
6 large eggs, room temp
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour *measured correctly
Ingredients for Coffee Syrup
1 cup strong coffee, room temp or cold
1 Tbsp granulted sugar
Ingredients for Tiramisu Frosting:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, very cold
8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Ingredients for Toppings/ Decor:
1 Recipe Chocolate Ganache, cooled to room temp
1 Recipe Meringue mushrooms
1 Tbsp unsweetened Cocoa Powder for dusting finished cake
1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
6 oreo cookies, frosting removed
How to Make The Sponge Cake:
Prep: Preheat Oven to 400˚F. Line 15×21″ baking sheet with parchment.
1. In the bowl of your mixer (here’s the mixer I use), beat 6 eggs with whisk attachment on high speed 1 minute. With mixer on, gradually add 2/3 cup sugar and continue beating on high 5 minutes. Mixture will be thick and fluffy (very important since you’re relying on egg volume for the cake to rise)
2. Sift 1 cup flour in thirds into batter, folding with a spatula between each addition and scraping the bowl to ensure you don’t have pockets of flour hiding at the bottom. Drizzle in 1/2 tsp vanilla and gently mix just until blended (do not overmix or you will deflate the batter). Spread batter into prepared baking pan and bake right away at 400˚F approximately 12-14 minutes or until top is golden.
3. Remove from the oven and quickly loosen the edges with a thin spatula. Right away remove it from the baking sheet keeping the parchment backing on. Place a second sheet of parchment paper over the top and roll cake into a log, starting from the narrow end. Cool to room temp.
How to Assemble and Frost a Tiramisu Yule Log(Bûche de Noël):
1. Stir together 1 cup coffee and 1 Tbsp sugar until dissolved. Unroll cake, removing the backing as you go and lay it out on the large baking sheet. Brush top evenly with Coffee Syrup. Let sit to soak up the syrup while you make the frosting (recipe below).
2. Spread frosting evenly over the top of the cake then roll, somewhat tightly, into a log shape, rolling in the same direction as the first time you rolled it. Trim off both sides of the roll to make it presentable. Slice 1/4 of the cake off on the diagonal (about 45˚ angle). Transfer the larger log portion to your serving platter. Place this stump over the top of your log with the flat side down. Refrigerate cake until ready to frost with chocolate frosting.
3. Beat room temp. chocolate ganache on high speed for 45 seconds to 1 min or until fluffy (don’t over-beat or it may start looking a little grainy). Spread evenly over yule log, but don’t frost the sliced ends of the log (this icing spatula makes it easy!). Pull a fork across the entire surface of the log, making some spirals to add natural character. It helps to wipe the fork frequently with a papertowel as you go.
How to Decorate a Yule Log:
1. For effect: Dust the top with cocoa powder. You can also add sprigs of pine to look foresty.
2. For the dirt: remove cream from oreo cookies, then crush them in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Sprinkle crumbs at the base of the log.
3. For moss: finely chop pistacchios and sprinkle in patches on your log.
4. Just before serving, decorate with mushrooms as you please. Don’t refrigerate mushrooms or they will become sticky. Keep them in tupperware at room temp in a dry place until serving.
How to Make Tiramisu Frosting:
Tip: freeze or refrigerate mixing bowl and whisk 10-15 min prior to beating. The colder it is, the better it whips.
1. With whisk attachment, beat 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream on high speed until fluffy/stiff and spreadable (1 1/2 – 2 min). Don’t over-beat. Transfer to a bowl.
2. In the same bowl (no need to wash the bowl or whisk after the whipped cream), beat softened cream cheese and sugar on high speed until smooth and fluffy (2 min), scraping down the bowl as needed to prevent rebel clumps of cream cheese.
3. Use a spatula to fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until very well blended (refrigerate frosting if not using right away).
Tiramisu Yule Log Christmas Cake
Ingredients
Tools You'll need:
- 15 x21 rimmed baking sheet
- aka three quarter sheet - even if all you bake is cookies, this large baking sheet is awesome!
- Parchment paper
Ingredients for the Cake Roll:
- 6 large eggs, room temp
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Ingredients for Coffee Syrup:
- 1 cup strong coffee, room temp or cold
- 1 Tbsp granulted sugar
- Ingredients for Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, very cold
- 8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Ingredients for Topping/ Decorations:
- 1 Recipe Chocolate Ganache, cooled to room temp
- 1 Recipe Meringue mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened Cocoa Powder for dusting finished cake
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
- 6 Oreo cookies, frosting removed
Instructions
How to Make The Sponge Cake: (Prep: preheat Oven to 400˚F. Line 15x21" baking sheet with parchment)
- In the bowl of your mixer (here's the mixer I use), beat 6 eggs with whisk attachment on high speed 1 min. With mixer on, gradually add 2/3 cup sugar and continue beating on high 5 min. Mixture will be thick and fluffy (very important since you're relying on egg volume for the cake to rise)
- Sift 1 cup flour in thirds into batter, folding with a spatula between each addition and scraping the bowl to ensure you don't have pockets of flour hiding at the bottom. Drizzle in 1/2 tsp vanilla and gently mix just until blended (do not overmix or you will deflate the batter). Spread batter into prepared baking pan and bake right away at 400˚F approximately 12-14 minutes or until top is golden.
- Remove from the oven and quickly loosen the edges with a thin spatula. Right away remove it from the baking sheet keeping the parchment backing on. Place a second sheet of parchment paper over the top and roll cake into a log, starting from the narrow end. Cool cake to room temp.
How to Assemble and Frost a Tiramisu Yule Log:
- Stir together 1 cup coffee and 1 Tbsp sugar until dissolved. Unroll cake, removing the backing as you go and lay it out on the large baking sheet. Brush top evenly with Coffee Syrup and let sit while you make frosting (recipe below).
- Spread frosting evenly over top of cake then roll, somewhat tightly, into a log shape, rolling in the same direction as the first time you rolled it. Trim off both sides of the roll to make it presentable. Slice 1/4 of the cake off on the diagonal ( 45˚ angle). Transfer the larger log portion to your serving platter. Place this stump over the top of your log with the flat side down. Refrigerate cake until ready to frost with chocolate ganache frosting.
- Beat room temp chocolate ganache on high speed for 45 seconds to 1 min or until fluffy (don't over-beat or it may start looking a little grainy). Spread evenly over yule log, but don't frost the ends. Pull a fork across the entire surface of the log, making some spirals to add natural character. It helps to wipe the fork frequently with a paper towel as you go.
How to Decorate a Yule Log:
- For effect: Dust the top with cocoa powder. You can also add sprigs of pine.
- For the dirt: remove cream from Oreo cookies, then crush them in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Sprinkle crumbs at the base of the log.
- For moss: finely chop pistachios and sprinkle in patches on your log.
- Just before serving, decorate with mushrooms as you please. Don't refrigerate mushrooms or they will become sticky. Keep them in tupperware at room temp in a dry place until serving.
How to Make Tiramisu Frosting: Tip: freeze or refrigerate mixing bowl and whisk 10-15 min prior to beating. The colder it is, the better it whips.
- With whisk attachment, beat 1 1/2 cups heavy cream on high speed until fluffy/stiff and spreadable (1 1/2 - 2 min). Don’t over-beat. Transfer to a bowl.
- In the same bowl (no need to wash the bowl or whisk after the whipped cream), beat softened cream cheese and sugar on high speed until smooth and fluffy (2 min), scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Use a spatula to fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until very well blended (refrigerate frosting if not using right away).
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Merry merry Christmas my friends! If this cake graces your holiday table, do let me know! Thank you in advance for pinning and sharing this with the people you love :).
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Axious to try this! One tip that I use when making my pumpkin roll is to cut the parchment paper a little longer than the rimmed sheet pan so that a couple of inches on each end sticks up above the pan. This will enable you to just lift the cake right out of the pan by the excess parchment paper after running a knife along both long edges. Picking up all the ingredients on my next shopping trip!
Thank you for the tip, Ann! I hope you love this recipe!
How early should one assemble the cake ? I mean rolling it with the cream cheese filling and adding the choc ganache? Is it good to do it like 12-15 hours before serving so everything can soak up? Or better to do it just before serving?
Hi Dee! Yes, you’d want to do it earlier so it can have time to soak up the flavors and set a bit. Just don’t decorate with the mushrooms until before serving, they will not do well in the refrigerator.
I can’t wait for Christmas to make this again! I made it last year and it was a hit! So delicious and easy to make too… but that goes with all your recipes! Thanks!:))
Nice to know that you always make this cake, Nico. Enjoy!
Hi Natasha, can I make this cake with just the cream filling and freeze it in advance?
Hi Lena, Yes both, the sponge and the cake are freezer friendly so you can freeze. You could also refrigerate it if it’s only 2-4 days that you’re making it ahead.
I made this for Christmas. Mine was “goopier” than Natasha’s but probably because I used Neufchâtel cream cheese instead of regular. I also accidentally put in enough cream for a bigger portion of ganache but only the amount of chips for the regular batch. I realized my ganache was a bit runnier than I expected and so I used the rest of the chips which I heated with just a touch of cream and when melted, swirled it into the main portion of ganache. It worked! My decorating skills are not as refined as Natasha’s but the result was passable and impressive.
Love it!!First time I made it yesterday but no time to make the mushroom😩
Love all your recipes.Hope to send a copy of the log but this won’t let me😆
Thank you, Maria! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. You can always tag me on Instagram or Facebook #natashaskitchen
Hi I tried this recipe I feel the ratio is off when it comes to the cake batter It came out more like a crepe as opposed to cake. I think it might need more flour than just 1 cup I love this idea I wish there was a video to go along with it. I will try again with more flour next time
I’ve made this 3 years in a row and it’s fabulous! You have to beat the batter until it is very airy and fluffy, gently fold in the flour by hand so it does not loose any of it’s “fluff”. If done properly it comes out like lady fingers.
I’m so happy you love it. Merry Christmas!
I’d like to try this for Christmas this year, but I wish you had included a chocolate ganache recipe. Can you share what you use? Thanks!
Hi Lisa, I did. 🙂
It’s linked in the blog notes. If you click on “chocolate ganache” in red font, it is a link but I will attach the ganache recipe here.
Hi Natasha…I would really like to do this tiramisu yule log…can I have the metric measurements please? Thanks.
Hi Carmen, If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option on the printable recipe card. We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes, but it is taking some time to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
I made this recipe for the first time today. Following your steps exactly, it turned out great. The sponge batter filled the 15×21 sheet and ended up being about 3/8″ thick and rolled up nicely after baking for 11 minutes.
To make it a chocolate roll, would changing the 1 c. flour to 3/4 c. flour and 1/4 c. cocoa powder be a reasonable substitution?
I have found that the key to successful baking is to beat the eggs long enough.
Hi Roger! I’m so glad you loved this recipe.
I haven’t tested this with cocoa powder to advise how it would affect the textures. I think it could work but you’d have to experiment with it. Let us know how it turns out if you try. 🙂
The ratio of cocoa powder to flour that I mentioned worked out great. My wife has designated me to make this every year.
Hi Roger! That’s wonderful. Thank you for coming back and sharing your results. I appreciate the feedback and I’m sure many of my readers will as well.
Can I use smaller baking sheet? If half of the recipe what size do I use?
Hi Amy! Yes, you should be able to just fine, but you’ll have to experiment with it and watch it in the oven since it will bake faster. I haven’t tested different-size pans. You may find this cake pan conversion chart helpful.
Hi Natasha. Just wondering if I could use mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese. Thank you
Hi Katie! We prefer the flavor of cream cheese but the mascarpone would work as well.
This Yule Log looks absolutely fabulous!!! Can’t wait to try it for a Christmas party. I’ll definitely take some pics and tag you in it. Can I make the mushrooms 2 days before the event? Should I keep them at the room temperature at all times or should I put them in a cold room for couple of days.
Hi Laura! I’d love to see pictures when it’s complete. You can keep the cookies in an airtight container and store them for several days at room temp. Do not refrigerate. You do not want them exposed to any moisture.
My sister and I made this for Christmas. What a hit! We will be making this again. We added a little Khalua to the coffee and it was delightful.
Thank you for your recipes and your great videos! Please keep them coming.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Marta! This cake is so special at Christmas!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Your detailed instructions made this first undertaking easy. It turned out beautifully and the taste was fantastic! The reaction from my family made the whole effort worthwhile! I have one question, do you use the full one cup of coffee syrup? I stopped at 1/2 cup because I thought the cake seemed fragile, though there were no cracks and I had no problem rolling it up. I used 8 shots of espresso and enough Kahlua to get it up to the one cup mark so it had the coffee taste. I just wonder if it would be even better if I used the full cup? Thank you again!
I’m so happy you love this recipe and that it was a hit! I always recommend making the recipe as written the first time around before making alterations and substitutions.
People went nuts over this cake. I didn’t realize how good the ganache makes it taste. After the party, friendly fighting ensued over making sure everyone got even portions to take home, lol. I added a bit of rum into the syrup, and also made it 2 days ahead to give it time to moisten. I’m blown away by this recipe. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Natasha!
Merry Christmas, I’m happy to know that you enjoyed this cake!
I’m about to prepare this for the 3rd year in a row for Christmas. Everyone loves it! It’s so much fun making the mushrooms and decorating with pistachios and cocoa powder.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hi, is it okay to use wax paper for this instead of parchment?
Hi Victoria, I would not recommend wax paper – it would stick badly.
Hello! I’m a big fan! I would like to try this for the first time for our Christmas dinner but I don’t have a 15×21 oven tray. My oven tray is 13×15, so I need to adjust the ingredient quantities?
Hi Gena, you will either need to adjust, but it will make for a smaller yule log.
Hello Natasha…
I need the metric messure for this recipe please… Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and your family! x
Hi Ninis, If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option on the printable recipe card. We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes, but it is taking some time to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
Hi Natasha- I see that in the comments you’ve stated that this is a freezer-friendly cake. Do you mean just the biskvit, or the whole thing (syrup+cream) without the ganache/decor?
Thanks!
Hi Lena, Yes both, the sponge and the cake are freezer friendly. You could also refrigerate it if it’s only 2-4 days that you’re making it ahead.
Question: do you think I could exchange the cream cheese for mascarpone, or do a mix? I’m used to using it in my tiramisu so that is what is throwing me from trying this recipe. I’ve never made a Yule log before but after binging GBBO, I’m curious if it would be a texture/structure issue?
Hi Devon, we prefer the flavor of cream cheese but the mascarpone would work as well.
Hi Natasha, I don’t usually comment. I have not tried this recipe I definitely will. I wanted to tell you I follow all your recipes you were one of the greatest bloggers out there keep it up.
Following,
Rose B.
Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Rose! You’re so nice!
Hi
Can I add coffee extract for sponge cake ??
Hi, I have added vanilla before so it should work. I usually add flavor after it is baked.
Thanks for reply~ I made this twice and my family loved it!!
That’s so great!
Hi Natasha, made this cake over the weekend, it turned out absolutely stunning! It tasted absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing. My only issue was the batter did not spread enough in the pan and was thin at the edges. So it burnt at the edges. I was able to cut out the burnt edges and was still able to get a good roll. Is it okay to reduce the temperature to 350 instead of 400?
Hi Sreekala, I do recommend spreading it evenly all around. I’m curious if your oven is running hotter than normal and needs to be calibrated. If so, then you can try lowering the temp a bit. I would start with 25-degree increments and watching the timing closely.
Hi Natasha! I made this for Christmas day dessert this year and wow! the taste is out of this world. So delicious and once decorated, it looked fantastic! I had a bit of a problem with rolling the cake once I had added the coffee syrup and the cream cheese filling. It really just seemed to disintegrate. I had to use a smaller cookie sheet than recommended so wondering if that may have had something to do with it? Also, would you happen to have any tips on how to get the icing smooth and shiny like in your photos? I want to try this again next Christmas and want to perfect my technique 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe.
Hi Rae, I haven’t had that happen since a sponge cake normally is very good at taking on moisture and syrups without falling apart or getting soggy. I wonder if it was because a smaller pan was used which would result in a smaller sponge.
Thank you! I made this today for Christmas, but I omitted the chocolate ganache, and frosted it with stabilized whipped cream mixed with a little leftover filling and dusted with coca like traditional tiramisu. It was honestly the BEST cake I have ever eaten. I also omitted the sugar from the coffee and added a nip of spiced rum. Your instructions were easy and everything went exactly as you said. Best Christmas dessert EVER. Check out a picture at https://www.instagram.com/nespearson/
So nice to know! Thanks for sharing that with us, Nancy.
Hi Natasha. I made this for Christmas cake yesterday and it’s a huge success. My family loves it so much. Thank you and Merry Christmas.💕🎄
You’re welcome, Christina! Merry Christmas!
This recipe is absolutely awesome! I followed to the letter and no issues. The batter for the cake was the wildest thing ever! Like nothing I have made before. A must try for anyone who likes to learn different techniques!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review
Hello Natasha, I’m going to try the recipe it looks amazing, is it OK to double the recipe? Thx in advance
Hello Carla, I haven’t tested that to advise but I imagine that should be fine. Please share with us how it goes if you try it!
Where’s the video
Hi Alice, this recipe does not have a video at this time.
Made this for my son’s birthday. It was a hit! I substituted the coffee for hot chocolate since it was for children and it worked well.
This cake is so perfect for a kids birthday! Thank you for sharing that with me.
I had a problem with the sponge cake. I keep going over the recipe part for the sponge cake, and as far as I can tell I followed it to a tee and it was light and fluffy. I put it in the 15×21-inch parchment lined pan as directed, but it was such a small volume of batter that it barely filled the pan. It made about a 1/4 or less thick amount of batter when spread out in the pan. I baked it 12 minutes as directed, rolled, and cooled. And it came out wayyyyyy to thin and barely rose. It seems like the pan was way too big for the amount of batter. I can’t figure out what went wrong. I am going to remake the sponge cake, but am concerned of having the very same outcome, so I might use a different recipe for that portion of this recipe. Thanks for any insight or feedback.
Hi Sara, if you use all of the same amounts of ingredients with large eggs, and everything in the ingredients was the same, it sounds like maybe it needed to be beaten longer. The cake relies on the volume of the eggs to rise so beating adequately is critical. A stand mixer is the most efficient at whipping so if you are using an electric hand mixer, you would need to beat a few minutes longer. I hope that helps!
Hi there, I also am confused about how the eggs get enough volume if the whites aren’t beaten separately? My mixture also barely covered the bottom of the pan.
Hi Mary, it sounds like you under beat the eggs and sugar. Watch our video tutorial on this sponge cake base which should help.
Hi Natasha. I’m planning to make this for this years Christmas party and was wondering if I want it more authentic when or where do I add the rum?
Hi Victoria, you sure can, my go-to favorite syrup is:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup warm water
3 Tbsp rum – I used Bacardi golden rum (it is optional, but adds great flavor)
I was thinking of adding rum too. At what point in the recipe would I add the rum? Thank you!
Hi Holly, It is added with the syrup. Our go-to favorite syrup is:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup warm water
3 Tbsp rum – I used Bacardi golden rum
Hi Natasha, this looks really amazing and would really love to try making it. May I check if it will be better adding some baking powder to the cake batter to create more volume?
Hi Jeannette, I haven’t tested that but here is what one of our readers wrote “Awesome recipe! I added a teaspoon of baking soda and the dough was a bit more fluffy, which turned out very nice. The family was delighted!”I hope this helps.
Thanks for the great instructions. This Was a new adventure for me! I have the cake assembled, rolled up with syrup and cream cheese/whipped cream icing, in fridge. Was goi g to do the ganache icing and decorations today, but the dinner party I was taking it to has been postponed. Can I freeze it intact for 5 days and then thaw and decorate?
Hi Beverly, Yes that would work – this cake is freezer friendly. You could also refrigerate it if it’s only 2-4 days.
Hi Natasha,
Tried this recipe and it was great! If I wanted to make a normal cake version of this would that be ok? Even with the chocolate ganache? And if I used mascarpone instead of cream cheese how much coffee would you suggest I add in the frosting?
Hi, Amina! Great question. We have several Tiramisu Recipes here you are welcome to choose from.
Hey Natasha,
I was wondering how this would turn out if one tried to make a cake and put in the frosting in layers?
I’ve made it last christmas as a log cake and would like to attempt to use the cake for a birthday cake 😉
Hi Lana, we have the layered Tiramisu version linked here for you. I hope that helps!
Thank you!!
Bonjour Natasha,
Can this cake be made in advance and freeze ?
Thank you
Yes that would work – this cake is freezer friendly. You could also refrigerate it if it’s only 2-4 days.
Hi Natasha, would your chocolate cake (the one with the Swiss meringue buttercream) work to for this recipe? I would definitely make adjustments to it. 🙂
I honestly haven’t tried that with this recipe. I’m wondering how it will hold up when rolling. If you try it I’d love to know how you like the turn out!
I’ve made this for more than 2 years, and it has become a family favorite! I tried making the basic cake without the log shape and it turned out amazing! I love making it over the holidays, and even sometimes I just make it for fun. Such a great idea!
I’m happy to hear the recipe is a favorite of yours Sharon! Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!
I think this will be my dessert for Christmas this year. I’ve noticed that you use Cream Cheese instead of Mascarpone Cheese. Is there any reason? Have you tried it with Mascarpone? I mad the Triple Berry Tiramisu last week and was very happy with the results. I’ll definitely make it again and again!
Hi Erik, you could use the same frosting concept as the berry tiramisu (I’m so glad you enjoyed that!) and just modify it to this recipe (since you wouldn’t want to use orange liqueur here). We prefer the flavor of cream cheese but the mascarpone would work as well.
Hi, just wanted to thank you for this great recipe! Made it for Christmas and it was a big hit! Check out my post if you like
Hello Donna! I’m glad to hear the recipe was a success! Thanks so much for sharing!
Any substitute for cream cheese frosting? My family is not a fan of any “cheese” frosting
Hi Kelsey, I haven’t tried any others for this cake because we do like cream cheese – you might try a more traditional mascarpone frosting although you might try some coffee flavored liqueur in the frosting since mascarpone by itself doesn’t add much flavor.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am having trouble finding a 15×21 sheet nearby. Have you ever made this on a smaller pan? Thanks!
Hi Calla, you will need to adjust the recipe a little bit with a smaller half sheet pan. Here is an example that you could adapt into a yule log. I think you will find the measurements for the cake batter useful. 🙂
I would like to use mascarpone instead of cream cheese in the filling (for a more authentic tiramisu flavour). And probably add a bit of booze in with the coffee. Are there any other changes I should make to the filling to compensate?
Hi Anne, I think that would still work to use mascarpone although I do love the added flavor that cream cheese gives the frosting. You might try some coffee flavored liqueur in the frosting since mascarpone by itself doesn’t add much flavor.
When refrigerated should it be covered?
Hi Jen, yes I would suggest refrigerating so it doesn’t absorb any other food smells from the refrigerator and so it stays moist and doesn’t dry out on the edges.
Is it alright to use foil instead of parchment paper?
Hi Emily, sponge cakes will stick badly to foil and will be very difficult to pry off. The best thing is parchment paper.
Hi natasha,
the cake looks awesome! I have a question: do you think it could work if I freeze the rolled cake(without syrup and frosting) and take it out 2-4 days after, to start assembly it?
Thank you! I can’t wait to make this recipe
Gabriella
Hi Gabriella, yes that would work – this cake is freezer friendly. You could also refrigerate it if it’s only 2-4 days.
Nice recipe Thank you so muchh. We enjoyed with this cake. It was too Delicious!!!
I’m glad you love them! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Made this for Christmas and it was a huge success! I need to tell you that I usually don’t cook or bake, so everyone was impressed. Thank you for recipe and the pictures make all the difference.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me and you are very welcome 😬.
Wow! I impressed myself! But I couldn’t have done it without your detailed instructions! I added Kahula to the coffee, yum!
Mirella, thank you for such a nice review and a compliment 😬.
Hi Natasha this recipe is great. When you say one can make the base ahead do you mean rolled cake with the filling? Thank you!
You could do it that way – you could roll the cake with the filling and even cover it with the ganache then refrigerate and decorate the next day. The only part you should not put on in advance is the meringue mushrooms since they get soft with any kind of moisture and being in the refrigerator will soften the meringue mushrooms.
I have a question, if I will bake a roll one day before I will put everything together, do you think it will not dry out? or how can I make sure it will still moist?
Hi Irina, because this has a syrup, it will still be very moist after you apply the syrup the following day. 🙂
Hi Natasha
Just a note for all baking the cake roll.
I baked the first one for 12 minutes, the top was golden, but when I rolled the cake out of the pan the bottom was burned. I then went on to make the second one reducing the time to 8 minutes, checking it and added 2 more minutes. The bottom of the cake was fine. I’m bringing this cake to CT for Christmas and will finish it there. I’m assuming the cake will travel well.
After the cake is assembled and decorated, will it have to be refrigerated? I’m going to substitute mascarpone for the cream cheese if you think that would be ok.
Thank you for posting this recipe, I hope the family will like it.
Hi Karen, are you baking in the center of the oven? Also, are you using a convection setting? If it is a convection oven, it will bake faster. Yes, you will want to refrigerate the cake after it is made since the frosting is dairy based. Substituting for mascarpone should work fine. I hope you love the cake! 🙂
Hi Natasha, love your website! I’m planning on making this for Christmas Eve dinner, but I would like to omit the coffee (don’t want to keep the kiddos awake!) Is there a good substitute that can be used for that layer? Thank you and happy holidays!
Hi Sarah, my go-to favorite syrup is:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup warm water
3 Tbsp rum – I used Bacardi golden rum (it is optional, but adds great flavor)
You can substitute the rum with a little lemon juice to taste.
I was wondering if you could use sweetened whipped cream without any cream cheese? Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
Hi Genevieve, I think you could make that work. I like adding cream cheese because it stabilizes the whipped cream so it holds up inside the log better.
Would adding gelatin to the whipped cream help stabilize it? My family isn’t a fan of cream cheese. Thanks!
Hi Genevieve, I haven’t tested that but one of my readers mentioned it worked with agar agar so I imagine it would work with gelatin as well. Here’s what Bunny wrote: ” you can also stabilize whipped cream by the addition of Agar Agar. You can find it at most health food stores (Make sure to get powdered Agar Agar). Here’s my recipe for ‘Stabilized Whipped Cream’ – STABILIZED WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING RECIPE:
Ingredients:
1 c. whipping cream
2 T. confectioners’ sugar
1 t. powdered agar agar
Whip whipping cream until almost ready.
Add confectioners’ sugar and agar agar.
Continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
This cream topping/filling will stay firm and not separate.” I hope that helps!
Hi natasha,
huge fan of yours….planning to make this recipe tomorrow for our anniversary.will this cake work in a 10×15 pan if i halved the recipe
sonu
I think you could make it work although it will be too small to cut off a portion and make a branch on the stump. You’ll probably just have to make it a simple log.
Did make it. Came out well. Hubby was impressed. Have posted on your facebook page.
Amazingly beautiful and so very delicious. My daughter made this and eliminated the coffee on the top stump portion as she does not like coffee. Turned out great, everyone loved it!
Thank you for the nice review, I’m glad that everyone loved it 😁.
Hi Natasha. I’m super excited to see another rulet recipe on your blog. Whatever I make using your recipes turns out perfect! I do have a question about the size of the cookie sheet. Mine is slightly smaller. It’s 18×13 in. Would that still work? Thanks in advance for your answer and Happy New Year! 🙂
Hi Inna, I’ve tried on that size of a cookie sheet but because this cake get’s sliced to be turned into a log, the 18×13 is just a little too small to make a long enough log. I tried twice and it worked but not as well. I hope that helps! If you do buy the large cookie sheet, it’s so useful for many recipes and often you can bake everything you need on one cookie sheet rather than having to bake in batches.
Amazing!! What a wonderful presentation this made at our party! And it was delicious! Almost didn’t make it when I realised my cookie sheet was too small, but I bought one at my grocery store and it was perfect! Thanks Natasha? We love your blog and recipes! Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy new year!
Thank you so much Dena for the awesome review! 🙂 I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! I think you’ll love that larger cookie sheet for more than just this cake. Of all my cookie sheets, I use mine most often since I bought it – it fits entire cookie recipes without having to bake in batches. Score!! 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful New Year as well!
Awesome recipe! I added a teaspoon of baking soda and the dough was a bit more fluffy, which turned out very nice. The family was delighted!
Julita, thank you for the great review and for the baking soda tip 😁.
Such a great recipe, as always. Very delicious. Easy to make, thanks to your directions. I love all the recipes I tried from your blog. Thank you.
Forgot to mention, I posted picture of my cake on your Facebook page.
I found it!! Your cake looks amazing! Thanks so much for sharing the photo! 🙂
Your review means alot to me. Thank you so much 🙂
Hello Natasha, do we need to grease both the parchment paper, one in the pan to bake and the other goes on top of the cake to roll? I had problem peeling the paper off the cake. They took off the beautiful brown top of the cake. Thank you.
Hi Christine, I don’t grease the parchment. Since this classic European sponge cake is an oil-free and butter-free sponge cake, that is a normal occurrence and the buttering won’t help much at all. It does help to make sure you use parchment paper (never wax paper) and pull it off soon after it comes out of the oven. Once the frosting is on, no one will tell if some of the top parts lifted with unrolling it. I hope you love the cake and impress everyone with it!
Oh, my, Natasha! I have made three ( 3!!!) Log cakes back to back during 4 days before Christmas. Two were for different parties, so I didn’t have a chance to try the cake; the last, 3rd one, was for our Christmas family dinner. Thank you so much for the recipe and for instructions on decorating it!!! My guests were impressed! I have posted pics on Insta gram and tagged #natashaskitchen
Thank you again! Marry Christmas! !!
Oooh that’s so awesome!! I’m so happy you loved it and thank you so much for sharing it on Instagram. I’m going to go over there and check it out! What is your IG screen name? Thanks again!
It’s Natakif
Thanks again for your wonderful recipes!
You’re so welcome and thanks again for sharing 🙂
OMG… Natasha, this is wonderful! I had to try a piece before it was frosted, then had to give some to my husband to try. I can’t wait to finish it and present at Christmas dinner tonight! I will definitely be making this again and follow your blog. Merry Christmas!
I’m honored that this will be at your Christmas dinner! I’d love to see your beautiful creation! If you post a pic somewhere, please tag me #natashaskitchen. I’d love to see it 🙂
I gave this another attempt the next day with my usual bisquit recipe and finally got it to turn out! Every other step of your recipe worked beautifully for me, and everyone loved the look and taste. (I made two, one for us and a smaller one to share with a neighbor) I substituted crumbled halva for the pistachio moss and it worked perfectly! I posted a picture to Facebook and Instagram and tagged you!
Thank you so much for sharing!! What did you do differently this time? I’m curious how you make your biskvit. I’m going to search for your picture right now… 🙂
I tagged you on Facebook!
Natasha, I did this exactly according to your recipe and it turned out perfect! I’m not much of a baker, but I followed your instructions and it was easy, beautiful and delicious. The family loved it. The only thing is, for the mushrooms I used a tiny tip and they turned out not as pretty. Should’ve used a bigger tip. But just as delicious! Also, I didn’t have a brush, so I spooned coffee syrup on. Still was yummy. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you for sharing that with me 🙂
No idea what I possibly did wrong, but I made the biscuit recipe 3 times and all three were a complete flop. When the cake comes out of the oven it’s sticky even after 14, 16, and the last one I left 20 mins. After rolling it, it was impossible to unroll it again once cooled. After the first two, I thought I must have done something wrong and kept trying again, following the instructions to a T. But after attempt #3 flopped I can only imagine it must be the recipe… This sure wasn’t my first time making bisquit, and I’ve never had it fail so miserably before. I tried with convection, without, with a towel between, with just parchment paper…. Nothing worked 🙁
So sad because it looked amazing and I was making it for Christmas dinner tomorrow night. I may try again tonight with my usual bisquit recipe, but for now I’m out of ends, time, and patience 🙁
Eggs*
Hi Rebecca, I’m sorry to hear your having trouble with it. This is my usual biskvit recipe so I’m not sure what might be going wrong. I’m always happy to troubleshoot. At what point in the recipe did your batter or cake look different from the photos in the recipe? For biskvit, I always use the regular bake mode and not convection. Did you roll it right away after it came out of the oven – if you wait and let the cake cool/dry, it will be difficult to roll without cracking. If you had trouble unrolling it, it sounds like maybe it was too dense? If it’s dense, that generally means the eggs needed more beating or it could be possibly due to overmixing after adding the flour.
HI natasha how many day can this cake stand I’m haladilnik?
I’ve had it in the fridge for 1 night. I think it would be ok to leave it in the fridge for 2 days. For best results, I wouldn’t leave it in there longer than that.
Natasha!!!! I’ve made your Yule Log Cake today for youth party at our church, and my daughter just called me to say it was a winner! Too bad I can’t attache a picture here, but I tagged you on Instagram. It was so easy to follow your instructions and the cake turned out better than I ever expected! Thanks again, blessings to you and yours this Christmas and always!
Hi Natasha (great name by the way! ;)). I’m so happy you loved it! I checked instagram and couldn’t find it but I would sure love to see it! Could you possibly add #natashaskitchen in a comment on that picture? If it’s tagged that way, I can search it out, otherwise, my notification feed gets cut off by instagram whenever I post something new and I currently can’t see past the last half hour! :O. Thanks so much for the awesome review!!
So pretty! What kitchen scale would you recommend? I was hoping for something sleek, glass, white, but at the same time precise.
Hi Tanya! I have and LOVE this one from OXO (it has a nice pull out screen which is handy when you are weighing something odd sized that blocks the screen)
Beautiful piece of art!
Thank you so much Valya 🙂
Wow, that is certainly one impressive yule log! Love the tiramisu flavors in here, I’m sure they work perfectly 🙂
Yes, definitely! Its not just a looker, but it tastes really really good!
This evening I sat down to decide on what to make for our Christmas dessert. A Yule log was one of three finalists. However, as I was looking at Yule log recipes, I remembered a tiramisu cake roll recipe I had seen awhile back and never forget about. I decided to drop the three finalists and go with the tiramisu. Then this popped in my Pinterest feed. You are a genius. Accept it and use your powers wisely (more recipes please). Thank you for the final note to our feast. Perhaps without mushrooms, which seem to be freaking me out a little.
Hi Sharon! Thank you so much for the compliment and hooray pinterest! 🙂 I hope you love it!!
Hello Natasha, do we need to grease both the parchment paper, one in the pan to bake and the other goes on top of the cake to roll? I had problem peeling the paper off the cake. They took off the beautiful brown top of the cake. Thank you.
Hi Christine, I don’t grease the parchment. Since this classic European sponge cake is an oil-free and butter-free sponge cake, that is a normal occurrence and the buttering won’t help much at all. It does help to make sure you use parchment paper (never wax paper) and pull it off soon after it comes out of the oven. Once the frosting is on, no one will tell if some of the top parts lifted with unrolling it. I hope you love the cake and impress everyone with it!
WOW. This might be the most gorgeous yule log I’ve ever seen! And if that weren’t enough, it’s tiramisu?! I’m beside myself – my hat is off to you, this really is so extraordinary! 🙂
Thank you so much Roxana. That is quite a compliment! Actually lots of compliments! 🙂 You’re so nice 🙂
Wow! Beautiful !!!🎄🎁☕
Thank you so much 🙂
This looks so beautiful Natasha! Such a great idea to make for Christmas, this will definitely be something I will try making next week. Thanks for the step by step photos!
It is such a fun thing to bring to Christmas dinner. The looks on my family members faces! #priceless 😉
What a great idea, Natasha!
And I love those cute meringue mushrooms. I’m off next week. So will try making this! Merry Christmas. xoxo
Merry Christmas to you as well Coco and let me know how it turns out 😀.
wow… it is such a great idea…
Thank you for sharing it with us.
You are welcome, I had a lot of fun making it 😁.
The labor of love turned out absolutely stunning. I love it! You never cease to amaze us! 😊😊
Thank you Valentina. You’re so sweet 🙂