Christmas Yule Log Sheet Cake
The cake is still warm when it comes out of the pan, and that’s the moment when a little patience pays off. Roll it while it’s hot, with a clean…
By Ava
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Reading time: 10 min
Tip: save now, make later.
The cake is still warm when it comes out of the pan, and that’s the moment when a little patience pays off. Roll it while it’s hot, with a clean towel tucked inside, and it cools into a curve instead of fighting you later. That simple first roll is what makes this Christmas Yule Log Sheet Cake feel manageable, even if you’ve never made a rolled cake before.
The sponge is light rather than rich, so the whipped cream filling gives each slice a soft, cool center without making the cake feel heavy. I keep the ganache thick enough to hold fork-drawn bark lines, but not so cool that it drags across the cake. A short chill before slicing helps the layers hold their shape, with the chocolate coating framing each swirl of cream.
You’ll get a handsome log from an ordinary jelly roll pan, a towel, and a little careful handling. The finished cake has a tender cocoa sponge, a generous cream spiral, and a dark chocolate finish that looks right at home on a holiday table.
Kitchen Note
Roll the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, while it’s still warm and flexible. Keep the towel inside the roll as it cools seam-side down; waiting until the sponge is cool makes it much more likely to crack when you shape it.
Save this Christmas Yule Log Sheet Cake for a holiday bake with a soft cream spiral and fork-drawn chocolate bark.
Why the eggs matter more than the baking powder in this sponge
A thin cake that has to roll without breaking can’t rely on a heavy, breadlike crumb. Most of the lift here comes from eggs beaten with sugar until the mixture turns pale, thick, and falls in ribbons from the beaters. That foam gives the sponge enough lightness to bend, while the baking powder helps support it as it bakes.
If the eggs and sugar are still loose and yellow, the batter hasn’t built enough air yet. Give them the full beating time and look for a noticeable change in volume and texture before adding anything else. Then fold the sifted dry ingredients in gently, in three additions. Stirring hard to chase every last speck can knock out the very air that makes the sponge flexible.
Even spreading matters, too. A thin spot can bake faster than the rest of the sheet and become brittle before the thicker areas are ready. Spread the batter into an even layer in the jelly roll pan so the cake bakes at a consistent rate and springs back lightly when touched.
The ingredients that keep the sponge flexible and the filling light
- Room-temperature eggs — They beat up with the sugar into the airy base of the sponge. Cold eggs take longer to reach the thick, ribboning stage, so set them out ahead of mixing.
- All-purpose flour and unsweetened cocoa — Sifting breaks up cocoa lumps before they reach the delicate egg foam. Use unsweetened cocoa for the cake and the towel dusting; sweetened cocoa would make the sponge and its finish sweeter than intended.
- Heavy cream — The cream is doing two different jobs: whipped for the soft filling, then warmed for the ganache. Use heavy cream rather than a lower-fat milk; it needs enough fat to whip into stable peaks and to make a smooth chocolate coating.
- Semisweet chocolate chips — Their sweetness balances the unsweetened cocoa in the sponge, and they melt into the cream for a spreadable ganache. Semisweet is a good fit here; milk chocolate would make the coating noticeably sweeter.
- Confectioners’ sugar — It sweetens the filling while dissolving smoothly into the whipped cream. Granulated sugar won’t disappear as readily in the cold cream, so keep this one as written.
Four stages from thin sponge to bark-covered log
Build volume before the flour goes in
Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan, line it with parchment, and grease the parchment. Sift the flour, 1/4 cup of the cocoa, baking powder, and salt together, then beat the eggs and granulated sugar on high for 5 to 7 minutes until pale, thick, and ribboning. Beat in the vanilla, then fold in the dry mixture in three additions until no dry streaks remain. Spread the batter evenly; a lumpy or aggressively stirred batter loses the airy texture you need.
Bake just until the sponge springs back
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, checking for a cake that springs back lightly when touched. It’s a thin sponge, so even a little extra baking can make it dry and less willing to roll. While it bakes, dust a clean kitchen towel with the remaining tablespoon of cocoa. Have the towel ready before you take the pan out so the warm cake can be turned out right away.
Fill the cooled roll without overloading the edge
Invert the hot cake onto the cocoa-dusted towel and peel away the parchment. Roll it up from a short side with the towel inside, then leave it seam-side down until completely cool, about 1 hour. Beat 1 cup of the heavy cream with the confectioners’ sugar in a chilled bowl until medium-firm peaks form. Unroll the cake, spread the cream evenly while leaving a 1/2-inch border, and roll it back up without the towel; set it seam-side down and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Thicken the ganache before drawing the bark
Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a small saucepan until steaming, then pour it over the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Let the bowl stand for 3 minutes before stirring the mixture smooth. Cool the ganache at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it’s thick enough to spread without running off the cake. Cut a 2-inch diagonal piece from one end, attach it to the side with a little ganache, coat the log while leaving the ends exposed, and draw bark lines with a fork; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Two ways to shape and finish your Yule log
Keep the log straight
Skip the diagonal branch piece and spread the ganache over the rolled cake as one smooth log. You’ll use less ganache for attaching a branch and get a simpler shape, while the fork lines still give the surface its bark-like finish.
Cover the cut ends, too
For a fully chocolate-coated look, spread ganache across the exposed ends as well as the outside. The cream spiral won’t show until the cake is sliced, but each cut reveals a clean contrast between the cocoa sponge and pale filling.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Keep the cake covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. The whipped cream may soften slightly over time.
- Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing the assembled cake; the whipped cream filling can turn grainy or release moisture as it thaws.
- Reheating: This cake is served chilled, so don’t reheat it. Let the ganache stay cool and firm rather than warming the cake and softening the filling.
Questions that come up when rolling and decorating this cake
Christmas Yule Log Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Line the pan with parchment paper and grease the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.
- Sift the flour, 1/4 cup of the cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl, then whisk to combine.
- Beat the room-temperature eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 to 7 minutes, until pale, thick, and ribboning.
- Beat in the vanilla.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture in 3 additions until no dry streaks remain.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cake springs back lightly when touched.
- Dust a clean kitchen towel with the remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa powder.
- Invert the hot cake onto the towel and peel off the parchment.
- Roll the cake up from a short side with the towel inside.
- Cool the rolled cake seam-side down until completely cool, about 1 hour.
- Beat 1 cup of the heavy cream and the confectioners' sugar in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer until medium-firm peaks form.
- Unroll the cooled cake.
- Spread the filling evenly over the cake, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
- Roll the cake back up without the towel and place it seam-side down.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Heat the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream in a small saucepan until steaming.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.
- Let stand for 3 minutes.
- Stir the chocolate and cream until smooth.
- Let the ganache cool at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and spreadable.
- Cut a 2-inch diagonal piece from one end of the cake.
- Attach the piece to the side with a little ganache.
- Spread the remaining ganache over the cake, leaving the ends exposed.
- Draw bark lines through the ganache with a fork.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing.