{"id":46823,"date":"2018-12-14T11:02:41","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T16:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=46823"},"modified":"2023-08-04T11:27:04","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T15:27:04","slug":"yule-log-cakes-a-christmas-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/yule-log-cakes-a-christmas-tradition.html","title":{"rendered":"Yule Log Cakes: A Christmas Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers for recipes for a special Christmas treat: Yule Log cakes. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Some Christmas foods carry over from the Thanksgiving dinner. Meals that include turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, and pie are appropriate for either holiday feast. However, some Christmas foods are unique to just that holiday. These are the foods reserved solely for December. Deserts like Gingerbread Houses are one special Christmas tradition, and another are Yule Log cakes.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Yule Log cake. Credit: Mathieu MD; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Yule Log is a Christmas tradition found in numerous countries where a log or block of wood is burned during the days leading up to Christmas. (1) The Yule Log eventually received a food makeover in about 1615 when the Yule Log, or B\u00fbche de No\u00ebl, was served. This symbolic B\u00fbche de No\u00ebl is made from a rolled sponge cake decorated to look like a log. Before rolling the cake, a cream or jam is spread over it. The frosting resembles bark and powdered sugar represents snow. (2) Other decorative touches may include marzipan leaves and berries. Making this cake is somewhat labor-intensive but the end result makes for a festive dessert.<\/p>\n

Yule Log Cake Recipes in the Newspaper<\/strong><\/p>\n

The easiest recipes are ones that you are most familiar with. This 1939 recipe points out that the Yule Log is simply a jelly roll cake. Assuming the reader already has a recipe for this cake, this food column suggests spreading the cake with \u201cyour best baked jelly roll jellied fruit-nut mixture\u201d before rolling it. The decorating instructions suggest spreading the frosting to simulate grooves and knot holes.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky), 8 December 1939, page 32<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many Yule Log recipes call for chocolate frosting to simulate a tree\u2019s bark. This \u201csnowy\u201d yule log recipe has a mincemeat filling and a cream cheese frosting. The cake is decorated with cherries and \u201cgreen grapefruit peel or citron holly leaves.\u201d The recipe warns that it\u2019s a \u201cvery sweet, large cake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), 20 December 1945, page 13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), 20 December 1945, page 13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Christmas is the time for special foods, as this newspaper article from 1960 points out: \u201cOf all the many wonderful traditions associated with the Christmas holidays one of the nicest is the customs of preparing special foods and feasts.\u201d This article focuses on \u201cTacoma\u2019s well-known hostesses\u201d and their recipes including Mrs. L. T. Murray Sr.\u2019s Yule Log dessert that includes apricot jam. The icings for the cake use dark rum, coffee, egg yolks, chocolate and butter. The reader is instructed to make the \u201clog\u201d look like a real log by cutting two slices on each end of the roll and then placing them on top of the cake to represent stumps or cut-off branches. The cooks should then use the chocolate and coffee icing to represent bark and \u201cinner wood.\u201d Rough bark is simulated by using a fork to draw jaggedly through the frosting. The recipe suggests creating \u201cleaves shaped of green tinted almond paste and curls of dark sweet chocolate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Tacoma Daily Ledger (Tacoma, Washington), 23 December 1960, page 10<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everyone knows that chocolate rules, and in this newspaper article celebrating Christmas foods from around the world, a Yule Log made from chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is featured:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIf we could travel to a French Christmas kitchen we\u2019d probably find the lady of the house at work on a Yule Log Cake\u2026 It\u2019s chocolate, inside and out and delectable as French things are.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What\u2019s missing are the instructions for how to make the cake look like a log with its bark-like frosting and leaf decorations. But even without those extras, the recipe looks like a wonderful chocolaty addition to a holiday gathering.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 15 December 1966, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let\u2019s Eat Cake!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Has a Yule Log cake graced your holiday table? Have a family recipe? I\u2019d love to hear about it in the comments section below!<\/p>\n

Happy Holidays!<\/p>\n

___________________<\/p>\n

(1) \u201cYule Log,\u201d Wikipedia (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yule_log<\/a>: accessed 7 December 2018).
\n(2) \u201cHistory of Christmas Recipes: Yule Log,\u201d ALookThruTime (http:\/\/alookthrutime.com\/yule-log\/<\/a>: accessed 6 December 2018).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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