Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free Bûche de Noël (Yule Log)
My fancy flex: fluffy chocolate sponge, whipped coconut frosting, and a rustic fork-textured finish for bakery-window looks without the stress.
Ingredients
Cake
- 6 eggs separated
- 3/4 cup sugar divided
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting towel
Frosting
- 2 cans full-fat coconut milk refrigerated overnight
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- kosher salt pinch
Optional Decorations
- sugared rosemary sprigs
- cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12×15 jelly roll pan with parchment.
- Make sponge: Beat yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until pale. Add cacao, vanilla, and salt.
- Whip whites to soft peaks; slowly add remaining 1/4 cup sugar to stiff peaks.
- Fold whites into yolks gently.
- Spread in pan; bake 12–15 minutes until springy and edges pull away.
- Dust a clean towel with powdered sugar. Invert warm cake onto towel, peel parchment, and roll up with the towel from the short end. Cool 30 minutes.
- Frosting: Scoop solid coconut cream; beat with powdered sugar, cacao, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. Chill.
- Fill and frost: Unroll the cake, spread 2/3 of the frosting inside, re-roll (without the towel), frost the outside, texture with a fork, and decorate.
Notes
If the sponge tears, call it rustic and keep going — frosting covers all sins. Make-ahead: Bake cake and frosting a day ahead; assemble before serving. Budget swap: Use one can of coconut milk and add a spoon of tapioca starch if your cream’s too soft.