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White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log
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I mean, what better way to end a great season of holiday baking than with a White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log, am I right?
I could not be more excited about my final holiday post of 2018. It’s got so many things that makes holiday baking so special:
Warm spices like nutmeg and ginger? Check!
White chocolate to emulate some sort of winter-related thing? Oh yeah.
Whipped cream? Mhm.
Cinnamon sugar? Heck yes!
That show-stopping look? I mean… you tell me. BUT I’M GOING WITH YES.
My mom has been making yule logs every Christmas for as long as I can remember. She always makes a double chocolate with chocolate whipped cream. Sinfully delicious, and so festive.
But a few weeks ago I had the idea of making a gingerbread yule log, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. And what goes better with spicy gingerbread than rich and sweet white chocolate?! OH YES OH YES.
And so this White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log was born.
One thing that really took this White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log to the next level? Rodelle Pure Vanilla Extract.
I’ve been working with Rodelle since 2015 (gah!), and they continue to be one of my favorite brands out there. Their entire product line is absolutely delectable, they pay premium prices to their farmers, and don’t get me started on their cocoa powder (hint: best I’ve EVER used).
I used Rodelle’s Pure Vanilla Extract in both the gingerbread sponge cake and in the whipped cream filling to really deepen the flavor of both. Without it, the gingerbread felt spiced but not warm, and the whipped cream felt flat. Vanilla extract is one of those quiet heros of the baking world, small but mighty. And Rodelle’s vanilla extract can’t be beat.
Alright, my bbs. Now a PSA on Yule Log making…
How to make a yule log without a jelly roll pan
When making a yule log, most recipes call for a jelly roll pan. These are specially-sized pans that are 15 inches by 10 inches. They create that perfect yule log size and thickness. However, if you’re like me and super not into buying products for one specific purpose, then just be like me and use a standard half-sheet pan. Your yule log will end up thinner for sure, but hey. look how mine turned out. Hint: the answer is great.
So there you are, friends. A festive White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log perfect for your Christmas festivities. Enjoy!!!
![This festive White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log is a showstopper Christmas dessert. Made with white chocolate buttercream "bark" for that rustic look!](https://bromabakery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/White-Chocolate-Gingerbread-Yule-Log-614x920.jpg)
White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log
Ingredients
for the gingerbread sponge cake
- 4 large eggs, separated into whites and yolks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup dark strap molasses
- 2 teaspoons Rodelle Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
for the whipped cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
for the white chocolate buttercream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted and cooled
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1–2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a jelly roll pan (preferable) or a half sheet baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites over high speed until soft peaks form. Turn mixer to low speed and slowly add in granulated sugar. Turn mixer back to high speed and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Remove from mixer and set aside.
- Clean your standing mixer bowl and place back on stand. Add in the egg yolks. Still using the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks until they begin to foam. Add in molasses and vanilla extract and continue to beat until mixture becomes a shade lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Remove bowl from standing mixer and set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Fold your flour mixture into your yolk mixture. The batter will be thick, but this will change once you add in your egg whites.
- Using a spatula, gently fold your egg whites into your flour/yolk mixture until fully incorporated. Spread batter into prepared pan, using the spatula to smooth batter to the edges. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the cake is cooked through. Cool for 5 minutes before inverting cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioner’s sugar (and to note: I left my parchment paper on the underside of the cake to prevent it from sticking to the towel).
- Roll cake into a tight spiral, starting from the short side. Place in fridge to cool completely.
- In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream your heavy cream and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Unroll cake (& carefully remove parchment paper if you kept it on) and spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Roll up cake.
- Cut cake about 4 inches from the edge on a diagonal to create the second part of your log. Place larger roll seam side down onto a platter. Place the smaller roll on the side of the first roll, with the diagonal side of the smaller roll touching the larger roll.
- In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter for 2 minutes, then add in melted and cooled white chocolate. Combine, then add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, creaming for about 30 seconds.
- Spread white chocolate buttercream over the cake, leaving the edges of the logs bare. Use a fork to make soft waves throughout the buttercream. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve!
make the gingerbread sponge cake
make your filling & frosting
This post is sponsored by Rodelle. All text and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands who help make Broma possible!
When you say dark strap molasses, I assume it means regular dark molasses, correct? I also have blackstrap but that’s bitter and a lower sugar content.
Any dark molasses should work!
My yearly Christmas tradition is a Yule log. They haven’t been too hard for me to assemble, but I’m not much of a decorator. Can’t eat pretty. Anyway, there were some good things about this, and some bad things. The sponge recipe is really good. Not overly sweet, great spice flavor. However, the whipped cream is extremely bland, because there’s no sugar in there at all. There’s also so much whipped cream to go in there, I feel like it would be better to cut it in half and then add half a cup of powdered sugar. And then the buttercream. Unless I did something completely wrong, it came out like modeling clay. It just didn’t spread or anything.
Like I said earlier, great recipe idea, I just feel like some proportions were off. I’ll make it again but just experiment with the amounts.
I 100% agree with you Ben. My sister and I just made this dessert and had the exact same feedback: great sponge, bland whipped cream and oddly thick buttercream. We actually made the buttercream twice because we thought we did something wrong.
There’s definitely room for improvement. I would suggest following the recipe for the whipped cream and buttercream from another recipe unless this feedback is taken and applied.
Crowd favorite!