Butterscotch yule log: A retro Christmas dessert recipe from the 60s - Click Americana (2024)

FAQs

What is the tradition of the Yule Log cake? ›

While the French bûche de Noël is a yule-log-shaped Christmas cake now commonly found on holiday tables across the United States, the origins of the yule log tradition go back centuries to Scandinavia. For centuries, celebrants observed Yule, a festival commemorating the winter solstice.

One of the favourite sweet treats of Christmas was first created in remembrance of an ancient tradition. The Christmas Chocolate Yule Log we all know and love actually represents the historical practice of collecting and burning a very large log in the hearth, throughout the Christmas season.

You can use natural materials such as pinecones, holly, or evergreen branches to decorate your log. You can also add ribbons, beads, or other decorations that have personal significance to you. As you decorate your log, think about what you want to manifest in the coming year.

A Log of Symbolism and Belief

Celts believed that as the sun seemingly stood still during the twelve days at the end of December, keeping the Yule log aflame would persuade the sun to move again, lengthening the days and heralding the return of spring.

Yule log cake, or bûche de Noël, is a Christmas cake with a ritualistic past. Cleverly shaped and decorated to look like a 3-D log, the cake represents a melding of ancient midwinter traditions: one that celebrated the end of winter, and another honoring the Norse god Thor.

Fire, lighting and other visual effects complete the picture and bring some holiday magic direct from Arendelle to your living room. Arendelle Castle Yule Log: Cut Paper Edition will debut exclusively on Disney+, December 17, 2021.

Yule is the name of the old Winter Solstice festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, such as Germany. Yule Logs could have started out an entire tree, or very large log, that was carefully chosen and brought into the house with great ceremony.

It was believed that, for twelve days at the end of December, the sun stood still (which is why the days grew shorter and shorter). If people could keep yule logs burning bright for those twelve days, then the sun would be persuaded to move again, and make the days grow longer.

The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, and subsequently North America.

The origins of the Yule log stretch back to pagan times, but in the beginning instead of a cake it was the real thing, a huge log of wood that burned in family hearths to mark the winter solstice throughout Europe, but particularly in Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy.

How do you keep Yule logs from breaking? ›

Use a lint-free tea towel to roll up the cake. Its flat texture, coated with a fine sifting of powdered sugar, makes rolling up the warm cake super easy and prevents any sticking or cracking once the cake is cool. The towel will also be your best friend for rerolling the cake once it's filled.

Yule Log Decor and Dessert

Today, a Yule log is still a Christmas tradition in some cultures; a large log is traditionally burned in the fireplace on Christmas Eve. For other cultures, the Yule log is a log-shaped chocolate cake enjoyed as a Christmas dessert.

The Burning of the Yule Log

It began as part of the winter solstice festivities. The candles and lights associated with Christmas, meant to symbolize guiding beacons for the Christ child, may have evolved from the Yule log, which was lit to entice the Sun to return as part of the jól (Yule) festival in Scandinavia.

The Bûche de Noël — or, Christmas Log — is said to date back to around 1870, when a Parisian pastry maker was inspired by the Christmas eve ritual of burning a log in the fire (a tradition that can in turn be traced back to the winter solstice rituals of ancient Celts).

The Christmas Cake originally was called the Twelfth Cake and would have more traditionally been served at parties on the Twelfth Night ending the 12 days of Christmas on the 5th of January. And these cakes started as enriched fruit cakes, something more akin to an Italian Panettone.

It seems to have originally been a Nordic tradition. Yule is the name of the old Winter Solstice festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, such as Germany. Yule Logs could have started out an entire tree, or very large log, that was carefully chosen and brought into the house with great ceremony.