All across France, the Christmas holiday is a joyous occasion for families to come together to eat, drink, and be merry. The traditional Christmas meal is an elaborate and indulgent multi-course affair, during which champagne, oysters, foie gras, turkey, and much more are served. Of course, you might say the best is saved for last: yes, we’re talking about the highly-anticipated and much-loved Yule log (or “bûche de Noël” in French).
The crown jewel of the Christmas table, this festive dessert is perfect for ending the meal on a sweet note, as well as impressing and delighting guests!
The Yule log: an essential holiday dessert
Inspired by the winter solstice tradition of burning an actual log in the hearth for good fortune, the Yule log dessert made its way to the table during the 19th century in the form of a rolled sponge cake decorated to look like the original wooden log. Since then, it has become a major source of inspiration for France’s top pastry chefs, who unleash their creativity each year to transform this traditional dessert into a veritable pièce de résistance.
To celebrate their culinary ingenuity, we’ve put together a list of our favourite Yule logs for the 2023 holiday season, created by French chefs and available internationally.
Our Top 5 Yule logs for Christmas 2023
Lenôtre by Chef Etienne Leroy
A tribute to the House’s savoir-faire (know-how), this dessert is built around flavours of nutty cocoa nibs, toasted vanilla, and an exotic fruit compote made from mango, banana, passion fruit, and lime. It’s then nestled under a whimsical sled made entirely of milk and dark chocolate, which has been assembled by hand. We can only describe Lenôtre’s Yule log as the embodiment of Christmas magic!
Lenôtre desserts can be ordered in boutiques in France, Germany, Japan, China, Thaïland, Koweït, Saudi Arabia.
Yann Couvreur x ST-GERMAIN® by Chef Yann Couvreur
This year, pastry chef Yann Couvreur took inspiration from ST-GERMAIN® liqueur, resulting in a delicate Yule log that celebrates the fresh floral notes of elderflower. A baba biscuit is soaked in liqueur, topped with almond ganache and pear compote, then enrobed in a velvet-textured white chocolate shell in the shape of a minimalist elderflower.
Yann Couvreur desserts can be ordered in boutiques in France, the US, and Korea.
Ladurée by Chef Julien Alvarez
An icon of French pastry, Ladurée is known for pulling out all the stops for their festive Christmas creations. The "bûche d'exception" is a limited edition offering composed of a crispy praline base, hazelnut fondant, creamy hazelnut- buckwheat praline, and refreshing yuzu-mandarin caramel, surrounded by a blue vanilla whipped cream. The log is presented vertically and surrounded by a towering structure made entirely of white chocolate to create a real showstopper for your holiday table.
Ladurée desserts can be ordered in boutiques in France, the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, China and many other countries.
Pierre Hermé by Chef Pierre Hermé
Industry titan Pierre Hermé takes us on a world tour of flavour with his 2023 holiday creations. In collaboration with artist Gianpaolo Pagni, the “Arya Signature” Yule log plays with colours and shapes through its representation of geographical maps, while Hermé delivers a play on textures through the marriage of soft cookie, crispy praline, and smooth cream, which highlight the flavour of pistachio in various forms.
Pierre Hermé desserts can be ordered in boutiques in France, the UK, Morocco, Hong-Kong, Japan, Thailand and many other countries.
Cedric Grolet London by Chef Cedric Grolet
Created especially for his London location, this vibrant, eye-catching dessert by Cedric Grolet is a celebration of hazelnut. A crispy hazelnut biscuit is layered with hazelnut dacquoise, hazelnut milk jam, hazelnut praline and gianduja, and hazelnut mousse, covered in a velvet-textured chocolate coating and presented in the form of a playful bright red geometric nutcracker.
Cedric Grolet London desserts can be ordered in the boutique in the UK. You can find additional local creations in his France and Singapore locations.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our selection of the most creative and original Yule logs for Christmas 2023. Curious to learn more about Christmas in France? Discover some unique facts about the French Christmas meal here!
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