French Food TraditionsBuche de Noel (Yule Log)

A Buche de Noel or Yule Log in English, is a French dessert, mostly eaten at Christmas time. A Buche de Noel is a rolled sponge cake filled and covered in cream to look like a log. The tradition dates back to the 19th century and is meant to symbolize a large log placed in a fireplace to burn slowly during the winter.

All French supermarkets and bakeries will sell Buche de Noel in December and now even during November. You can even find ice-cream Buche de Noel, traditionalists be damned!

Here’s a video of a homemade Buche de Noel being created.

This photo of a sliced Buche de Noel demonstrates how it’s rolled.

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