Delicious plant-based version of traditional yule log made with wholesome ingredients filled with divine white chocolate frosting.
I think that Yule Log is one of the loveliest Christmas recipes to make and one that will look stunning on your festive table. Last year I’ve made Buche de Noel with dark chocolate but this year I fancied creating a white version that reminds me of snowy Christmas days of my childhood.
This Yule Log is a plant-based recipe without any refined sugar and made with only wholesome ingredients filled with vegan white chocolate frosting making it taste just divine.
As you can see I’m getting much closer to mastering these. Making my Pumpkin Roll last month has really helped me to refine this recipe to roll it almost perfectly. I’m not saying it will be as perfect as one made with gluten and eggs but it’s getting closer and I’m really proud of it.
Originally I haven’t used the apple sauce, the result was more fluffy and I preferred the taste but it wasn’t as strong and it cracked more when rolling it than the one made with the applesauce.
I’ve also realized that it’s better to use aquafaba without whisking it, it actually makes it better texture for rolling.
For the filling, I’ve made a white chocolate frosting, a little twist on a traditional cashew frosting. I’ve made it in two versions, one with vegan white chocolate and one with cacao butter. They both work well in this recipe and you can use the one that you prefer. If you choose to make it with cacao butter add little more maple syrup, I thought that it needed more sweetness.
I feel that it only needs a little touch of something for the decoration. I’ve used few cranberries, holly sprig (please note it’s only for the decoration as it’s not edible) and some blended desiccated coconut to resemble snow.
Hope you love this recipe and please do let me know how you find it :)
Yule Log (vegan & gluten-free)
Delicious plant-based version of traditional yule log made with wholesome ingredients filled with divine white chocolate frosting.
Ingredients
Chocolate sponge:
- 1/2 cup ground almonds (50 grams)
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour (35 grams)
- 1/4 cup buckwheat flour (35 grams)
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour (30 grams)
- 1/4 cup cacao or cocoa powder (30 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (75 grams)
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup aquafaba (60 ml)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (60 ml)
- 1/4 cup apple sauce (60 ml)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
White chocolate frosting:
- 2 1/4 cups cashew nuts, soaked for at least 4 hours (300 grams)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut cream (270 ml)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (60 ml)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 4.2-ounce vegan white chocolate (120 grams) (you can substitute with cacao butter)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C)
- Line a 10 x 14 inch (25 x 35cm) Swiss roll tin with baking paper.
- Mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water and set aside to thicken.
- In a large bowl whisk together ground almonds, brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, tapioca flour, cacao, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, salt and sugar and set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together the gelled flax egg, aquafaba, olive oil, apple sauce and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix until well combined. Add 1 tablespoon water at the time until you have pourable but not too thin consistency.
- Pour the mixture onto your prepared tin and level out the surface.
- Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until a cocktail stick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven.
- Straight away dust the top with little sugar, lay a sheet of baking paper on top followed by a damp tea towel. Place baking sheet or something flat on top to help you to flip the cake over. Now carefully peel the baking paper from the top. Dust with little sugar and place another sheet of baking paper on top of the cake. Using a rolling pin carefully roll the cake over the pin and wrap with the tea towel. Leave to cool down for about 20 minutes.
- Once cooled carefully unroll the cake and spread with 2/3 of the frosting leaving 1/3 to frost the top of the log. Using the help of the paper carefully roll the cake into a roll. Don't worry if it cracks just keep rolling as tightly as you can. Optional step that I recommend, wrap the log tightly in baking paper and cling film and place into fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight to set. The longer you leave it to set the neater slices you will have.
- Once set place onto a serving dish and using spatula spread little frosting to crumb coat the log first. Place into fridge for about half hour to set. Now dollop the remaining frosting on top and sides and using spatula smooth the frosting all along the log. Place back into the fridge before serving.
Cashew Frosting:
- In a double boiler gently melt the white chocolate.
- Rinse the soaked cashews well under running water and place into high speed blender. Add coconut cream, maple syrup, vanilla and blend until smooth. Stop and scoop the sides of the blender as needed. As the ingredients start to warm up, the mix will loosen and becomes easier to blend. Add the melted white chocolate and blend until just incorporated.
- Scoop the mix into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate for few hours or overnight.
- When you're ready to frost the cake, whip the mix for couple of minutes until fluffy. The texture will change as you whip and become more light. If the frosting is too thick leave it at room temperature for a bit before whipping. If the frosting doesn't get thick enough after whipping, place it into the freezer for 15 minutes and whisk again, repeat until you have desired consistency. It depends on the consistency of coconut cream that you use.
- Decorate the log with fresh cranberries and your choice of foliage.
- Blend some desiccated coconut and sprinkle on top and around to resemble snow.
- Enjoy!
Notes
I recommend to weight the ingredients for the accuracy.
If you choose cacao butter to make the frosting with I recommend to add little more maple syrup.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 456Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 286mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 3gSugar: 33gProtein: 7g
Hello! Thanks for the recipe ! Can we use white almond instead of cashews (because i’m affected by the mode of harvest, not necessarily ethical)??
Hi Emilie, almonds will not work in this frosting, but you could use macadamia nuts, they work similar to cashews. Alternatively, just use a different vegan frosting, but best if it has a thick consistency. You could also make one just with vegan white chocolate and coconut cream similar to chocolate ganache.
This is so pretty Hana – you are a true artist.
I wonder if you have a raw cake on your blog that I can make for Christmas because this time of year it is too hot to put the oven on. Last Christmas here in Adelaide it was 40 degrees C : ( Way way too hot.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Angela! I really love my Raw Gingerbread Cranberry Christmas Tarts, they’re on the blog. But I’m making White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake this week as well, I’ve realized I haven’t made anything raw for a while!
This Cake looks so beautiful! My son was diagnosed with celiac disease just over a year ago and we bought vegan/gf desserts last Christmas but I really want to make my own this year! I’ve mastered cookies and actually enjoy gf ones more especially when made with almond flour but I find cakes really hard. He has his heart set on this cake and I’m nervous to make it! I’m going to test it out this week to see if I’m successful. I’ve never used a scale to measure ingredients and I’m wondering if maybe that’s why my gf recipes don’t turn out a lot of the time. I’m having a very hard time making recipes that are vegan and gluten free as well. A lot of the time they don’t cook all the way thru and it’s a disaster that ends up getting thrown in the garbage which is so discouraging. I hope my attempt will look even half as beautiful as yours and hopefully taste really good too :)
Thank you June! Oh, that is so sweet your son loves this cake! Don’t be scared of making this, it’s not as complicated as it looks, once you make it once it will get easier. I was terrified making a gluten-free vegan log for the first time because I knew what a challenge it will be! Even if it cracks you can cover it with frosting and then set in the fridge.
Yes, I really recommend using scales, especially with my recipes because I weight all of my ingredients and find cups impossible to be completely accurate. I do try my best and some recipes are more forgiving than others. It so depends on the ingredients that you use because they vary so much from brand to brand.
Check my Vegan Apple Cake recipe, I make that one all the time, you can make it as one layer 8″ cake too, it’s a really lovely light sponge cake. And if you make the salted caramel on top it’s amazing.
Hope your son loves this recipe if you get to make it :)
Positively stunning! x.
Thank you so much Kristen. xx
It looks absolutely magical! Thank you for sharing amazing recipes. Regarding olive oil, which one should we use, unrefined one? Or, can i replace it with coconut oil?
Thank you so much Dana! I use extra virgin olive oil in my recipes. I’m not sure how it will work with coconut oil, it’s probably ok, but it does behave slightly different in baked cakes than the olive oil. So maybe better to stick with olive oil in this one :) Hope you love the recipe!
Is there another not I could use instead of Allman’s? My family is allergic to almonds. Traditionally I have substituted hazelnut flour, do you think that would work the same?
It should have said ‘nut’. Darn autocorrect!
Hi Cara, yes, ground hazelnuts would work really well in here. Hope you like the recipe :)
Can I sub something else for the aquafaba? Also, can I just use one or two types of flour instead of so many? It is hard to get all the ingredients.
Hi Spencer, this one is a tricky one. I’ve layered these ingredients on purpose so you stand a chance to roll it without falling apart. Aquafaba really works in here. The flours and tapioca can be replaced with a gluten-free mix. I suppose you could try adding xanthan gum or psyllium husk and adding an extra flax egg instead of the aquafaba.
Hi ! Can I use regular all purpose flour instead of gluten free flours?
Thank you