Vegan White Chocolate Yule Log

It’s the last day of officially being in 2020, so I wanted to end it with a ‘bang’.

Yule logs (also known as Bûche de Noël ) are my favourite Christmas/ festive dessert. I love the preparation of making this special cake roll, as well as eating it- haha. They’re just so much fun to create.

A delicious vegan vanilla sponge, with a swirl of chocolate cream, butterscotch sauce, coated in a smooth and silky vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, with a dusting of icing sugar and cocoa powder. Have I got you drooling yet?

This yule log is:

Easy to roll
Scrumptious
Extremly tasty
Fun to make (and eat)
Full of vanilla flavour
The perfect addition to any Christmas/New Years dinner table

My favourite part of this cake is hands down the filling. It’s a light and ultra-smooth chocolate coconut cream with a drizzle of the most amazing vegan Butterscotch sauce.

This recipe is a paid partnership with Nature’s Charm [AD]
(For more information about product placement and partnerships, check out my Disclosure Policy).

If you’ve been following me and my baking journey, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of Nature’s Charm and their products. Kat from the company is so lovely and supportive, It’s always such a pleasure to work with them and create some yummy recipes featuring their incredible products.

Check out my previous recipes ft Natures Charm here.

I used the Natures Charm Coconut Whipping Creamfor the cream filling and topped it off with a generous drizzle of the Butterscotch Sauce.

This sauce makes any dessert 10x better with its sweetness and gooeyness.

I have made many yule logs in my time, but none of them compare to this absolutely scrumptious white log with a swirl of chocolate cream with butterscotch sauce. It’s satisfyingly sweet with a lovely, mild vanilla flavour and rich chocolaty filling. The flavour combination is divine!

Get my Chocolate Vegan Yule Log here.

Natures Charm are my favourite brand for dessert toppings, coconut-based products like coconut whipping cream, condensed coconut milk etc. All of their products are suitable for vegans and are gluten and soy-free

To buy: Find Natures Charm in/at Ocado, Amazon, Holland and Barrett.

Preparation: 1 hour

Baking time: 18-20 minutes

Serves: 8-10

Level: Medium

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Ingredients for the sponge

200g of self-raising flour
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
100g of caster sugar
100ml of dairy-free milk
40ml of vegetable oil
100ml of chickpea brine (aquafaba)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 teaspoon of maple syrup
2 teaspoons of water

Ingredients for the filling

80g of dairy-free butter
70g of Coconut Whipping Cream
250g of icing sugar
50g cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of Butterscotch Sauce

Ingredients for the swiss meringue coating

50g of dairy-free butter
200g of icing sugar
25ml of aquafaba
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

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Method (cake)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees c, fan and line a swiss roll tray (or baking tray with high walls) with baking paper.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sieve together the flour, baking soda and sugar.

3. In a separate bowl or jug, combine the dairy-free milk, oil, chickpea brine and vanilla extract. Whisk together to combine, then pour into the dry ingredients and fold together until fully incorporated.

4. Pour the batter into the lined tin. Level out with an off-set spatula or spoon, you want it to be as level as possible. Tap the tray onto the worktop to remove any air bubbles.

5. Place into the oven and allow to bake for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. The sponge will turn a light golden brown colour.

Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Don’t over bake as if it gets too crisp, it will cause the cake to crack, you want it to be a soft and light sponge.

6. Lay a large piece of baking paper on your work surface, sprinkle over some caster sugar and invert the sponge onto the paper, peel way the original baking paper.

8. Trim the edges of the sponge with a sharp knife. In a small bowl, mix together the maple syrup and water, this makes a sugar syrup. Brush this all over the sponge. It will help keep the cake moist which will help prevent cracking.

7. Roll up (from the longer edge) using the paper, rolling it up with the paper inside. Set aside to cool. Be very gentle.

Rolling it up with the paper inside helps the cake not to stick to itself.

Set aside to cool fully.

Method (filling)

1. Cream the dairy-free butter and coconut whipping cream in a bowl, on high speed until creamy. You can use a hand whisk or stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment.

2. Add in the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Whip together until fluffy & fully combined.

Add a bit more butter if the buttercream is too thick or more icing sugar if it’s too wet. You want it to be creamy.

3. Once the sponge has fully cooled, unroll and spread a thin layer of the filling. Drizzle over a generous amount of Butterscotch Sauce then re-roll tightly without the paper inside.

Pop into the freezer while you make the swiss meringue buttercream (coating).

I usually leave my roll in the freezer for the filling to set firm, this way when applying the coating, the cake doesn’t slide around due to the soft filling.

Method (swiss meringue coating)

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter and whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.

2. Add in the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it.

3. Add in the aquafaba and whip for 5 minutes until it turns light and creamy. Don’t over whip it or it can become too soft. If it does, just add in more icing sugar until its thick and creamy.

4. Transfer the yule log to a serving plate or tray and using an off-set spatula or knife, spread the swiss meringue all over the yule log.

Use a spatula to create bark texture by creating lines. It looks really realistic and effective.

Serve with a dusting of icing sugar, cocoa powder or a drizzle of dairy-free cream/icecream and more Butterscotch sauce- yum!

Store this yule log in a sealed container in the fridge and best eaten within a few days.