Flourless Chocolate Yule Log (Buche de Noël) | Naturally Gluten Free Holiday Dessert

Описание: This one looks like it belongs in a pastry shop window… but I promise, you can make it at home. ✨
This flourless yule log is naturally gluten free, surprisingly light, and deeply chocolatey all at the same time. An airy chocolate chiffon sponge wrapped around cloud-soft Chantilly cream and whipped chocolate ganache, finished with dark chocolate bark and delicate meringue mushrooms.
Yes, it’s elegant. Yes, it’s dramatic. But it’s also completely doable—even if it feels intimidating at first. I’ll walk you through every step so you can create a dessert that looks show-stopping, tastes rich and decadent, and is absolutely worth the effort. 🍫🎄

Ingredients:

Chiffon cake:
6 eggs separated
150 g sugar
50 g cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Ganache:
200 g chocolate chips
100 g unsalted butter
100 g heavy cream

Chantilly cream:
150 g heavy cream
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Bark:
1/2 - 2/3 cup Ghirardelli dark melting wafers


Instructions:

Cake
1. Line a half sheet pan with parchment. Square cutouts in the corners help it lay more flat.
2. Whisk 6 egg whites, gradually adding 120 g sugar, to stiff peaks. Set aside.
3. Whisk 6 egg yolks with 30 g sugar until it's a pale yellow. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix till fully incorporated. It'll look thick and paste like.
4. Scoop in about 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to loosen. Once you can't see anymore of the egg whites, scoop in another third. This time gently fold the mixture with a metal spoon to help cut through the batter without losing the air beaten into the eggs. Add the remaining egg whites when you can no longer see any white specs.
5. Gently transfer the batter evenly to the pan. Be careful not to deflate it.
6. Bake at 338 degrees for 10 minutes. Let it rest for 2 minutes and invert it onto a clean tea towel dusted VERY heavily with powdered sugar. Carefully roll into a log and cool completely.

Bark
Melt the melting wafers. Spread a thin layer on parchment. Roll it up and put in the fridge to cool.

Ganache
Melt butter and chocolate chips together. Add 100 g heavy cream and mix. Allow to cool completely in the fridge, stirring it every 5 minutes.

Cream
Whisk cream, sugar, and vanilla.

Assemble
1. Carefully unroll the cake. If it's even a little warm, roll it back up to finish cooling.
2. Spread the cream evenly. Don't go all the way to the edge where you start to roll.
3. Gently roll it up tightly.
4. Transfer to a plate. Optional: cut a small piece from one end at a diagonal to create a branch stub.
5. Whip the ganache and spread over the whole cake.
6. Take the bark out of the fridge and press just once along the length. Unroll the parchment and place pieces on the cake, touching the chocolate as little as possible to avoid melting it.
7. Dust with powdered sugar

Note: I added merengue mushrooms to take it up another notch. Comment if you want a recipe.