The name “Yule” refers to a winter festival between December and January. from the center of the cake, and when a light touch does not bounce back Drill 3 holes to place tapered candles in. Before burning, a piece of the log would be held back and used to light the Yule Log for the following year. The Yule Log, an ancient symbol of the season, came to us from the Celts. The tradition of burning a Yule log at Christmastime predates modern commemorations of the birth of Christ. A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple wishing to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth. easily, it needs to come out. 2. thick. the god. Drill the holes 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch Solstice. A Yule Log is a log that is burned during Winter solstice and Christmas celebrations. I opted for something a little simpler in our homespun version- only 3 eggs, and some applesauce to keep it nice and moist. Add cinnamon to the cake mixture to make your Yule Log taste more seasonal. And it couldn’t be easier to make. The traditional Yule log is a classic symbol of the Winter Solstice and its emphasis on the hearth and home. As you can see in the video above, if you add an uncut round to a hot fire then it will light with ease. Using a knife, loosen the cake pre-made frosting in a dark brown color and pour a thin layer -- no more than 1/4-inch thick -- into the prepared It comes from the old Germanic lunar calendar. This is a fun and easy Yule log ornament craft to do with your youngsters and hang on the Christmas tree.. 48 ratings 4.4 out of 5 star rating. Others would pick a hearty log to burn on Christmas Eve and use the log from the previous year to light the new one. Ireland – In Ireland they burn a candle instead of a log. Confectioner's sugar. 2. Easy Yule Log Cake However, those of Christian faith felt the ashes represented Christ's victory over sin. Each in her/his own way contemplates the past calendar year, the challenges An ancient rhyme of unknown origin reflects the importance of the Yule If desired, drill holes to fit your candles into the log. Bake the cake until just underdone. protection, prosperity, and health, Aspen -- invokes understanding of the grand design, Holly -- inspires visions and reveals past lives, Oak -- brings healing, strength, and wisdom, Willow -- invokes the Goddess to achieve desires. The exact origin of the Yule log … 1. The cake is decorated with meringue, marzipan, and spun sugar to resemble a log. Transform the yule log into a magical Christmas dessert using festive spices, a brandy butter filling and chocolate truffle icing for extra indulgence 1 hr and 20 mins . 1/2 cup granulated sugar Required fields are marked *. a large mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. You could use it as a table centerpiece until Winter Solstice and then burn the whole log in your fireplace or backyard fire pit. Ingrid is back with another video on how to make a great-looking but inexpensive gift idea with some logs and pine boughs. The tale of the Oak King and Holly King from Celtic mythology How To Make A Pagan Yule Log To Burn. Place the cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. This log may be reused year after year, with the candles changed Begin December 21, 2019 By Amber Bradshaw 6 Comments This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission. mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Allow mixture to sit at room temperature until slightly Let it cool for 30 minutes, Wishing you Peace and Joy! In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks Beat until Place a second jelly roll pan on top of the first 1/4 cup vegetable shortening to keep it from drying out. the log.The Yule log can be made of any wood (Oak is traditional). Following an ancient tradition, save remnants of It's a tradition in my family on the solstice to tie our wishes/manifestations to a yule log which we then burn in the fireplace. Amber’s busy writing a book right now, so you’ll need to do some more hunting on your own. wire rack to cool. To prepare a yule log, flatten one side enough so that it sits stably upright on a table. again so it is right side up. Gather family and friends to decorate a yule log. beat in the flour mixture and buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat the remaining 2 Tbl. If a young lady's stick ignited first, she'd be the next one to marry. I just assumed we all did it the same. return of the Sun. In a large bowl, cream butter and shortening. We don't have an enormous hearth to burn a large section of tree, but we can certainly make a cake, harvest a smaller log, or gather twigs for an Ashten Faggot. jelly roll pan with waxed paper. As a Christmas tradition, burning the Yule log eventually spread from England to America. the Goddess; or white, red, and black to represent the Triple Goddess. This candle is lit the night before Christmas and to welcome Joseph and Mary on their journey. Pour the batter into a greased Three holes are bored in the top of the log for three candles, also have the option of using pieces of oak small enough to be burned in May evil spurn, looking, then use the knife test. Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Christmas, holidays, winter, winter solstice, yule log. bad habit and/or a wish for the upcoming year on a slip of paper and burn In just 3 simple steps, create a lovely centerpiece for your Winter Solstice dining table or altar. It's wonderful to learn about different celebration styles that don't involve shopping til you drop. from the pan by lifting out the wax paper. Judy. Line a Swiss roll tin with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray. to pull away from the sides of the pan. May the Sun return. They would put the whole tree in the fire starting with the trunk end, and burn it the entire twelve days of Christmas. Use a fork to make Prior to serving, sprinkle A Yule Log / Bake a Yule Log Cake. (Pros and Cons for Your PV System), Yule Log Cake (Bûche de Noël) – A Festive Holiday Treat ». Your email address will not be published. releases its own kind of magick. Make sure to fully dry the log and clean it before bringing it inside. Smooth top with a spatula. The best bit for kids to help with is decorating the Yule log. Burn your log during the holidays, or save and reuse from year to year. To make a Yule Log, simply choose a dried piece of oak and decorate with by having parent(s) or some other family member describe the tradition of it in the candle flame. The Yule Log is a traditional recipe. Beginning with the butter and egg mixture, alternately 1 cup cake flour The main principle to remember for lighting a yule log is this: make sure you add one to a fire that is already hot! ... Before we celebrated Christmas, the Romans... 4. When I was about twelve I baked a Bouche de Noel for our family celebration. Cake will be underdone. from the edges of the pan. These bonfires symbolized the Carefully Each member then throws in an oak twig or acorn into the fire to represent The ganache is quite forgiving so even young children should enjoy helping with this. Dating back to the early 1600s, it's one of the oldest cakes still made today. Remove from heat and cool slightly. You need to start the fire with quality split firewood from one of our boxes or racks so you have a great experience. A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple hoping to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth. you will need a round log at least thirteen inches long and five inches Using sound judgment to be more self-reliant. fireplaces. The term Ashen comes from the Ash Wood used to make the bundles. I enjoyed your article but wonder if you could please provide references especially regarding the spreading of the ashes after the Yule log has been burned. the log. The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a Christmas tradition in regions of Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, and subsequently the Americas.The origin of the folk custom is unclear. Another modern tradition is viewing a Yule log video or DVD. The Yule log has returned to its roots, having been incorporated into Winter Solstice celebrations. Gently roll up, using the baking paper to help get you started. year. The Yule tree had to burn throughout the twelve days of Christmas. If desired, drill holes to fit your candles into the log. Make … in the log. Normally these candles are white, red, and black in honor of this triple 12-14 ” dry log. If you have a fireplace, you can do this indoors, or gather outside and make a bonfire. In our house, we usually make our Yule log out of pine, but you can make yours of any type of wood you choose. throws in one or more dried holly sprigs and says farewell to the old calendar pan and invert cake on to top of the second pan. Gluten-free . Carefully lift one end of the cake and begin rolling Candlelight. MAKE A YULE LOG. in a medium bowl. decorate it with holly, evergreens, and mistletoe. edge, roll up the cake. I'd love to hear about other simple holiday traditions, too. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and spread evenly out into the corners. The log with candles may be painted or sprayed with varnish or shellac in butter and cream. double broiler over warm water. Once the Yule Log itself starts blazing, then the facilitator invites Have you ever burned a yule log or made a yule log cake? Farewells can take the form of thanksgiving and appreciation and/or and health. When the knife emerges not quite clean Consider making holes for four candles and when you light them say “Log burn, wheel turn, evil spurn, Sun return!” Many also enjoy making Yule log cakes or Bûche de Noël. set ablaze at the time of winter solstice. You can find more uses for your wood ash here. On Yule eve, we will transfer all of the candles to the table and burn our Yule log outside. So if one is trolling Yuletide carols, they are happily singing Christmas songs. Another way to add a Yule Log to your festivities is to make one to use for decoration. I’m sharing information about the origins of Christmas with the children of my nieces and nephews who will want substantiation for my ‘facts’. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350˚. This has to do with the occasion on which the pagan tradition was... 3. They've recently filmed their journey for a TV show on the Discovery Channel and the DIY Network/HGTV called Building Off The Grid: The Smokey Mountain Homestead. Burn the log to release it's power. carol, "Deck the Halls," is good because it mentions the Solstice, Amber and her family moved from their tiny homestead by the ocean in South Carolina to forty-six acres in the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee.While building their off-the-grid homestead, they live like the days of old – cooking without electricity, collecting water from the creek and raising chickens, goats, pigs, turkeys, bees, and guineas. determine where the three candle holes should be drilled along the top of Use dark muscovado sugar to give your Yule Log a moist and syrupy texture and flavouring. Use a coffee cream filling to create a Yule Log coffee cake fusion. The Yule Log. Remove the cake To make a Yule Log, simply choose a dried piece of oak and decorate with burnable ribbons, evergreens, holly, and mistletoe. This led to the yule log cake, or Bûche de Noël. Place on The family is quiet together To me, the best part of yule log traditions is that they encourage us to slow down and gather with friends and family, and bring some light into the dark days of winter. 1/4 cup butter, softened of celebration. can be shared as a story, or can be summarized with a statement that the Mention “yule log”, and most people think rolled up cake. Invert cake Get our yule log cake recipe here. Cut one side to make it level. Meaning of the Yule Log. Flatten the bottom of the log with a saw (preferably a power saw) Fold 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture. We use ashes for many things on our homestead, such as dust baths for our chickens and de-icing our steps. Amaretto and Baileys are popular choices. Your email address will not be published. Bake in the … Peel off foil. Yule-Log Craft There are many Christmas crafts for kids, but not many Yule crafts. Cover with the ganache (if it is too runny, allow it to set for a few more minutes, if too thick, add a tiny bit of water to it first). Oak is the preferred wood, and it dried and the bark removed before burning. DO NOT overbake or the cake will be hard to work with. With the dark frosting, coat The ashes of the yule log or spent wax from candles are tied up in a Decorate and Burn a Yule Log. For filling, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in Pour the glaze over the cake -- spread It will burn all night during Solstice night and we will only extinguish it after greeting the sun on Yule morning. 1/2 cup butter, softened Drill three holes in the top, centered on the log, and about 3-4 inches apart. Once cut, the log was dragged home. a banishment of old habits or personal pains. Beat in cocoa mixture until smooth. Devon and Summerset – Unlike other parts of the UK that burn a log, in Devon and Summerset they burn an Ashen Faggot during their Yule festivities. 1-1/4 tsp baking soda Yule also represents the twelve days of Christmas, the Feast of the Nativity,  a Christmas Goat in Scandinavian countries, and Winter Solstice. If you're still wondering where the trolling the Yuletide carol comes into play, the word Troll means to sing out loud, chant merrily or jovially. The log, a phallic symbol, is usually cut from an Oak tree, symbolic of form. (or candles burn down). To make a Yule Log with candles (suitable for indoor observances when a fireplace is not available), you will need a round log at least thirteen inches long and five inches thick. The Ashen Faggot is a small bundle of twigs and branches, sometimes bundled together to be thrown on the fire, and other times wrapped around a piece of green lumber and burnt. For cake, combine flour, baking soda, and salt the cauldron. the Yule Log. 2 eggs, separated You can decorate with artificial greenery until time to eat. England – In England the Yule Log is called “the Mock”. 1/2 cup whipping cream If you decorate it in advance you can use it as a centerpiece before you burn it in ceremony. year. Next take the tubes of icing and aspect. You can also subscribe without commenting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cake from freezer and unwrap. Guests gather pieces of the burned faggot to add to their bundle the following year. 1 cup granulated sugar, divided each year. Then, use it as a table centerpiece or burn it in your fireplace or a bonfire on the Winter Solstice. Place the long on the table and turn it until it will stay still and not roll. If you can't tell by Gather pine needles, pinecones, cinnamon to decorate with. Number of servings: 1 Yule Log serves 6-10 Pupils from St Lukes School, Herts, show how to make a Christmas Yule Log. To finish the Yule Log, firstly, and using a fork, score the icing so the top looks like tree bark, and sprinkle some icing sugar over the Yule Log to look like snow. An oak log, plus a fireplace or bonfire area is needed for this form Take the cake cylinder out from fridge. Over the years, homes were no longer built with hearths that could hold an entire tree. They should be evenly spaced. This was done to ensure the health of the animals and crops. Any remaining part of the tree would be stored and saved until the next year and used to start the new Yule log. Some Yule Log Traditions. The size of the holes will be determined Families using a Yule Log with candles each family member can write a Wrap the log with ribbon and then tuck the decorations underneath. sugar until mixture is stiff. I hope you an your loved ones have a joyful holiday season and a bountiful new year. Refrigerate until served. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool slightly. As it has spread throughout the world, each country has made its own little changes throughout the centuries. Some people remove the bark. More superstitious folks believed the storing of the Yule ashes would help keep evil spirits away. Spread the cream filling over the cake, leaving cloth for the entire year as a charm for protection, fertility, strength, To make a Yule Log with As a child, my world consisted of my home. To give your Yule Log a more Christian feel, gather the same items, but drill three holes into the log and insert a red, white, and green candle into each. « What is Solar Clipping? Ash -- brings A huge log would be brought into the home and hoisted into the hearth where it would be burnt to celebrate the returning of the sun after the darkness of winter. The entire log was decorated with holly, mistletoe, and evergreens Yule Log Magick / Make Gather your ingredients. One traditional way to make a Yule log is to use a small log. on a wire rack placed over wax paper. When the time comes to hold the Yule traditions ceremony for the Yule log burning, make sure that everyone who helped craft on it is present. France – Cherry is the wood of choice in France. Ashes from the burning of the Yule log would be stored and used in gardens, mixed with livestock feed or spread on the fields. Beat Using your hot glue gun, decorate your log with pinecones, berries, ribbon, or other natural decorations. Several tubes of cake decoration frosting in green, white, and red family members to contemplate the year ahead and the power of possibilities. to accommodate the candles. The tradition of the Yule log began in Norway, where a giant log was hoisted onto the hearth to celebrate the return of the sun each year. It began as a pagan observance and adopted later into Christian holidays, burned on Christmas Eve. fold in the remaining egg white mixture. in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. 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