The Great Yule Log Experiment 2016



Yule Log

Published on 16 December 2016 by Christopher Lewis. Words: 604. Reading Time: 3 mins.

When I was younger (in the 1980s) I always remember my mum making a Yule Log for Christmas. Of course, when I say “making”, I mean buying a chocolate swiss roll and covering it with some sort of chocolate buttercream/ganache. She always used to decorate it the same way using the same gold plastic Merry Christmas and sprinkle some icing sugar for that snow effect.

Now I have my own family, I thought it was time to decide whether to carry on that tradition of “making” a Yule Log or whether to stick with buying one like I have done for the last 10 years!

So for the last 4 weeks I have put myself through the hellish task of testing a Yule Log a week to find out which is the nicest/best so that we can buy the right one for Christmas Day. Obviously this was just a ruse to eat more cake but the better half bought into the idea, so why not?!

The criteria I marked against was:

  • Presentation - after all they say you eat with your eyes first!
  • Cost - after all we are in a time of austerity at the moment.
  • Taste - Who wants to eat cake that doesn’t taste #awesome?

Each was marked out of 5, so the totals are out of 15!

The following details the order in which they ranked during our testing:

Marks and Spencer Hand Decorated Chocolate Yule Log

Description: A light chocolate swiss roll filled with indulgent chocolate buttercream & generously covered win chocolate fudge & delicately sparkling snow dusting. Availability: In Store Only Price: £6.00

Results Presentation: 5 Cost: 4 Taste: 5 Total: 14

Opinion: This was definitely the best one we tasted. If you’re a milk chocolate lover, you will love this. Soft, creamy and delicious. M&S do it again! Luckily we managed to find another one for Christmas day!

Tesco Finest Yule Log

Description: Chocolate flavoured sponge roll filled with chocolate flavoured buttercream, covered in milk chocolate and finished with Belgian milk chocolate ganache frosting. Availability: In Store or online Price: £3.50

Results Presentation: 4 Cost: 5 Taste: 4 Total: 13

Opinion: This was a close Tesco’s finest was a close second. One thing that confused us was underneath the ganache is a hard chocolate shell. It almost seemed like the standard Tesco chocolate log just tarted up with a ganache coating.

Waitrose Belgium Chocolate Yule Log

**Description: Chocolate sponge filled with chocolate buttercream, finished with a chocolate frosting and sweet dusting. Availability: In Store or online Price: £5.00

Results Presentation: 4 **Cost:**4 Taste: 3 Total: 11

Opinion: This was the last one we tested. It was nice, but for me the frosting seemed too chocolate-y. (i can’t believe it either!)

Tesco Chocolate Yule Log

**Description: Chocolate flavoured sponge filled with chocolate buttercream, covered in milk chocolate and finished with a sweet dusting. Availability: In Store or online Price: £2.00

Results Presentation: 2 Cost: 5 Taste: 3 Total: 11

Opinion: This was the first one we tested. The sponge was OK but the hard chocolate coating let it down.

Disclaimer:

  • The Yule Logs in this review were purchased and not provided by the manufacturers.
  • This is an impartial review, I have not been paid in anyway for my opinion and i do not get anything if you click through to the manufacturers website.
  • This is not an exhaustive list of Yule Logs, there are other manufacturers and supermarkets.
  • Some products may contain allergens, please check before you buy!
  • The cloudxpert.net does not take any responsibility for your expanded waistline should you choose to purchase any of the above.

Published on 16 December 2016 by Christopher Lewis. Words: 604. Reading Time: 3 mins.


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