To prepare our yule log, let’s start with making the filling cream and the frosting, both very quick and easy.

For the orange cream begin by whipping the cold whipping cream from the fridge with electric whisks.

As soon as the cream starts to thicken, becoming denser, add the cream cheese (without any liquid), powdered sugar, the zest of two well-washed, dry, and finely grated oranges (only the orange outer part).

Continue whipping the mixture for another minute until you get a fluffy, soft, and firm cream; then transfer it to the fridge, well covered.

Now let’s move on to the frosting.

Put the coarsely chopped dark chocolate, milk, and optional liqueur in a heatproof glass or steel container to melt it in a bain-marie (be careful that the water underneath does not make contact with the chocolate).

Bring everything over to the smallest stove burner on medium heat, stirring continuously until the chocolate is perfectly melted.

Remove the container with the melted chocolate from the heat, add the light vegetable oil, mix well, and finally add the Greek yogurt (drained of any whey). Mix quickly for about a minute with a steel whisk, with a motion from bottom to top, as if you were whipping the mixture. Finally, cover with parchment paper in direct contact with the cream and store in the fridge.

Now let’s prepare the crepes.

I used a nonstick pan with two handles, 24 centimeters in diameter, to have crepes with a diameter of 20 centimeters (the bottom of the pans is always smaller, generally).

For crepes with gluten flour, here is the basic recipe

For gluten-free crepes, you can use a gluten-free flour mix of your choice or just rice flour, as in this case.

In a large bowl, crack three whole eggs and beat them for a few moments with a steel whisk.

Pour the milk (at room temperature or cold from the fridge, it doesn’t matter), Strega liqueur or another of your choice, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

Mix well and add the rice flour (or the mix). Stir to combine all the ingredients, obtaining a liquid batter. The batter must be stirred well each time before cooking, as rice flour tends to settle at the bottom, clumping together.

Heat a nonstick pan, 24 centimeters in diameter, with a 20-centimeter bottom.

Once it is hot, add a small piece of butter and let it melt.

Add a small piece of butter to cook each crepe easily.

Cook the first crepe by pouring about 60 grams (better a little less than more) of batter. Let it cook for a minute or until you can easily flip it and cook the other side for a few more seconds. Do not overcook them as we need soft and thin crepes, so you can take them out of the pan even if they remain relatively light on the surface.

Don’t worry if the first two crepes are “troublesome” to flip, look bad or break; it just means that the pan hasn’t reached the ideal temperature yet to cook them without the risk of breaking.

Place the cooked crepes on a plate, one on top of the other, and continue until the batter is finished. To make the yule log in the photo, about 34 centimeters long, we will need 12 crepes (I got thirteen and, of course, the extra one was immediately tasted).

While the crepes cool slightly, prepare what you need to shape them into a log.

Lay a first sheet of plastic wrap on the worktable, 60 centimeters long, with the short side in front of you.

Cut a second one of equal length and overlap it on the first for 5 centimeters, creating a single sheet of plastic wrap, to avoid the two sheets moving too much while rolling the crepes. It is preferable to use plastic wrap instead of parchment paper, as the latter is stiffer and not elastic at all.

Place the crepes on the plastic wrap, in the center, overlapping them two by two, as seen in the first photo above, ensuring there are no empty spaces.

To prevent the crepes from moving too much while rolling them, brush all the overlapped edges with a little filling cream, which will act as a glue, also assisting in the process of spreading the same filling.

Now spread the orange cream very gently over the entire surface of the crepes until it is finished (second photo). You can help yourself with a spatula.

Lightly dust the cream with a veil of cocoa powder (third photo), which will give an excellent touch to the preparation.

Now proceed to roll the row of crepes, starting from the short side of this sort of rectangle created with the row of crepes. It’s a very easy step that should be done with patience and calm.

Lift the ends of the plastic wrap with both hands and bring them forward, slowly and gently, trying to roll the first two crepes on themselves as tightly as possible.

Continue to roll the crepes, pressing occasionally on the ends of the log to prevent the mass of crepes from shifting more to one side, as often happens when trying to roll something.

Reach the last two crepes, rolling them completely, making sure the closure remains underneath.

To make the crepe roll even tighter, you can use a ruler, which you will push against the roll to make it perfect.

Now wrap the log again in plastic wrap and place it in a 30 cm loaf pan, which will help keep it from spreading and maintain its tight shape (fourth photo, step below).

Leave the log in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.

Now onto the decoration.

Get a piping bag with an open star tip, one centimeter in diameter.

Remove the decoration cream from the fridge thirty minutes before using it, as it will be very plastic and quite firm.

Gently remove the plastic wrap from the crepe log.

Place the log directly on the serving plate or tray.

Insert the tip into the piping bag, fill with cream, and start decorating, starting from the bottom of both sides, one after the other, then move up to the top. This way, you will not risk ruining the decoration.

The yule log with orange cream is ready. I recommend letting it rest for a few hours so that the crepes absorb all the flavors and aromas of the filling and decoration, just like sponge cake. Afterwards, it will be even more delicious.