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

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

As soon as the cream begins to thicken and become firmer, add the cream cheese (without any liquid), the powdered sugar, the zest of two oranges (only the outer orange part) well washed, dried, and finely grated.

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

Now let’s move on to the decoration cream (frosting).

Place the coarsely chopped dark chocolate, milk, and optional liqueur in a thermal glass or steel container to melt it in a double boiler (make sure the water underneath does not come into contact with the chocolate).

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

Remove the container with the melted chocolate from the heat, add the vegetable oil, mix well, and finally add the Greek yogurt (drained of any whey). Mix quickly for about a minute with a steel whisk, in an upward motion, as if trying to whip 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 non-stick pan with two handles measuring 9.5 inches in diameter, to have crepes with a diameter of 8 inches (the bottom of the pans is usually smaller).

For crepes with agglutinated flour, here is the basic recipe

For gluten-free crepes, you can use a gluten-free flour mix of your choice or use only 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 in the milk (room temperature or cold from the fridge, it doesn’t matter), Strega liqueur or other to taste, 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, before cooking, should be well stirred every time, as the rice flour tends to settle at the bottom, clumping together.

Heat a non-stick pan measuring 9.5 inches in diameter with a bottom of 8 inches.

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

Add a small piece of butter to cook each crepe without difficulty.

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 it easily detaches to be flipped and cooked on the other side for a few more seconds. Do not overcook them, as the crepes need to be soft and thin, so you can remove them from the pan even if they remain quite pale on the surface.

Do not worry if the first two crepes give you a hard time flipping them to the other side, if they look bad or break; it just means that the pan has not yet reached the ideal temperature 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 shown in the picture, about 13.4 inches long, you will need 12 crepes (I made thirteen and the extra one was, of course, immediately tasted).

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

Lay a first sheet of plastic wrap on your work table, 24 inches long, with the short side in front of you.

Cut a second sheet of equal length and overlap it by 2 inches, thus obtaining a single sheet of wrap, to prevent the two sheets from moving too much during the rolling of 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 at a time, as seen in the first photo above, ensuring there are no empty spaces.

To prevent the crepes from shifting or moving too much while rolling them, brush all overlapping edges with a little filling cream, which will act as glue, also helping during the spreading of the filling.

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

Dust the cream with a layer of cocoa powder (third photo) which will add a delightful touch to the preparation.

Now proceed to roll up the row of crepes, starting from the short side of this sort of rectangle created by the row of crepes. It’s a very easy step but 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 as tightly as possible.

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

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

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

Now wrap the yule log again in the plastic wrap and place it in a 12-inch loaf pan, which will help keep it from spreading and maintain its shape tightly (fourth photo, step below).

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

Now let’s move on to the decoration.

Get a piping bag with an open star nozzle of 0.4 inches in diameter.

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

Gently remove the plastic wrap from the crepe yule log.

Place the yule log directly on the serving plate or tray.

Insert the nozzle into the piping bag, fill with the cream, and begin to decorate, starting from the bottom of both sides, one at a time, working your way up to the top. This way, you won’t risk ruining the decoration.

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