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A very Viking Yuletide challenge

African Vanielje on Dec 22 2007 at 1:52 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized

My daughter, who is a superb representation of her melting pot of ancestry, has long been thrilled with the idea of her Viking blood. Her father, who she inherited the blood of the Norsemen from, is to her a Viking personified. Strong, proud, laughing, passionate, independent, irreverent. He loves his family and he loves sharing wildly exaggerated stories of his exploits with her. And she loves him fiercely. He is her protector and her poet warrior, much the same as my father always has been mine.

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And me? I have no Viking blood, but I love words, stories and history, so it was with great gusto that Dakota and I plunged into this month’s Daring Baker’s challenge. I made her an honorary Daring Baker for the day, and enlisted her help with a very Viking Yule Log.

Our Daring Baker founders Liz of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, chose this festive delight for the Christmas challenge which provided the perfect donation for Dakota’s school Christmas party, and was one of the the reasons she was roped in to Yule Log decorating. The other reason being, of course, that the Yule log originates from the North countries and was brought to England and America by the marauding hordes of Norsemen who centuries ago went a-viking.

Jul meaning wheel of fire, was the midwinter celebration of the solstice, or the longest day. Falling on around the 21st/22nd December, the Vikings would take the opportunity to say goodbye to the Holly King who was the ruler of the night, and to welcome in the Oak King, the ruler of the day. The sun, or wheel of fire, would be joyously recalled as the countdown to ever shorter nights began, and a great big oak log would be chopped down, carved with runes representing any bad luck or undesirable traits that the Norsemen wanted banished, and ceremoniously kindled from the remnants of the previous year’s yule log. It was common for one end of the log to be placed in the Great Hall’s fire and the rest used as a convenient perch for the would be revellers. As the twelve days of Christmas wore on the log would be kept alight by the simple expedient of shuffling it into the fire as it burnt away.

Yule was the biggest celebration of the Viking Year, banishing midwinter hunger and dark days and looking forward to a New year of plenty and fertility. Holly was seen as both a guard against evil spirits and a symbol of fertility, and is still a traditional decoration for today’s Yule logs which have turned confectionary in nature. This may seem an odd metamorphosis, but consider the difficulties of burning a hand carved oak tree in a little iron stove (the central heating of choice in Victorian times) and the long held tradition of using up precious stores of dried fruits and sugar at the midwinter celebrations, and the leap becomes more logical. I’m not entirely sure where the mushrooms come from, but Dakota certainly embraced the Yule tradition of excess when she came to decorate our log.

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As with many pagan European traditions, the Yule log has become inextricably tangled up with the various, social and religiously significant Christmas traditions, and I find this fairly reassuring. I love the idea that a religious holiday that celebrates the birth of Love and Light, is still honoured by encompassing many religions and traditions in a fabulous display of tolerance and diversity. To me this is the true spirit of Christmas, and Jul marks the beginning of these twelve days of revel.

Thanks to Liz and Ivonne for a great group and a really enjoyable challenge. We hope the rest of the Daring Bakers had as much fun as we did.

For the full recipe for this Yule Log check here.

 

45 Comments »

45 Responses to “A very Viking Yuletide challenge”

  1. on 22 Dec 2007 at 2:45 pm 1Anne

    Oh goodness, that’s so pretty! Your mushrooms! So dainty! Airy! I’m awfully impressed :) (And pretty glad that I decided to not even try with the meringue…)

  2. on 22 Dec 2007 at 3:21 pm 2sunita

    That is one very pretty log :-)

  3. on 22 Dec 2007 at 3:46 pm 3Chris

    Wonderful! Great job!

  4. on 22 Dec 2007 at 4:25 pm 4Ann

    Love the holly and berries addition! It was a fun challenge, wasn’t it? Happy Holidays!

  5. on 22 Dec 2007 at 4:50 pm 5Christmas Bellini Valli

    Love the holly Vanielje. Your Buche de Noel looks fantastic! For my very first DB challenge I made the mistake of trying to make it over a 2 day period. I am waiting for my buttercream to soften up before I can decorate it. If it turns out even half as beautiful as yours I will be happy!

  6. on 22 Dec 2007 at 7:01 pm 6Andrea

    Good for you for making it a family yule log! Sounds like you and Dakota had a good time, and the buche looks great! Thanks also for sharing the history of the yule log. I enjoy learning that kind of stuff! :-)

  7. on 22 Dec 2007 at 8:20 pm 7Gigi

    Beautiful yule log! I love they you decorated it.

  8. on 22 Dec 2007 at 10:03 pm 8african vanielje

    Ann, Anne, Sunita, Chris, Christmas Bellini Valli, Andrea and GiGi. I appreciate all of you coming wassailing. Hope you all have a wonderful Chrismtas filled with joy and peace. xxx Inge

  9. on 23 Dec 2007 at 12:02 am 9Julie

    I really love food history, and I appreciate that you took the time to write it here! I also loved your poetic intro–my father was an epic hero to me, too. =)

    Your yule log is beautiful, and I’m glad your daughter was able to help decorate it! I like the mushrooms, but the polypores are especially endearing!

  10. on 23 Dec 2007 at 12:24 am 10african vanielje

    Those are all hers Julie. I didn’t know they were called polypores but she’s seen them in the woods here and wanted to recreate them. She was pretty pleased with them too.

  11. on 23 Dec 2007 at 12:48 am 11Kim

    Beautiful Yule Log. As someone who celebrates Yule I love the addition of Holly. Truly significant. So … Merry Yule to you and your Viking clan!

  12. on 23 Dec 2007 at 1:09 am 12megan

    Beautiful log! Nice story too
    Merry Christmas!

  13. on 23 Dec 2007 at 1:30 am 13courtney

    Another beautiful creation. I love your holly and mushrooms. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

  14. on 23 Dec 2007 at 2:06 am 14maria~

    Dakota did a wonderful job decorating the yule log. It looks delicious! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

  15. on 23 Dec 2007 at 2:13 am 15Claire

    I love the history bit. Nice job on the log. I love the placement of the four side mushrooms…so realistic. Merry Christmas!!!

  16. on 23 Dec 2007 at 3:32 am 16Lisa

    Wow.. I didn’t know about the origins of the Yule log – thanks for that lesson, I enjoyed it!

    I’m so happy your daughter helped out – she did a beautiful job! She can be an honorary Daring Baker whenever she’d like. :D

    Beautiful post – and yet another fantastic challenge!

    xoxo

  17. on 23 Dec 2007 at 5:35 am 17LizG

    Great looking log! And I think it’s wonderful you shared the process with your daughter. What a great recipe for baking!

  18. on 23 Dec 2007 at 2:53 pm 18lizet kruyff

    What a wonderful Viking(hi)story! From a now nebulous and white Netherlands we wish you all a merry Christmas, with warmth, family, friends and wonderful food.

  19. on 23 Dec 2007 at 3:18 pm 19Maryann

    “You done good, kiddo” :)

  20. on 23 Dec 2007 at 4:10 pm 20Jeni

    I loved your Solstice & yule log history…really! I am with you, I find the celebration of birth/light/renewal that runs through many traditions at this time of year the real inspiration. Admittedly I prefer the pagan traditions at this time of year, maybe because I have Scandinavian blood. But it all has great symbology.

    Your log is magnificent, and obviously Dakota is following in her mother’s footsteps.

    Happy Solstice & Christmas, Jeni

  21. on 23 Dec 2007 at 6:16 pm 21african vanielje

    Thanks Kim, Waes Hael to you too!

    Megan, merry Christmas to you too.

    Courtney, we’re all set for a week of family togetherness with nothing else to do. I guess that’s the best Christmas present ever. Happy holidays to you.

    Maria, she did do well didn’t she. Unfortunately I never got to taste it as it went to her school!

    Claire and Lis, I only did the Viking bit, not the cake bit, but others have posted about that so a lot of history for a li’l ol’ cake.

    Liz, too often we’re too rushed and I really enjoy time in the kitchen with Dakota. She reminds me to keep it real and we had such fun.

    Lizet, thank you. I’m so jealous! I’m African enough to still really look forward to snow. It’s the only thing that makes the cold worthwhile. Merry Christmas

    Thanks Maryann. Hohoho!

    Jeni, I often find myself thinking that so much of it is the same, just different languages / names/ etc. Santa Klaus, Saint Niklaus, Kris Kringle, Struwel Peter, Father Christmas. They’re all kinda the same thing with regional variations. But hey, as long as it’s all about peace, love and light I’m all for it. I’m quite impressed that even my 10 year old seems to value the time together more than a string of gifts. Of course the gifts are important, but even she realises that gift giving is about taking the time to really find the right gift for the right person and not to just spend loads of money. Wow, I just realised I must be doing something right… Merry Christmas

  22. on 23 Dec 2007 at 7:06 pm 22Katie

    I love the mushroom caps growing out of the side of the log. they look so authentic.

  23. on 23 Dec 2007 at 7:32 pm 23baking soda

    Wow look at that! Love the mushroom caps protruding from the log. Well done!

  24. on 23 Dec 2007 at 8:13 pm 24Belinda

    Hi Inge…I know I’ve been out of touch for ages, but I wanted to stop by and wish you a lovely Christmas, and to heap praise upon you for this beautiful Yule log! Wow!! It turned out just incredibly beautiful…I can picture it in an enchanted forest somewhere magical. You did a truly beautiful job, and no doubt Dakota played a big part in the gorgeous outcome. :-) The very best to you and your family in 2008, Inge.

  25. on 23 Dec 2007 at 8:43 pm 25Meeta

    This is one good lookin log. Perfect!

  26. on 23 Dec 2007 at 9:37 pm 26Marce

    Your yule log looks absolutely adorable! And it was a great recipe to make with kids. Thanks for the historical background, I hadn´t had time to do research about it, so it was very interesting to see where it all came from.

  27. on 23 Dec 2007 at 9:56 pm 27peabody

    Wow, great history behind it! Your Yule Log turned out beautifully!

  28. on 23 Dec 2007 at 11:47 pm 28brilynn

    Beautifully decorated log!

  29. on 24 Dec 2007 at 1:50 am 29Cheryl

    I love the mushroom caps sticking out the side of the log. That is a great idea, so authentic.

  30. on 24 Dec 2007 at 3:48 am 30Elisabeth

    What a beautiful log. I like how your mushrooms stuck out the side of the log.

  31. on 24 Dec 2007 at 4:20 am 31Ivonne

    I love that you got to bake this with your daughter! A real Viking! Your log looks so pretty. Happy Holidays to you and your family!

  32. on 24 Dec 2007 at 4:22 am 32Beth G

    BEAUTIFUL!! Your mushrooms are FABULOUS!! :O)

  33. on 24 Dec 2007 at 4:27 am 33Julius

    Your blog is a great and interesting read.

    Beautiful bûche de Noël, too.

    Happy Holidays.

    Julius from Occasional Baker

  34. on 24 Dec 2007 at 5:13 am 34Lisa

    You did a great job!

  35. on 24 Dec 2007 at 6:35 am 35StickyGooeyCreamyChewy

    Your Yule Log turned out beautifully. I really enjoyed your post too. Very interesting.

    Merry Christmas!

  36. on 24 Dec 2007 at 11:30 am 36Lynne

    A great idea writing about the history! Your log is beautiful!

  37. on 24 Dec 2007 at 5:59 pm 37Annemarie

    I love the re-telling of the yule log tale, made all homey and personal because of your daughter and husband. The mushrooms do look fantastic (you’ve trained her well!) and I really like that you thought to add some oyster-type mushrooms fanning out in ears from the side of the log.

  38. on 24 Dec 2007 at 6:40 pm 38Molly

    It is so interesting how the cakes often reflect the person. You have such gusto in yours. Merry Christmas and “god jull.”

  39. on 26 Dec 2007 at 5:29 am 39Fruittart

    Great log and I love the little fungi on the side — so realistic!

  40. on 28 Dec 2007 at 12:53 am 40Deborah

    Your log looks so wonderful!

  41. on 28 Dec 2007 at 4:59 am 41Tartelette

    What a beauty! Congratulations on such a great work! I loved the write up as much as the pictures!
    Hope you had a wonderfu Christmas!

  42. on 28 Dec 2007 at 6:03 am 42Jen Yu

    Absolutely gorgeous! I too made shelf mushrooms, which makes me think that you and I are both nature lovers :) I hope you and your family enjoyed your holidays. Happy New Year, Inge. I’m so glad that you are a Daring Baker!

  43. on 03 Jan 2008 at 1:15 pm 43m&ms

    those are the best mushrooms I have ever seen :) mmm..love to eat those…

  44. on 05 Jan 2008 at 2:58 am 44Jenny

    Wow, I love the history behind the log! And it goes so nicely with your beautiful log!
    PS Sorry I am late getting to you!

  45. on 28 Jan 2008 at 11:15 pm 45How To Eat A Cupcake

    Looks great! I’ve yet to taste a yule log!

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