This year’s pandemic force us to spend significantly more time at home.

I’ve been trying to stay positive, quietly crossing off things on my list.

Apparently, I had more time to prepare for Christmas, and I finally decided to make a yule log this year.

It was not every year, but my mother would make a yule log for Christmas every few years or so, and when she did, I would get so excited.

There is something so special about this cake.

This was a coffee cake with chocolate coconut cream frosting.

Like any other cakes I make, I keep the decoration simple.

Unfortunately, my cake broke while it was being rolled.

But I used a few tricks to keep the shape intact.

I wasn’t sure about posting this picture of a slice because nobody would know from outside as it’s completely covered with the cream.

But hey, it’s reality, and I’m not here to claim I’m the perfect cake maker (lol).

We’ve had these stockings for years.

R is for me, and T for my hubby.

I bought this one when my sister came to visit us in Minnesota a few years ago.

Actually, R, T, and K cover the initials of my entire family members!

Many of the ornaments are from my mother-in-law, including this one that she gave us the year when we were married.

Others are from our travels.

I used the recipe, https://www.fragrantvanilla.com/vegan-mocha-roll-cake/ .

I used the filling to cover the outside instead of using ganache, but other than that, only a few minor changed were made.

I’ve used her other recipes to make cakes in the past, and they were all delcious.

I love the ingredients that she uses, the cake sponge has the perfect texture, and the cream/frosting/filling is super delicious.

If you are not a big fan of the traditional frosting, like me, you should definitely try hers!