I remember when I was around eight years old, watching Julia Child make a bûche de noël on TV. My reaction was the embodiment of the 😮 (face with open mouth) emoji. Up till then, the most beautiful cake I’d seen was from Carvel. No shade to Fudgie the Whale, but this fancy French yule log absolutely blew that sea beast out of the water.

That’s because a bûche de noël is not just a cake. It’s a whole forest fantasy. Julia made spun sugar moss by flinging hot caramel on an oiled broomstick. The most charming detail, though? The adorable mushroom meringues she piped around the log.

Yes, you could make your own bûche de noël but, unless you’re an exceptional pastry chef, it will probably end up looking like frosted brown lumps, to put it kindly. My advice is to buy one from a really good French bakery.

Get the Bûche de Noël (Yule Log Cake) recipe from Delish, if you must.