Yule Logs and Desserts: Boldness on the Holiday Menu

This year, master pastry chefs are overflowing with creativity, reinventing holiday classics. With technical audacity and unique flavor pairings, the festive creations for this 2025 edition promise a true sensory odyssey, designed to delight and surprise every palate.

In the past, the Yule log was simply a rolled sponge cake. For this Christmas Eve, local craftsmanship showcases its finest: crispy textures, airy mousses, and exceptional ingredients grace the festive table. Whether it’s architectural desserts or reimagined tiered cakes, each creation becomes an edible work of art.

L’Artista: Boldness and Trend
For Christmas 2025, the brand L’Artista at Caudan Waterfront has chosen to radically shake up the codes of traditional pastry. The establishment offers creations with bold shapes and cosmopolitan flavors.

This year marks a visual break as the traditional cylindrical shape of the Yule log gives way to an innovative design reminiscent of a hat. According to Devin Makiah, the restaurant manager, this aesthetic change responds to a growing demand from Mauritians who want to see something other than the classic log on their festive tables.
"Innovation is at the heart of our approach, as the local public now craves new ideas and concepts that stand out from the ordinary," explains Devin Makiah.

In terms of flavors, the restaurant is focusing on two signature items. The first, named the Red Forest Velvet Log, offers a fusion of Red Velvet and Black Forest cake. The second creation, the Dubai Kunafa Style Log, is directly inspired by the global trend of Dubai chocolate. This complex dessert layers crispy Kadaïf, a creamy white chocolate and pistachio ganache, praline mousse, and coconut marshmallow.

"By blending the exoticism of Eastern cuisine with the pillars of Western pastry, we are adapting to the evolution of Mauritian taste buds. People are now more inclined to abandon conventional flavors for more elaborate texture combinations," says our contact.

Noann Foi: The Passion for Taste
For Noann Foi, pastry is not just a profession; it’s a passion she nurtures. This taste artisan from Pointe-aux-Sables approaches each holiday season as a new creative challenge, seeking the balance between respecting traditions and embracing modernity.

This year, her Christmas menu unfolds in two distinct worlds. Roundness seekers will turn to her chocolate and red fruit log, while those seeking zest will opt for her lemon meringue log. For Noann, innovation is essential.

"Every year, I try to innovate. Last year, I focused on changing shapes. This year, I chose to concentrate on new flavors," she explains.

Nevertheless, Noann Foi has a realistic view of local consumption habits. While she offers novelty, she notes that Mauritians still have a strong affection for classics.
"I admit that customers are fans of traditional logs. The highest demand remains, time and again, for chocolate," she confides.

Beyond creation, the daily life of this small artisan is marked by a complex economic reality. The rising price of chocolate weighs heavily on her business. Maintaining quality production on her own is a true challenge. "With a kilo of chocolate now costing around Rs 1,200, it’s not easy for small businesses like mine," she states. Despite these obstacles, her passion remains intact, driven by the desire to offer a delicious and authentic Christmas to those who come to her door.

Anabelle Fleury (Rêve Sucré): The Macaron Tree
At Rêve Sucré, the magic of Christmas takes on a sculptural and airy form this year. Anabelle Fleury chose to move away from the traditional log to offer an original creation: the Macaron Tree.

A true mini-tiered cake, this dessert consists of four layers of macarons in four distinct flavors: pistachio, speculoos, mint-chocolate, and lemon. To bind this ensemble, each layer is adorned with a vanilla ganache.

The idea behind this creation is to offer a genuine sensory experience. "When you taste this tree, you travel through different flavors with every bite," explains Anabelle Fleury. Although designed to be shared between two or three people, she concedes with a smile that "the biggest foodies can certainly indulge in it alone."

For the head of Rêve Sucré, innovation is not an option but a necessity to meet the expectations of an enthusiastic audience. "Mauritians love gastronomy and are great foodies. It is essential to give them what they seek while surprising them with new ideas and creativity."

Maison Escoffier
At Maison Escoffier, the excitement of the holiday season is palpable. For this season, they have composed a gourmet selection where chocolate, exotic fruits, and Christmas spices become the key notes of an inspired repertoire. This year's collection features six Yule logs, up from five in the previous edition.

"This year, we have imagined Yule logs as true sensory experiences. Flavor combinations play on contrast and surprise: botanical notes, tangy touches, balanced bitterness, and multiple textures. Each log tells a story where visual appeal, tasting, and emotion interact while maintaining the elegance and indulgence that define our signature," confides Sandy Scioli, Group Culinary Director of Escoffier Foods Mauritius.

According to her, the spark for this collection came from a deep desire for creation and freedom.

"It was not about renouncing tradition but evolving it. The chef wanted to explore new sensory territories, inspired by the plant world, spices, and the richness of our terroir, while respecting the foundations of French pastry. The goal was to offer something sincere, bold, and perfectly mastered," says Sandy Scioli.

Among the standout creations is the Écrin Forestier, a signature piece that combines Greek yogurt mousse with combava, pistachio Joconde biscuit, pistachio cream, and a red fruit confit. In tribute to the southern summer, the Soleya log offers a sunny union of lime-vanilla bavarois, passion-fruit-banana cream, and a double coconut dacquoise, all accented with an insert of poached pineapple on a crispy sablé.

The chef also revisits traditions with the Épicéa log, inspired by the spirit of Stollen in the form of a spiced Viennese biscuit filled with a compote of apples, figs, apricots, and prunes, complemented by a citrus-vanilla ganache. In a more modern style, the Rubis log pairs tart raspberry with the sweetness of silky chestnut through a Viennese biscuit and a creamy whipped ganache.

Beyond the logs, Maison Escoffier offers artisanal Panettone.

"We see a real evolution in Mauritian taste. Customers are now more curious, more open to discovery and complexity of flavors. While the great classics remain reassuring, many are now ready to be surprised by more botanical notes, less sweet balances, and more elaborate texture play. This maturity encourages us to push further in creativity and offer contemporary pastry that is grounded in its time and territory."