The cake goes by “bánh khúc cây giáng sinh” (Christmas stick cake), “bánh bông lan cuốn” (rolled sponge cake), or simply “bûche de Noël.”

Just as in Paris, where some bakers have abandoned the traditional scored frosting and meringue mushroom caps for more avant-garde shapes and flavors, Vietnamese bakers have given their own twist on the log by adding flavors like matcha, mango, and coconut and cranking up the kitsch and cuteness.

Image by Steve Rainwater on Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

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