Buche de Noel

 
 
The classic Buche de Noel cake is a French Christmas classic! It first appeared in the late 19th century but it's origin and creator has never really been found. To Americans you might recognize it as a "Yule Log" but the French translation is Christmas log but it sounds so much better as Buche de Noel (but doesn't everything sound better in French)

Larouuse Gastronomique's definition is: "Christmas Yule Log. A log-shaped cake traditionally prepared for the Christmas festivities. It is usually made of rectangular slices of Genoese sponge, spread with butter cream and placed one on top of the other, and them shaped into a log; it is coated with chocolate butter cream, applied with a piping bag to simulate bark. The cake is decorated with holly leaves made from almond paste, meringue mushrooms and small figures. A Swiss roll (jelly roll) may be used instead of sliced Genoese cake. There are also ice cream logs, some made entirely of different flavored ice creams and some with the inside made of parfait or a bombe mixture. This cake is a fairly recent creation (after 1870) of the Parisian pastrycooks, inspired by the real logs which used to be burned in the hearth throughout Christmas Eve. Before then, the cakes of the season were generally brioches or fruit loaves."

Of course I needed to carve out a few hours to make one for Christmas Day, it is actually very easy and the cake comes together rather quickly. Because you cook the Genoise on a sheet pan it cooks in under 10 minutes. Remember to roll it while still warm or it will crack. The variation I made was from the epicurius.com website and the almond filling was amazing! The cake turned out fantastic, but it is rather rich so have a cup of coffee or big glass of milk at the ready.

Bûche de Noël with Marzipan Mushrooms Bon Appétit | December 2000

The traditional French "Christmas log" is accompanied by meringue mushrooms; the ones here—formed out of marzipan (a paste made from almonds, sugar and egg whites)—are much easier to do. Look for marzipan at specialty foods stores and in the baking products section of supermarkets. Yield: Makes 14 servings Filling 2/3 cup whole milk 2 large egg yolks 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons all purpose flour 1/2 cup marzipan, cut into 1/4-inch pieces 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon almond extract Cake 6 large eggs 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup all purpose flour 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 tablespoons powdered sugar Frosting 3/4 cup whipping cream 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 5 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped Marzipan Mushrooms For filling: Bring milk to boil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk yolks and sugar in small bowl until well blended; whisk in flour. Whisk hot milk into egg mixture. Return to same saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until custard thickens and boils, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to processor; cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Add marzipan; process until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in butter 1 piece at a time, then both extracts. Cover and refrigerate filling at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. For cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 11x10x1-inch jelly roll pan. Line bottom with parchment paper; butter and flour parchment. Whisk eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, vanilla and salt in large metal bowl. Set bowl over pot of simmering water. Whisk until just warm, about 2 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until tripled in volume, about 6 minutes. Sift flour over; fold in until just combined. Gently fold in butter (do not over-mix, or batter will deflate). Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over towel. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake. Turn hot cake out onto towel. Peel off parchment. Starting at 1 long side and using towel as aid, gently roll up cake jelly-roll style. Cool. Unroll cake. Spread filling over. Reroll cake; place cake, seam side down, on platter. Refrigerate cake while preparing frosting. For frosting: Bring cream and butter to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to melt butter. Remove from heat. Add both chocolates; whisk until melted. Transfer to medium bowl. Let cool at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about 1 hour. Starting 1 inch in from each end of cake, cut on diagonal to remove one 3-inch-long piece of cake from each end. Attach 1 cake piece at sides of cake near each end. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake and pieces. Using tines of fork, draw concentric circles on cake ends to resemble tree rings. Draw fork along length of cake to form bark design. Garnish with Marzipan Mushrooms.