Buche de Noel

A buche, or Yule log, is a jelly roll-style cake that is decorated to look like a log sitting in the snow on the forest floor. A sponge cake is baked in a very shallow pan, frosted with what I think of as the best of all frostings the classic French buttercream and rolled up. At this point you can wrap and refrigerate it for up to 3 days, or freeze the cake for a month, along with the rest of the frosting that you will use to cover the "log" the day you serve it. Defrost the cake and frosting in the refrigerator for a day.

Room temperature eggs are essential here, but you can bring chilled eggs up to it by putting them in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes or so. Also, note that you sift the flour two times before measuring it.
Cake:
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 cup twice sifted cake flour

Chocolate Buttercream: (for filling)
1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1tsp. vanilla
1 oz. melted bittersweet chocolate
Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, add remaining ingredients.

Chocolate Ganache: (for frosting)
11/2 cups cream
6oz. chocolate
4 Tbls. butter
Heat cream until hot, pour over chocolate and whisk until incorporated, whisk in butter. Use while warm or it will be difficult to spread.

Meringue Mushrooms:
2 egg whites
Pinch of cream of tarter
¼ cup sugar

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar; gradually add sugar until stiff peaks form, place in pastry bag with plain round tip, pipe out circles and domes. Bake at 225 for about 1 hour. Dust with coca powder. Trim points off stems and adhere top to stem with melted chocolate. Makes about 10 mushrooms.


Preheat oven to 375 jellyroll baking pan. Line it with parchment paper. Put the eggs, baking powder, salt and vanilla into a mixer bowl. With a whisk attachment, beat 2 minutes at high speed. Lower speed to medium, pour in the sugar, and beat another 3 minutes, or until pale and very thick. Take speed down to low and add the flour. Run the mixer about 20 seconds, stop, and remove the bowl and beater. Then, using the whisk attachment, stir the batter a few times to thoroughly blend in the flour. Don't over mix. Turn the batter into the pan, spreading out smoothly.

Bake 10-12 minutes, or until a tester slipped into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool. Spread a dishtowel on a counter and place cake pan on upside down, gently remove cake and peel off parchment. Spread the buttercream over the top of the cake. Using the towel lift the cake, roll it up from the long side, tucking the cake in snugly as you go. Wrap in the foil and refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze up to one month.

To finish the buche: Early on the day you want to serve the buche, bring the cake to room temperature. Spread sheets of wax paper or foil over the edges of a long serving platter so you can pull them away once you have frosted the log. Set the cake log atop the paper. At an angle, cut away a piece from one end of the cake. Place the piece you cut away atop the roll to resemble a branch (optional), using a dab of frosting to make it stick to the roll.

Frost the entire log with ganache. Use a fork to make groves running the length of the log to resemble bark. At the ends of the log, draw concentric rings into the frosting to resemble the cut end of a log.

Pull away the pieces of wax paper or foil along the edge of the platter. Sift a dusting of cocoa onto the platter around the log to look like earth. Shake out the sifter and place several big tablespoons of powdered sugar to it. Sift the sugar over the cake and plate to look like a dusting of snow.

Tuck a few sprigs of holly or other greenery around the buche, removing them before serving.
To hold, refrigerate the buche, but serve it close to room temperature.
Makes enough for one 10-inch long buche de noel, serving 10-12.