I wasn't even going to try and make one this year, after two disasterous years in a row. It's a Provence tradition to have a "bûche de Noël", kind of a log shaped cake existing in a myriad of flavors. I get only one flavor request around here though, chocolate, so we made a chocolate bûche. The cake inside isn't chocolate, it's a simple white jelly roll cake. It's baked flat, frosted, rolled up and frosted some more. The first year, I couldn't even get the cake out of the jelly roll pan...you try rolling up a million little pieces. The second year, a little smarter, I lined the jelly roll pan with waxed cooking paper. So far, so good. But I must have baked the cake too long, because when I tried rolling it up, it once again cracked into a million little, but delicious pieces. Success this year due to baking the cake till just barely done, and once out of the oven, I flipped the wax paper/cake over onto a damp towel. I let the cake cool a little here while making the frosting. But work fast, don't let the cake cool completely. Pull it off the wax paper while still warm, frost and roll and cross your fingers and toes.
the cake
4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar...beat these 2 together with 3tbs warm water
add 1 cup flour and 1tbs baking soda
mix in the 4 egg whites beaten stiffly
bake about 10 minutes in jelly roll pan..on wax paper
the frosting...recipe right out of Nina's Manon magazine (reading for 6-10 year olds)
melt 300g chocolate
stir in 200g crème fraîche
the cake is light, the frosting is not!
ps: the cake is bigger that it looks in the photo, and the cookies are smaller, I must have some kind of optical illusion going on...
pss: yes, those are lick marks you see in the frosting at the base of the cake, on the plate...little fingers have passed this way
13 comments:
It looks great and I'll sure it tastes even better.
I'll bet all those broken pieces from earlier attempts would have been fantastic for chocolate fondue...
I don't think I am ever going to attempt a buche de noel. They look like too much work to me. But I will buy one and eat it. I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!
Congratulations on a beautiful bûche and a Merry Christmas to you and your family!
At least you keep trying. I buy mine - or, like this year, just content myself with lots of cookies. I do believe this qualifies as a skeleton - I'll include it.
Merry Christmas!!!
Looks like a professional bakery made it! I'll bet it gets raves.
Homemade bûches are great, but I've never tried one. We have found some pretty good bakery versions, and my daughters love those, so...the choice is easy.
Merry Christmas! I may say it again...bloggers on my Google Reader may be subject to multiple season's greetings!
Mmmmm, it lokks delicious :-)
The jazz concert looked like fun. Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Yum! That looks great. I tried (with the emphasis on tried) making a bûche de Noël once when I was a teenager, and oh boy, was that was fun.
Merry Christmas to all of you!
A hint for the future - do turn out your still warm, freshly baked cake onto a damp towel, then immediately roll it up. After it's cool, unroll it (the towel will keep it from sticking to itself) and frost it. At least that's how I've always done 'jelly roll' type cakes.
Looks great anyhow - Merry Christmas!
Mmmm... chocolate frosted cake. I wouldn't mind one of those!
I commented on this post instead of the stinky cheese post because, well..., I'd rather eat the chocolate cake and cookies than the stinky cheese!
Merry Christmas!
Everything looks delicious in this photo~my hat is off to you for attempting to try this again! You did it! It turned out really well.Thanks for the tip with the wet towel.
Oh...I LOVE buche de Noel's and I have been FURIOUS at myself for days because I forgot to call our local French bakery (here in Ptld) and order one. I'm so impressed you made your own! Wow. Good for you.
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