Saturday, November 26th is National Cake Day! What better way to celebrate the food holiday and countdown to Christmas than share the recipe for the famous: La Buche de Noel
La Buche de Noel, (Christmas Yule log) is the traditional Christmas dessert for the French. The traditional buche is a genoise, (similar to sponge cake) baked in a medium Swiss roll pan – 1 foot by 1 ½ foot.
Bake away!
Ingredients for the Genoise:
2.6 oz. of sugar
2.6 oz. of Flour
0.88 oz. or a quarter of a butter stick (melted).
3 full eggs plus one yolk
How to make the Genoise:
• With the help of an egg beater, beat the 3 egg whites until very firm. Place in the refrigerator during the time you are preparing the batter for the genoise. In a large bowl, mix the sugar with the 4 yolks with a spatula. Incorporate the flour and the egg white, then add the melted butter.
• Line your Swiss roll or cookie pan with wax paper. Apply a thin layer of butter or oil film with a brush. This will keep the dough from sticking. Very important; spread your dough evenly (½ inch) to avoid dry patches. Place inside a very warm oven pre-heated to 475ᵒ, and then reduce heat to 225ᵒ. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes. Take it out of the oven, turn the cake upside down on a very cold surface. (Marble is ideal) While cooling off, prepare your filling.
Ingredients for the filling:
5.30 oz. of butter
1.1 lb. of chestnut cream
What to do:
• Mix both ingredients together with a whisk. With the help of a cake knife spatula, evenly spread the creamy filling.
• The flavor can vary depending on your taste, from buttery chocolate, to coffee, to creamy chestnut or whatever your heart desires.
• Roll the cake into the shape of a log. I usually cut a small piece at the end which is placed on top of the log to simulate the trunk of a chopped-off tree. Frost your log with the same cream (you also may add a bit more chocolate or chestnut cream to add to the taste).
Then comes the fun part. Drag a fork through the frosting to give your log the texture of bark.
You can add homemade meringue mushrooms; dust with powdered sugar for a snow effect, shaved chocolate bits, and make holly leaves from almond paste.
You may also decorate with small figures found at party shops which you can use every year.
