Buche De Noel-it's not just a pretty name

Do I thrive on stress and multitasking?

2011 concluded and as I look back on this blog, I have one comment:  I didn’t blog enough.

As I reflect on why I didn’t blog-it’s because for each entry I wanted to have all the photos, the story, and the exact recipe with all the key ingredients/substitutions.  I was too busy to make such complete entries as frequently as I would like.

So here’s my ‘incomplete’ entry – more to follow later.

For years I loved the way “Buche de Noel” sounds and looks.  Yes,  I could have bought a ready made one, but then my son wouldn’t be able to eat it due to cross contamination and allergens.  Even before his food allergies, I chose not to buy one because I knew the ingredients weren’t the best.

So I finally made it…. and it tastes as good as it looks and sounds.

As the first step, I watched the hilarious Julia Child video on how to make it (with the falling stump-I love her casual attitude when things don’t go perfectly).  But she didn’t cover the rolling part.  I researched at least 10 different recipes for ingredients, baking technique and rolling technique (there are many).

Mostly, this Yule Log (another name for it) is like my holiday mocha cake (prior blog entry).  I separate the eggs the same way I do for my cakes and the frosting was identical to my mocha frosting (except I added a bit of Kahlua).  But the rolling in towels and so forth gets a bit tricky (or at least stressful).  I always say holidays are not the time to experiment, but then I always do. Decorating the Buche de Noel was very easy.  So again, I tried to add a few new dishes to my holiday repertoire.    While creating new recipes and food items around the holidays is a bit stressful (what if it doesn’t work-disaster), it does provide me with some sort of accomplishment.

Apparently stress may be a killer, but it also fuels one’s creativity in all areas.

As usual I didn’t write the recipe and technique down (and I really should for something I make a few times a year).  So I will add this at a later time.  I’ve even found my blog useful to look up my own recipes. I also have many more to add from the recent holidays.


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