Buche de Noel (you can add decorated frosting) |
This blog is partially becoming my tool for me to remember
what I create in the kitchen and how I created it. I often refer to my blog for some recipe or
technique that I used before. This of course requires that
the blog entries have enough information to create the item. That level of information can be time
consuming to add to the blog, so I occasionally skip the detail and I conceptually blog
about some great dish without adding the recipe.
I planned to make this Yule Log (Buche de Noel) the night before Christmas
Eve and frost it the next day. I spent
some valuable family time and it was midnight before I was ready to bake. I
first looked at my blog, which only had pictures, but no recipe of the cake. I quickly pulled up a recipe online and
started making it. After robotically measuring 3 cups of flour and blending it
with salt and baking soda, I realized that this recipe was way off. Three cups of flour with six eggs does not
sound right. So I frantically (now 12:30
AM) googled and rushed through all kinds of recipes. One called for cornstarch; I never use cornstarch in my cakes. Somehow, by
combining various recipes, I created the buche de noel cake part and rolled it
up to cool overnight (now 2 AM). During
this process I also thought I misplaced two egg yolks in the separation process
(but didn’t see it in the drain) so I added two more yolks. Later, I realized
that nothing was misplaced, instead the
imagined discrepancy was due to panic
combined with fatigue. Consequently the
cake ended up with two extra yolks which led to a very yellow and tasty cake. The
buche de noel was a success.
I do not want to repeat this panic night again. Baking is
not something one can improvise (or the dreaded cake fall or cake break during
the roll can happen). Some on social
media were also asking me for the recipe after seeing photos of the finished
product. So I decided to remake this
cake during the holiday season so I can write down the recipe and photograph
the process.
Next year I will not have to panic at 1 AM; at least not about Buche de Noel.
[See my prior posts on Buche de Noel also: Buche de Noel Overview and decorations]
[See my prior posts on Buche de Noel also: Buche de Noel Overview and decorations]
Beat the yolk until thick |
This is the the right consistency (fairly thick) |
six egg whites |
after beating with formed peaks |
Fold the beaten whites into the yolk - make sure you keep incorporating air |
The baked product (it's done when it springs back) - sprinkle with powder sugar to prevent sticking |
achieve this by placing a cookie sheet topped with the cloth over the baking pan and flip |
Very carefully remove the parchment paper, if you rush, you can rip the cake |
More powder sugar |
fold cloth over |
remove cookie sheet from bottom |
Very patiently roll the cake |
let it rest for a few hours (I actually did overnight and it was fine)-this forms the cake to roll |
For cake:
Recipe - Buche de
Noel (Yule Log)
6 eggs + 2 yolks
½ cup plus 2 tbs granulated sugar divided in two (the ½ cup
and 2 tbs)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
¼ tsp cream of tartar
½ cup cake flour
Powder sugar
Parchment paper
Clean Kitchen rag (not terrycloth)
Jelly pan
And…
Hope (relating to the cake not breaking as it’s being rolled
up, unrolled, and then rolled again-that’s three risk points).
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 11x10x1-inch jelly roll pan. Line bottom with
parchment paper; butter and flour parchment paper also and knock out excess
flour.
Separate 6 eggs
Beat yolks (8), ½ c. sugar, vanilla and large metal bowl
until lemon yellow-high speed about 5-8 minutes sift half of flour over yolks
and fold it in gently. Then sift rest of it in. I actually just beat the flour
in at a low speed it also works.
Beat egg whites (6) with
cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form.
Beat in 1 tablespoons sugar half a tablespoon at time until peaks hold.
Add egg white to egg yolk, make sure air is incorporated (add in parts).
Add egg white to egg yolk, make sure air is incorporated (add in parts).
Spread batter in prepared pan evenly. Bang the pan once
against counter to remove bubbles. Bake
until top springs back, about 10-14 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over towel and top of cake.
Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake. Turn hot cake out onto towel with
cookie sheet under it (with oven mitts). Peel off parchment. Starting at long side and using towel as aid, gently roll
up cake jelly-roll style. Cool.
Unroll cake, frost and
re-roll cake; place cake, seam side down, on platter.
Roll (long side away) with towel. Let sit so the cake molds into a rolled shape
Careful unroll from towel
Fill with frosting
Roll back
Take a diagonal slice off to serve as trunk – stick on the
frosting and frost
Make lines to resemble a tree
Carefully put on a large serving platter that has been
dusted with powder sugar
Sprinkle powder sugar over the frosted cake to resemble snow. In prior years I have made white frosting so
I can create green, white and red frosting pieces to resemble the forest (leaves,
mushrooms, berries). I skipped that
step.
For frosting I used a slightly fluffier variation of my
mocha frosting recipe (listed in this blog) and the second time this season I
made a rum chocolate frosting (chocolate and rum are a great flavor combination).
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