Bold Baking of Buche de Noel

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]

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).

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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Jambalaya Hungarian Style

Serve over some authentic basmati rice 

Cooking after work sometimes, at best, can be tedious.  For two days I’ve put it off but I had various items thawed out for outdoor grilling that never happened (someone else volunteered, and that never came to be).  Specifically it was beer brats and boneless chicken breast.   Baking/indoor grilling just sounded too boring.  So I decided to quickly (at 9 PM) to throw some items together and make sort of a jambalaya (no shellfish due to my son’s allergies and for some reason I’m repulsed by shrimp that I used to love).  The season for slow cooking (and fast thinking in the kitchen) has begun.    Originally I was planning on using my Dutch oven for this, but then I would have to stay up past 11:30 PM (I had an early meeting the next day, but then I ended up staying up late anyways).

This ‘recipe’ (I don’t really measure anything) is very flexible.  The convenience and ease is just too good to pass up.  I used brats because that’s what I had; you can also use the more expected Andouille sausage.  Although the brats are SO tender, I would do this again.

This is a very important step-stir fry the spices for 30-60 seconds,
don't just throw the spices into a liquid

You can see how well the spices work their way into
the meat and vegetables

Cook on low for 6.5 hours

Ingredient guide:

Cooking Oil to coat pan (about 3 tbsp)

2 onions-sliced and cut in half

4 cloves of garlic peeled and left whole

3 cloves of garlic chopped

28 oz. organic diced tomatoes

Splash of hot sauce

1 tsp. Asian chili paste

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

2 -3 tbsp. authentic Hungarian paprika (not hot)-the quality of the paprika has a major impact on the flavor

2 bay leaves

½ tsp. caraway seeds

½ tsp. thyme

½  tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 – ½ tsp. red pepper flakes

5 beer brats (Klements in this one)

1 lb of boneless chicken breast, diced (cut across against the grain)

6 -7 yellow potatoes peeled and diced

¾ cup organic chicken stock

1 tsp. salt

Parsley or cilantro to top off the dish at the end right before serving

I never just throw in ingredients before cooking in the crockpot.  Frying the meat before hand seals the juices in.   Vegetables fried before hand also taste better.  Also, spices need to ‘roast’ for about 30 seconds to maximize their flavor.  I don’t throw spices into a dish either.  Instead, at the end, I throw in the spices (especially spices like paprika, cumin, coriander) and stir fry them with the meat/vegetables for about 30 seconds. 

1.     Fry onions for about 5 minutes

2.     Add chopped (about 3-4 cuts per sausage) raw brats along with garlic cloves and stir fry about 3-4 minutes

3.     Add diced chicken and stir fry about 5 minutes

4.     Add diced potatoes

5.     Add spices (except bay leaf) and stir fry for 30-60 seconds (on medium high)

6.     Add organic diced tomatoes, stir

7.     Add chili paste and about 1 tsp. (+) of hot sauce

8.     Add chicken stock

9.     Stir well and put in crock pot and add bay leaves and salt.

(again, I have an insert that can be used on stove top as well)

Cook on low for about 6.5 hours.  If you use a Dutch oven, bake for about 2 hours on 350.

I created this dish ‘on the fly’ so the amounts are estimates.

Cool and refrigerate (if it’s ready in the morning).  I also removed some of the grease (top layer).

If there are is only one takeaway from this recipe-stir fry your spices for about 30 seconds, do not just throw them into the liquid.

The second take away is that I still haven’t managed to turn myself into a morning person, so more creative dishes emerge after 9 PM.

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Cooking, Writing, and Surviving

Autumn is the right time for some contemplation

For those who are familiar with The Walking Dead, when the Governor was asked by his new partner “What are you doing?” He replied,  “Surviving.”  A great line from the series.

But since we are not living in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, we can probably do a little more than just survive, but are we?

As I was looking for an item in the basement, I came across some old letters written by me when I was 17 and some letters I received.  I was somewhat surprised by the great quality of the writing, the intensity, tight writing styles as well as the precision to express feelings, barriers and other daily life events.  The letters (from me and others) didn’t have “I miss you, got to go, brb, ttyl” .  Instead the sentences captured exactly the sentiments felt at the time along with the realities.   One built, strengthened  and forged relationships with such letters.  No, these letters weren’t written in the 1800s; they were contemporary and modern.  I felt a sense of loss that I no longer write like that.  As I lost the knowledge of some languages (Russian and German), I have lost the ability to express myself that way, for whatever purpose.

This blog was initially inspired by my need to advocate some healthier food options and share some techniques to achieve such meals.   Cooking is somewhat of a dying art.  People want quick instant food, processed food.  Cooking is too hard, too time consuming and to many, just not worth it.  Creating is too hard.

Many also communicate in the same fashion as they consume their food.  Quick fragmented texts or chats that mundanely list what the person did that day.  Gtg, ttyl and such forms of expression have zero impact on a relationship.  

Robots can write better than some humans.   Some great writing still exists (books, some TV shows, movie scripts, plays), but, like cooking, it is not a frequent activity in a typical home.  Surviving?  As bad processed food, the inability to expressively write will also lead to an unhealthy state.

Cooking and writing should not only be ‘spectator sports.’   Instead, they are necessary components of surviving. 

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