How To Make Buche De Noel

The French tradition of the Buche de Noel is one that spans centuries and continents. The pastry is based off the Christmas yule log, a prominent European custom, complete with meringue mushrooms, painted bark and even candied trees. The tree log type shape is achieved by rolling thin sponge cake or genoise that’s lined with icing. By icing the outside in chocolate and decorating to your creative heart’s desire, you can get a fun feature dessert for the holidays that not only tastes great but has a lovely story behind it too.

In this online cooking class, we’re teaching you how to make the fun holiday dessert, Buche De Noel. This fun French pastry can be a great unique project with loved ones and the perfect sweet centerpiece for your Christmas dinner.

Buche De Noel
1) Make the basic butter cream recipe and add ¼ cup of cocoa powder to make the chocolate butter cream. Use more or less cocoa as desired.

2) Make the Roulade sponge and fill 1/8 inch with the chocolate butter cream and roll. Ice with the chocolate butter cream and comb with a cake comb. Trim the edges and then cut off about 1 ½ inch thick piece for a branch on the log. Decorate with butter cream holly and berries decorations and meringue mushrooms.

Roulade
½ cup egg yolks
1 ½ oz. sugar
1 tablespoon oil
2 oz cake flour sifted
¼ cup egg whites
1 ½ oz sugar

1) Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light in color, add the oil. Gently fold in the cake flour and set aside.

2) Whip the egg whites to a soft peak and gently fold into the batter mixture. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and carefully spread the mixture over the parchment.

3) Bake @ 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes until the cake starts to brown. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

4) Invert the cake and peel off the parchment, spread the buttercream evenly over the cake and trim off the edges. Roll and then refrigerate until set.

5) Cut to desired thickness and arrange on a plate or tray, garnish with fresh fruit.

Butter Cream Icing
12 oz confectioner’s sugar
8 oz butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz heavy cream

1) Bring the butter to room temperature

2) Sift the confectioner’s sugar.

3) Place softened butter in a bowl and gradually add the sugar. Cream together with a woodem spoon or using an electric mixer until well aerated and whitish in color.

4) Add the vanilla extract and the heavy cream and bet until smooth. Scrape down the sides to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

5) Ready for decorating!

Meringue Mushrooms
1 cup super fine sugar
½ cup egg whites
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla

1) Whip the egg whites and ½ of the sugar with the cream of tartar and salt until they reach a soft peak and then add the rest of the sugar and whip until they reach a firm peak and then add the vanilla.

2) Pipe onto a parchment paper lined pan with a large plain tip into kiss shapes and round shapes for the top and bottom of the mushrooms.

3) Bake at 220 degrees F for about an hour until the meringues are dried.

4) Gently carve a hole in the bottom of the top disk and then dip the bottom in chocolate and place the disk on top. Dust with cocoa powder or decorate with red butter cream dots.