BÛCHE DE NOËL: EASY RECIPE

Christmas season is a festive time full of traditions in Germany. It is a time for baking cookies, decorations, ornaments, and fairy-tale like Christmas markets. It is the time of the year where you are continuously enchanted by the sweet smell of mulled wine, hot chocolate and exotic spices. You won’t be missing any magic except when you are Lebanese.

As much as I value the traditions of my country of adoption, I can’t imagine Christmas without this French Christmas Yule log cake. You might wonder what does a French cake have to do with Lebanese Christmas? Everything! Lebanese are masters at adopting and adapting, everywhere, anywhere! At one point in our history, we met Bûche de Noël, we loved it, we baked it, we excelled in it, and we made it somehow our own!

Once in Germany in 1987 I couldn’t imagine my Christmases without it. Overcoming my fear at making it and relying on my sister’s recipe and guidance; I was able to reproduce the festive taste of home!

The process of making a perfect Yule log could be overwhelming to some. But if you follow my instructions in the recipe, and the additional tips how to organize yourself, you will be enjoying this new baking adventure of yours.  This traditional Christmas cake will surely become a favourite.

My sponge cake is coffee flavoured, filled with alcohol flavoured butter cream (alcohol is optional), and topped with chocolate butter cream, chocolate shavings dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Then comes the final touch: Your imagination to garnish your signature Yule log!

Tools and Tips:

1. Kitchen scale for accurate measurements. A few mixing bowls, rubber spatula, cutting board, saucepan, a sharp knife, a nice platter.

• Electric mixer for the batter and filling.

• A large baking sheet. The size really depends where you live. A standard baking sheet in Germany is 12”x14.5”, a size that doesn’t exist everywhere. My cake fills the surface more or less. A 12”x17” sheet will do when you don’t spread your batter on the whole surface. If using a smaller sheet than mine, the cake will be thicker but shouldn’t be a problem.

• Parchment paper for the cake.

• A clean kitchen towel to roll the cake in it.

• Fine mesh strainer for dusting confectioners’ sugar on the towel before placing the cake on it, it keeps the warm cake from sticking on the towel, also for dusting the cake before rolling, for the same reason, and of course for garnish.

• A small offset spatula to spread the cream. You can use a knife as well.

Garnish suggestions:

1. Gut quality semi-sweet Chocolate shavings, a must

• Dusting of confectioners’ sugar, a must

• Mushroom-like meringue, optional

• Sugared cranberries, optional

• Old Christmas ornaments, nostalgic and less time consuming.

Steps in Pictures:

The recipe below is for one roll. If you want to make a big yule log like in the photo, you will need two rolls, and double the recipe of the butter cream

Bûche de Noel

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Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

  

Ingredients for the jelly roll

• 5 medium-size eggs
• 2 tablespoons strong coffee
• 200 g sugar
• 160 g all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the butter cream

• 100 g sugar
• 60 ml water
• 3 egg yolks
• 250 g butter
• 50 g melted semi-sweet dark chocolate
• 2 cl Coffee liqueur

Instructions

 

• For the jellyroll: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour and baking powder. Preheat oven 180°C/ 350°F).
• Separate eggs. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat at high speed with a hand mixer until it reaches the perfect foamy stiffness. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl beat egg yolks with the sugar until smooth and double in size. Add coffee and beat for 1 minute. Fold in egg white and flour and mix well.
• Evenly spread onto the baking sheet and bake 10-15 minutes. While the cake is baking, spread a clean dry kitchen towel on working surface. Dust with confectioner’s sugar. You will need for the roll.
• Carefully remove the cake with parchment still on it from the baking sheet holding it with your hands and turning it onto the towel. Carefully remove parchment paper and dust the cake with confectioner’s sugar. Roll immediately and let cool.
• For the butter cream: In a small saucepan mix the sugar and water. Cook over medium-high heat stirring all the time with a wooden spoon to avoid crystallization of sugar. Bring to a boil and continue cooking under medium heat about 5-10 minutes until syrup is thick. Set aside until butter and eggs are ready. Syrup should be warm when used.
• In a mixing bowl beat butter until smooth. In a separate mixing bowl add the egg yolks and beat on high speed while gradually adding the warm syrup. Continue beating until batter is double in size. With a tablespoon gradually add the butter and continue beating until butter cream is very smooth.
• Divide cream into two. Add the liqueur and beat one minute. Use to fill the log. Add melted chocolate to one half and beat one minute. Use to cover the log.
• Carefully unfold the jellyroll but don’t open completely to avoid breaking it. Spread with the filling and roll again. Thinly cut on both sides. Then cut into one two-third piece and one-third piece. Cut the one- third piece in half. Assemble the log, cover with chocolate butter cream. As for the decoration, there is no limit to your imagination.

Notes

All texts and Photos © Dina Bayoud Kohl