Christmas in France

The Buche de Noel{or yule log} is a time-honored custom in France. In the early days the log had to be of oak and it had to be cut down at midnight. The log was thought to have benevolent powers, and the ashes were often kept for good luck. { It was bad luck to sit on it.} As a reminder of this old custom, in most homes today a Buche de Noel will be baked and put on the table during the Christmas meal.

Traditional Recipe for the French Yule Log

Some sources describe this delicacy as a "chocolate jelly roll", but it is actually a few steps above that description.

 

INGREDIENTS

photo credit

 

For the Cake: 2/3 Cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 4 eggs,  3/4 Cup sugar, 3 squares baking chocolate, 2 Tablespoons water.

For the Filling: 1 Cup whipping cream; 2 Tablespoons Ground Chestnuts or Chestnut puree (traditional, but optional); 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (your choice).

For the Frosting: 1/3 cup butter, 2 Cups powdered sugar, 1/4 Cup powedered cocoa, 2 Tablespoons milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 15” x 10” jellyroll pan (or a shallow baking pan or a deep-sided cookie sheet, and line it with waxed paper. Also butter the top of the waxed paper. If you use a cookie pan, make sure it is large anough so that the cake will be thin enough to roll up.
• In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, soda, and salt.
• Beat eggs until fluffy and light yellow. Bit by bit, add the sugar to the eggs and beat well.
• Melt the chocolate and water in a pan over medium heat and add this to the egg mixture.
• Fold in all the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix carefully.
• Spread the batter evenly into the pan and bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until cake is springy.
• Remove from oven and turn it out onto a clean tea towel sprinkled with flour.
• Remove the waxed paper, and trim edges of cake that are too crsipy.
• Starting at the narrow end of the jellyroll pan or carefully at either end of the other the of pan, roll up the cake and towel together and set aside to cool with the towel inside.
• Filling Whip cream to soft peaks and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla or almond extract until stiff.
• Unroll the cake and spread flling on top of cake.
• Roll up the caske again without the towel.
• Cut a thin slice off each end of the roll to place on top as “bumps on the log.”
• Frosting Set butter on the counter and warm up to room temperature and combine all ingredients. Beat until smooth.
• Use the cut off ends to make "bumps on the log" and glue them on with frosting.
• Frost the entire surface of the cake, ends, and bumps.
• Draw the tines of a fork across the surface to symbolize tree bark.
• Sprinkle powdered sugar over all to represent snow and decorate with Christmas holly and a bow or create them with fondant, if you like and refrigerate.

**Information was given to me by my friend Anna McEver 

**The recipe was found here.

**For more great ideas, go here.

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