bûche de noël

     Merry post-Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful time, wherever you were and whoever you were with. Personally, our family didn't really celebrate Christmas this year, which isn't that unusual considering that none of us are even slightly religious. We just came back from Leavenworth, which is a mock Bavarian town in central Washington. Even though Seattle is usually rainy and miserable during the holiday season (I think I've only had a "white Christmas" once in my lifetime), everywhere east of the Cascade Mountains always gets a ton of snow every year. We and some family and friends spent several days in Leavenworth, during which we went snowshoeing (fun, but bone-chillingly freezing) and ate hot pot three times in two days. Ironically enough, we did not eat any food that was remotely Bavarian or Christmas-related.

     I did, however, bake a bûche de Noël this holiday season. I'm in French 200, and the entire French class had a "fête de Noël" before winter break, on a Tuesday evening. There was a bûche de Noël contest - how could I resist? The Sunday afternoon before the party, a friend of mine (who will be known as C) came over and helped me bake the cake. I didn't have a 10x15 jellyroll pan, so we used a 12x17 pan and crossed our fingers. C sifted powdered sugar and the like while I whipped egg whites and folded Meyer lemon zest into the chocolate whipped filling (on a whim) and melted chocolate and butter for frosting. I usually don't bake with other people, finding it rather a pain, but I was really grateful to have another pair of hands in the kitchen with such an involved task. By about 4:30 PM, we had a decent-looking log, pretty but plain. We were pretty satisfied with ourselves, and I stored the cake in the fridge.

Chocolate mushrooms, which C bought from the Asian grocery store.

     After I came home from school on Tuesday afternoon, I quickly started on the decorating of the cake. I sprinkled cocoa powder for "dirt", and gathered some foliage from outside to adorn the pan. I melted chocolate to "glue" chocolate mushrooms onto the cake, because I decided that meringue mushrooms were way too much of a hassle to make. And, of course, I covered it all with a layer of powdered sugar "snow". 

     However, I had to go to my violin lesson, which was right before the party. I couldn't drive home to pick up the cake after my lesson - what should I do? So, of course, I had to bring the decorated cake to my violin teacher's studio. I looked a sight, with a giant tree trunk-shaped cake perched on my knees as I waited in the lobby. I explained the situation to my teacher, who then had to take a picture on his smartphone.

     I finally arrived at the French party, bûche de Noël in tow, and we sang French carols and had a white elephant gift exchange. There were seven or eight other cakes at the party, which everybody sampled and voted on. I was maybe not surprised, but still happy to find out that C and I's cake won "best tasting". Considering all that I went through for a mass of chocolate cake and frosting and whipped cream, the cake certainly tasted great to me.

Bûche de Noël 

Adapted from Buche de Noel and Caroline's Chocolate Fudge Frosting, both from Allrecipes.com

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

Chocolate-orange whipped filling:

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons orange zest 

Chocolate cake:

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 egg whites

1/4 cup white sugar

Chocolate frosting:

1/2 cup butter

3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate

1 pound confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

Directions

1. For frosting: In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 teaspoons orange zest until thick and stiff. Refrigerate.
2. For cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan (note: I used a 12x17 pan without any problems) with parchment paper. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale. Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until whites form stiff peaks. Immediately fold the yolk mixture into the whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioners' sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and turn the warm cake out onto the towel. Remove and discard parchment paper. Starting at the short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes. 
3. For frosting (I made this while waiting for the cake to cool): Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave, or in the top of a double boiler. In a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, vanilla and 1/2 cup of the milk. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture. Add remaining milk, a little at a time, until desired consistency is achieved. Let stand until spreadable (frosting will thicken as it cools). 
4. To assemble: Unroll the cake, and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down onto a serving plate. Make a diagonal cut approximately 1/4th of the way down the cake. Position the smaller cut piece next to the larger piece and place strips of parchment paper around the edges of the cake. Frost the cake, using a knife or a fork to make a pattern resembling tree bark. Remove parchment paper. At this point, you can store the cake at room temperature (if planning to serve within several hours) or in the fridge (where it will keep for several days). Before serving, decorate with cocoa powder, meringue (or chocolate!) mushrooms, or garnishes of your choice, and dust the top with powdered sugar.