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Bûche de Noël
It is recipe time again…and since it is about a week away, I think it is time to start planing our Christmas cooking. But first, a little history lesson; the following info & the picture are from this site.
There is a custom that on Christmas Eve an enormous log of freshly cut wood called the Yule log would be fetched and carried to the house with great ceremony. On Christmas Eve, the master of the house would place it on the hearth, make libations by sprinkling the trunk with oil, salt and mulled wine and say suitable prayers. In some families, the young girls of the house lit the log with splinters from the preceding year which they had carefully tucked away. In other families, the mother had this privilege. It was said that the cinders of this log could protect the house from lightning and the malevolent powers of the devil. Choices about the variety of wood, the way in which it was lit and the length of time it took to burn constituted a genuine ritual which could vary from region to region.
The custom, which dates back to the XIIth century, was known in most Europeans countries, notably in France and in Italy where the Yule log was called a ceppo. This tradition persisted in Quebec as it did in France up until the last quarter of the XIXth century. Its disappearance coincides with that of great hearths which were gradually replaced by cast-iron stoves. The great log was thus replaced by a smaller one, often embellished with candles and greenery, placed in the centre of the table as a Christmas decoration.
Today, the Yule log has become a traditional pastry, a delicious cake roll, smothered in coffee or chocolate-flavoured icing and decorated with sugared holly leaves and roses.
The cake ingredients are;
- 5 eggs – seperated
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstartch
- 1/3 cup flour
- Icing sugar (to coat towel that rolls up the cake)
- Chocolate filling & icing given below
The Crème au Cacao (Cocoa Cream) ingredients are;
- 2 cups (500ml) 35% cream
- ½ cup cocoa
- ¼ cup sugar (a bit of maple syrup might be nice)
- ½ tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
Cake – Technique:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Grease 10×15 cookie sheet, then line with wax paper.
- Beat egg yolk, add vanilla and set aside.
- Beat egg whites until foamy, then add salt and beat until you get soft peaks.
- Slowly add the sugar and beat until stiff but not dry.
- Spoon the whites over the yolks and sprinkle the cornstartch & flour on top.
- FOLD gently until blended.
- Spread onto the pan and cook for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While it is cooking, liberally dust the kitchen towel with icing sugar.
- Turn the cake out onto the towel and carefully peel off wax paper.
- Roll the cake up, long ways, and let it rest for a minute or 2, then unroll and let it rest for a few minutes.
- Then roll it up in the towel again and let it cool.
- Unroll and spread with some of the chocolate spread, then roll it up again. Please remember to not roll it with the towel this time.
- Once it is rolled-up, spread the outside and decorate or make little branch stubs with cut off ends (do this before covering with chocolate).
Filling & Icing – Technique:
- Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for an hour.
- When ready, whip and spread, have fun.
Enjoy!!! & Joyeux Noël
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