How to Make a Buche De Noel

How to make a Yule Log or Buche de Noel is the French name for a Christmas cake.  This traditional Christmas cake is baked in a jelly roll pan, filled with chocolate butter-cream, then rolled to form a Swiss roll and garnished with confectioner’s sugar to resemble snow.  There are many variations of this traditional Christmas cake.  Have a Jolly Christmas!

 

Ingredients:

1 cup of eggs (about 5 medium eggs)

1 cup of sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour, sifted

 

What you’ll also need:

wax paper

confectioner’s sugar

 

1. Beat eggs until foamy. Gradually add sugar, salt and vanilla. Continue beating until very thick and ivory in color.
2. Fold in flour, one-fourth at a time. Fold thoroughly and gently after each fold. 
3. Pour into 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1-inch jelly roll pan.  Grease the bottom of the pan and line with wax paper, grease wax paper also.
4. Bake at 350° for 18 to 22 minutes.  Immediately turn onto a towel sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar.
5. Remove wax paper. Roll in towel, sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar and let cool.  Unroll and spread chocolate butter cream filling in the center of cake. 
6. Re-roll cake with seam-side down on serving plate; chill.  Cover with chocolate butter cream frosting.  To resemble a log, make lines using a fork lengthwise through frosting.  Garnish with confectioner’s sugar. 

 

Chocolate Butter Cream

3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 eggs or 6 egg yolks
1 ½  cups milk
1 square (1 oz.) chocolate, melted
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine sugar and cornstarch in saucepan.
2. Add eggs or egg yolks.  Beat until light and fluffy.
3. Stir milk; cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until thick.
4. Remove from heat.  Blend in melted chocolate; mix well.
5. Cool to lukewarm.  Blend in well creamed butter and vanilla.