Buche De Noel (British Baking Show

Buche De Noel (British Baking Show - Bake #2)

I have always wanted to make a Buche de Noel and this year I finally decided to jump in. It wasn't perfect but it looked pretty darn good and tasted great. And it was even gluten free so that everyone could enjoy it on Christmas Eve. Again, I did not find one recipe that fit the bill for what I was making so I used pieces of different recipes to make: A gluten free chocolate sponge, a french chocolate buttercream (so delicious) and meringue mushrooms as well as just regular whipped cream for the center.

The "ribbons"

Add the chocolate and in the oven. It is a very thin cake so make sure you watch the timing

Dust with cocoa powder and sugar to roll it up while it is still warm

Cool the cake completely while rolled up

Fille with cream and....

re-roll. This was tricky and the cake was sticky. I am not sure if that is related to the gluten free cake or if it is just tricky. Even if it looks messed up a bit, keep going as the french chocolate buttercream fixes everything.

Make meringue for the mushrooms. Don't skip the mushrooms - they really make the presentation of the cake.

Pipe mushrooms and stems and don't be perfect. Mushrooms in nature are not uniform and perfect and the more variations there are, the better they look. (Note: I did not end up using the light chocolate ones for decorating but they tasted good and I just add a bit of cocoa powder. )

Dust with cocoa powder - it gives the mushrooms a realistic look.

Voila - many hours and pans later...a Buche de Noel

It was worth it and I will make this again.

PS: I apparently forgot to photo the french chocolate buttercream as I must have been too busy sampling it. I also went the extra step and pasteurized the egg yolks for the buttercream by cooking to 140° F. The internet seemed inconclusive if putting hot syrup into yolks was sufficient to make it "safe" but just in case, I went ahead and did that and it only added a little extra time.

Comments

Sizzlers (Mom M and Papa Recipe #3 )

I am absolutely positive that these will not taste exactly the same even though I am using the recipe written out in my grandmother's hand. They will not taste the same because my Papa did not get the little sizzler steaks from the Publix butcher where he worked after my grandparent's retired to Florida. They will not taste the same because I am not making them on my grandparent's little gas grill. They will not taste the same because I never found out what "lemon juice (?)" means. They will not taste the same because my grandmother did not make them and my grandfather did not grill them. They will not taste the same because I can only hear in my mind, my grandmother saying "Well, these turned out pretty good". And mostly they will not taste the same because I am not eating them at the table with my "Mom and Papa". But I will have the memories. ...

The Tale of Two Ciabattas (British Baking Show - Bake #3)

The simple Paul Hollywood Ciabatta Recipe . How simple is it? The ingredients are few and the technique seems simple but there is also a bit of practice makes perfect needed here. So far I have made two tries at it. The flavor was good in both but I made a crucial error on the 1st try so it was a bit dense. I should have paid attention tot the kind of yeast - Instant Yeast means Fast Acting Yeast and I just breezed right past that distinction the 1st time. I have some pics of both tries below. They both mixed up very well and formed a lovely dough ball. Gluten is really amazing to watch form. Try 1 Try 2 Try 2 The problem was in the rise - see difference in size of dough before and after proofing Try 1 Before Try 1 After Try 2 Before Try 2 After The shaping of the dough is a little ...

Lemon Pie "Delicious"(Mom M Recipe #8)

Finally, I made a recipe from the box that someone actually remembered Mom making before. Mom would be what I called my grandmother not to be confused with my Mom. I don't know why but it was never confusing as to who I was referring to when I said it to me or to Mom and Mom. So this recipe is for lemon pie though the recipe for the pie crust and for the meringue was not actually included on the card so I had to do those on my own. The lemon custard was very sweet and did not set up like my grandmothers did. I would probably adjust the recipe if I made it aga...

My Grandmother's Recipe Box

Search This Blog