The Crown Jewel
Bûche de Noël
Every year, as we immerse ourselves in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, we rush around buying gifts and planning festive menus. It's interesting to note that the iconic and essential menu item for the French is not a savoury dish, but a dessert – bûche de Noël. While the rest of the table can vary, the dessert remains a constant. This tradition dates back to the 12th century when a beautifully cut log, often cherry wood, was specially prepared for Christmas. It was set on fire, glowing and warming the night. Over time, this symbol made its way onto the menu, but in homes with fireplaces, the tradition lives on. There's nothing quite like the crackling embers in a fireplace. Over twenty years ago, on our first date, my husband and I discovered our recipe for happiness: a country house with a fireplace, pine trees in the garden and windows looking out over the sunset. While our dream house isn't yet a reality, every time we sit by the fire we feel one step closer to it. But let's talk about the dessert. In France, there's fierce competition between chefs to create the most exquisite bûche de Noël. It's essentially a sponge roll, often chocolate but with endless variations. It was quite the adventure, but perhaps not the most successful… I had promised to bake two bûches de Noël for the Highgate French circle Christmas party. I found a French recipe that seemed to fit the bill. However, the world of bûches de Noël is vast, with each renowned French chef adding their own unique touch. I decided to stick with the classic version. I arrived at the party with my bûches de Noël. They would be unveiled after the carols and I was nervous, remembering the mishaps I'd had while making them. I had started baking the sponge layers the day before, focused on the cream after lunch, and then disaster struck! The cream melted and leaked. I couldn't fix it and my disappointment was palpable. As evening fell and the shops were starting to close, I had no choice but to improvise. I bravely bought mascarpone, found some condensed milk, and added coffee and melted chocolate. The carols came to an end and the moment of truth arrived. My bûches de Noël received glowing reviews: "Magnifique!", "Délicieux!", "Excellent!" Credit goes to the original recipe for easy baking and rolling with a damp tea towel.
Ingredients
- For the sponge:
- 5 eggs
- 100 g flour
- 100 g sugar
- 1 sachet (1 tbsp) vanilla sugar
- For the cream:
- 750 g mascarpone
- 1 can condensed milk
- 100 g 70% chocolate
- 1 tbsp instant coffee
Method
- 1Whisk 4 egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla sugar until smooth. Add one whole egg and mix for a couple of minutes with a spatula. Gradually add the flour. Beat the remaining egg whites until stiff peaks form and gently fold into the mixture.
- 2Line a standard rectangular baking tray with baking paper and grease it with butter. Spread the mixture onto the paper and place in a preheated oven at 200°C for 10 minutes.
- 3Lightly moisten a tea towel. Remove the baked layer of sponge, place the tray on a cold surface and cover it with the towel. This makes it easier to roll it into a log.
- 4Mix the mascarpone with the condensed milk. Divide the resulting cream mixture into thirds. Add the coffee to ⅔, which will be used for the inner layer. Combine the remaining ⅓ with chocolate melted with a very small amount of water.
- 5Spread the light coffee cream onto the layer of sponge and roll it into a log, seam-side down. Spread the chocolate cream on top of the log to represent the log's bark. Decorate additionally as desired.
