# Looking for a yummy & authenic Buche de Nöel recipe



## nova22 (Jun 26, 2004)

I hope I spelled that right, feel free to correct me otherwise.










I have found some Buche De Nöel recipes but they are not what I remember making in the past. My old recipe wasn't exceedingly sweet and DEFINITELY didn't use storebought cake mix and frosting. It was really good, does anyone have a yummy recipe to replace my missing one?


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## Kerlowyn (Mar 15, 2002)

I made the one from the Martha Stewart website last year. It was amazing!

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jh...&rsc=ns2006_m4

The merange mushrooms were so worth the extra work. Be sure not to beat the ganache icing too long. I did and it was hard to spread.

Have fun!


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## naturekate (Jun 22, 2006)

from my idol









Dear Friends,

I cannot think of anything more playful and celebratory to end a Christmas feast than this traditional French confection of luxurious buttercream and light-as-air cake. Impressive describes it best; it is the kind of dessert people get laudatory about and marvel at how brilliant you are - not a bad way to top off the day.

A buche, or Yule log, is a jelly roll-style cake that is decorated to look like a log sitting in the snow on the forest floor. A sponge cake is baked in a very shallow pan, frosted with what I think of as the best of all frostings - the classic French buttercream - and rolled up. At this point you can wrap and refrigerate it for up to 3 days, or freeze the cake for a month, along with the rest of the frosting that you will use to cover the "log" the day you serve it. Defrost the cake and frosting in the refrigerator for a day.

Do you know that you can make the frosting a day before you bake the cake? Space making this cake out over a couple of days and you'll get a lot more pleasure out of it. Everything else is explained below.

Lynne's Christmas Buche de Noel
Copyright 2006 by Lynne Rossetto Kasper.

Makes one 10-inch long roll, serving 10 to 12.

Vanilla Sponge:

Cooks Note: Room temperature eggs are essential here, but you can bring chilled eggs up to it by putting them in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes or so. Also, note that you sift the flour two times before measuring it. Picky little things like this make all the difference. This recipe needs a standing mixer, or patience in holding a handheld one.

* 4 large eggs, at room temperature
* 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup twice sifted cake flour
* Ultimate French Chocolate Buttercream (recipe follows)

Decorations

* Cocoa powder
* Powdered sugar
* Sprigs of fresh holly

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Butter a 1-inch, by 15-inch, by 10-inch jellyroll baking pan. Line it with wax paper or parchment and butter the paper. Put the eggs, baking powder, salt and vanilla into a mixer bowl. With a whisk attachment, beat 2 minutes at high speed. Lower speed to medium, pour in the sugar, and beat another 3 minutes, or until pale and very thick. Take speed down to low and add the flour. Run the mixer about 20 seconds, stop, and remove the bowl and beater. Then, using the whisk attachment, stir the batter a few times to thoroughly blend in the flour. Don't overmix. Turn the batter into the pan, spreading out smoothly.

2. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until a tester slipped into the center of the cake comes out clean. Spread a dishtowel on a counter and top the towel with a piece of foil a little longer than the cake. Turn the cake over onto the foil. Let cool completely. When cool, gently remove the paper liner. Trim away edges of the cake.

3. To decorate the cake ahead: Smoothly spread about a cup of the buttercream over the top of the cake. Using the towel and foil to lift the cake, roll it up from the long side, tucking the cake in snugly as you go. Wrap in the foil and refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze up to one month.

4. To finish the buche: Early on the day you want to serve the buche, bring the cake and frosting close to room temperature. Spread sheets of wax paper or foil over the edges of a long serving platter so you can pull them away once you have frosted the log. Set the cake log atop the paper. At an angle, cut away a piece from one end of the cake. Place the piece you cut away atop the roll to resemble a branch, using a dab of frosting to make it stick to the roll.

5. Frost the entire log with the buttercream. Use the tip of a knife to make groves running the length of the log to resemble bark. At the ends of the log, draw concentric rings into the frosting to resemble the cut end of a log.

6. Pull away the pieces of wax paper or foil along the edge of the platter. Sift a dusting of cocoa onto the platter around the log to look like earth. Shake out the sifter and place several big tablespoons of powdered sugar to it. Sift the sugar over the cake and plate to look like a dusting of snow.

7. Tuck a few sprigs of holly around the buche, removing them before serving.

8. To hold, refrigerate the buche, but serve it close to room temperature.

Ultimate French Chocolate Buttercream
Copyright 2006 by Lynne Rossetto Kasper.

Makes enough for one 10-inch long buche de noel, serving 10-12.

The small shot of espresso in this buttercream brings out more chocolate flavor. Read through the entire recipe before starting. Once you begin, there won't be time to measure or prep anything. Buttercream refrigerates well for several days, and freezes for up to 3 months.

Cook to Cook: Have all the ingredients at room temperature. You will be pouring hot sugar syrup into beating egg yolks, so keep children out of the work area until the syrup is in the bowl. You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe.

* 12 large egg yolks
* 3/8 cup water
* 3 cups sugar
* Pinch salt
* 9 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled (for instance, 99% Scharffen Berger, Durig Grand Caraque 99%, Michel Cuizel Amer 99%, Lindt 99% Excellence, or Ghiradelli unsweetened)
* 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 generous tablespoons instant espresso melted in 3 tablespoons hot water
* 1 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, softened at room temperature (if possible use Organic Valley, European Cultured Butter, Lurpak, or Atalanta butter)

1. Put the egg yolks in a large mixer bowl. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment. Pour the water, then the sugar and salt into a small saucepan. Clip the candy thermometer to the side of the pan so the sensor is immersed in the sugar. Have a cup of water and a heatproof pastry brush handy.

2. Set the saucepan over medium-high heat. Start beating the yolks at medium speed. As the sugar heats up it will be come clear (do not stir the syrup at any time). Every so often use the water-dampened brush to wash down any sugar crystals clinging to the side of the pan.

3. By the time the syrup reaches 245 degree F., the yolks should be about 3 times their original volume. Flip the beater speed up to medium-high.

4. When the syrup is between 248 degrees and 250 degrees, remove the thermometer and immediately pour the syrup in a thin steady stream into the beating yolks at the edge of the bowl. Turn the speed to high, and beat 5 minutes. Turn speed down to medium, add the vanilla and beat until mixture is close to room temperature.

5. Add the melted chocolate and espresso, beating until blended. Beat in the butter, a generous tablespoon at a time. Beat until smooth. If the frosting seems too soft, refrigerate 20 minutes. When you're ready to frost the cake, bring the buttercream to room temperature so it will be fluffy and silken.

A Very Happy Christmas to you and yours from all of us at The Splendid Table,

Lynne


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## Lisa-Adam (Apr 30, 2008)

I made the mushrooms first. I always feel better if I can get those out of the way. I just put the cap and stems, unassembled in Tupperware till I'm ready for them. Now, I'm ahead of the game. At least in my mind!
Next came the cake. It always seems intimidating whenever I see eggs over hot water and heat till warm, but all went well. I added a big spoonful of unsweetened cocoa into the flour mixture but wasn't sure how much to add without drying the cake out. I was Conservative! I also rolled my warm cake in a dish towel covered in powdered sugar to cool. Once cooled, I wrapped it in cling wrap. That way, I could finish the next day. I usually always make the cake over a two day period.


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## Energy Recruitment (Jan 7, 2009)

Last night, during a discussion with a friend about Morimoto's cookbook and JJ Goode's introduction, my friend wondered out loud who at DK made the decision to focus on 'authenticity'. After all, it is hard to make an indefensible argument about authenticity in the context of a chef whose signature recipes are, by definition, unconventional and creative. The recipes may draw on tradition and are authentically "Morimoto" but that's it.If we are going to specifically pick apart Japanese cuisine, the first question to ask is what makes something authentic. Is it style? Is it the ingredients? Is it the recipe? Is it the person who is cooking? I don't know, but I do know that most of the time, when people describe something as authentic, they are actually referring to style or method of preparation, coupled with specific base ingredients, rather than who is cooking it or the specific 'neutral' ingredient (meaning an ingredient that doesn't alter the fundamental flavor of a dish) used.


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