Bûche de Noël
French Christmas log: chocolate sponge with buttercream, decorated to look like tree bark.
- Preparation
- 50 min
- Cook/bake time
- 12 min
- Total
- 4 hr 2 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
French Christmas log: chocolate sponge with buttercream, decorated to look like tree bark. The sponge is rolled up while still hot with the parchment paper and cooled in this shape so it learns the form before it sets, preventing it from cracking when filled. The bark texture is created with a fork, not with talent.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Mix the sponge batter
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and a third of the sugar until stiff. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar for five minutes until light and creamy, add the oil, and fold in the egg whites in two batches. Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder over the top and carefully fold everything in with a spatula, as every unnecessary movement costs volume.
- 2
Bake
Spread the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to form a rectangle of about 30 by 40 centimeters and bake at 200 °C top/bottom heat for ten to twelve minutes. The sponge is done when it springs back to a light touch. If baked longer, it will become dry and inevitably break later.
- 3
Roll up hot
Turn the hot sponge out onto a slightly dampened kitchen towel, peel off the parchment paper, and immediately roll it up from the long side along with the towel. Let it cool completely in this shape, for at least forty minutes. This step determines whether the roll will crack later or not.
- 4
Buttercream and filling
Beat the room-temperature butter with powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt until light, and work in the lukewarm melted chocolate. If it is too hot, the cream will curdle; if it is too cold, it will become lumpy. Unroll the sponge, soak it with syrup and rum, spread a third of the cream on it, and roll it up again.
- 5
Form the bark and chill
Cut a diagonal piece off the end and place it on the roll as a branch stub. Cover everything with the remaining buttercream and drag a fork through it lengthwise to create the bark texture. Chill the Bûche for two hours, dust it with powdered sugar just before serving, and garnish with rosemary or meringue mushrooms.
