Bûche de Noël

The credit for this post goes entirely to my Mum, she made the Bûche de Noël whilst I was busy making bread dough when I was in France. Mum doesn't really bake bread very often but she had some bread flour and yeast that needed using so she set me to work making the doughs for my walnut bread and honey and pumpkin bread because her and Dad wanted to try them. I asked her if she wanted to write this as a guest post for me but she didn't want to. I always remember Mum making chocolate logs for Christmas when I was younger although she hasn't made one for a long time. I think the fact that the Classic French challenge is Bûche de Noël this month persuaded her, and also because I was there going 'Please Mum, make a nice Yule log for us!' And she did. 

Ingredients

For the sponge:
2 eggs
2 oz caster sugar
1.5 oz plain flour
pinch of baking powder
0.5 oz cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:
8 oz icing sugar
4 oz butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz cocoa powder
apricot jam for filling

• Preheat the oven to 200C and grease and line a 23 x 33cm Swiss roll tin. 
• Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl using a hand held electric mixer until pale and foamy and the the mixture forms a ribbon trail when the beaters are lifted. 
• Add the vanilla extract and carefully fold in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 10 minutes.
• When the cake is cooked roll it up from one of the short ends in the greaseproof paper and leave it rolled up until it is cold.

 

• Whilst the cake is cooling make the buttercream icing. Beat the butter until soft and gradually work in the icing sugar until you get a smooth icing then stir through the vanilla extract. Set aside 3-4 tbsp of the buttercream to use to fill the log. Add the cocoa powder to the remaining icing and mix until smooth.
• Gently unroll the cold cake and trim all the edges so they are perfectly straight and then spread the cake with about 3-4 tbsp of apricot jam and the reserved vanilla buttercream. Next, roll the cake up again and then cover with the chocolate buttercream. Use a fork to make a bark effect and then sprinkle with a little icing sugar.

I'm entering this into Classic French on my Mum's behalf. Also into Tea Time Treats where the theme is chocolate hosted by Karen and Kate. And into Calendar Cakes where the theme is Christmas, hosted by Laura and Rachel.