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Classic Bûche de Noël (French Log Cake)

Traditional Buche de Noel with meringue mushrooms on a serving plate.
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Classic Buche de Noel (La Bûche de Noël in French) is a French Yule log cake made with light and airy chocolate sponge cake, velvety whipped cream, and covered with rich chocolate ganache. 

Ingredients

Scale

For sponge cake roll:

  • 5 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 sachet (4.5 g) vanilla sugar
  • 2/3 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons (62 g) cake flour
  • 20 g cacao powder
  • 2 1/3 tablespoons (35 g) whole milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (20 g) unsalted butter

For whipped cream:

  • 250 g cold heavy cream, 30% fat
  • 25 g icing (powdered) sugar
  • 30 g sweetened condensed milk

For assembling:

  • 2 tablespoons fruit preserves (apricot, strawberry, etc.)

For dark  chocolate ganache:

  • 150 g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa
  • 150 g heavy cream, 30% fat

For decoration:

*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!

** If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.

Instructions

  1. Prepare a silicone 12 x 16 inch (30 x 40 cm) non-spill baking sheet or a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  2. To make a chocolate sponge cake, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Using a flour sifter, sift cake flour and cocoa powder and set aside.
  3. Pour milk, add butter into a small bowl, and place it over a larger container with hot water. Let the liquids warm up to 122-150°F (50-60°C); use a cooking thermometer to check.
  4. Place whole eggs, vanilla, and granulated sugar in a heat-proof bowl and whisk a few times with a hand whisk.
  5. Bring the bowl over a bain-marie or water bath and beat with a hand whisk until the egg mixture reaches 104°F (40°C).
  6. Remove the bowl from the water bath, and with an electric or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the mixture at high speed for 6-7 minutes.
  7. Reduce the mixer speed once the preparation triples in volume, turns whitish, and the batter falls like a thick ribbon from the mixer beaters. Whisk at the lowest speed for 2 minutes to adjust the batter's texture.
  8. Sift the dry ingredients once again over the bowl with the main preparation and carefully mix with a rubber spatula. Work from the bottom of the bowl to the top while turning the container counterclockwise.
  9. Take a scoop of the chocolate mixture into a bowl with warm milk and butter and mix with a spatula. Pour it back into the principal preparation and mix the batter from the bottom, moving upward.
  10. Pour the cake batter into the silicone baking sheet from 8 inches (20 cm) above the pan. This helps to remove large air bubbles. Alternatively, spread the batter onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Aim for a 12 x 16 inches (30 x 40 cm) rectangle and a perfect 1/2 inch (1 cm) thickness.
  11. Even the surface with a bent spatula or a dough scraper, but avoid excessive smoothing in the same spot.
  12. Bring the baking tray to the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature from 390°F (200°C) to 375°F (190°C). Bake for 10-12 minutes. Watch out for the cake not to overbake: the top should get slightly browned, and the bottom should stay pale. Check for doneness with a toothpick: it should come out dry.
  13. Remove the cake from the oven, and while it is hot, turn it on a clean tea towel well-sprinkled with icing (powdered) sugar.
  14. Carefully remove the silicone baking sheet or parchment paper from the base of the cake. Using a long serrated knife, cut the edges of the cake on all four sides. Cover the cake with a clean piece of parchment paper.
  15. Use the towel to roll the cake (with parchment paper inside) and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Unroll it and let the cake cool to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes.
  16. To make sweetened whipped cream, place all the cream ingredients in a cold mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until firm.
  17. To make chocolate ganache frosting, chop a dark chocolate bar or use chocolate callets. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to crush the chocolate.
  18. In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream over medium heat, stirring with a hand whisk until it reaches a temperature of 176°F (80°C). Once heated, pour half the cream over the chocolate and mix with a wooden spoon.
  19. Add the rest of the hot cream and stir it thoroughly. Allow the chocolate ganache to cool slightly, stirring occasionally, or cover it and let it thicken naturally at room temperature. The ganache should reach a spreadable consistency.
  20. To assemble the cake roll, remove the parchment paper from the top of the cake. Spread a 1-inch (2.5 cm) line of apricot preserves along the short edge of the sponge.
  21. Spread an even layer of the whipped cream on top of the remaining sponge and even with an offset spatula.
  22. Re-roll the sponge cake, starting from the short end, helping with the towel, and tightening it. Finish rolling with the seam side at the bottom. Wrap the roll in the towel and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. 
  23. To decorate, remove the cooled cake from the fridge and trim the cake ends to make them neat. If desired, make an oblique cut about 2 inches (5 cm) and attach it to the main branch from the slanted side.
  24. Transfer the log to a serving tray. Spread the chocolate ganache over the cake and spoon the frosting out with the back of a tablespoon. Alternatively, with a fork, make some strips to simulate the grain of a tree trunk.
  25. Decorate the top of Buche de Noel with meringue mushrooms, sugared cranberries, rosemary sprigs, or in the way you desire.
  26. To serve, optionally, sprinkle the cake with icing (powdered) sugar.

Notes

  1. Roll the cake from the long end if desired. Read about how to roll a cake to master the rolling technique.
  2. If using a jelly roll pan, recalculate the recipe ingredients using this simple cake pan converter.
  3. Cut the Buche de Noel cake with a hot, sharp knife: doing so will result in a perfect cake swirl for each plate.
  4. Make-ahead option: Make meringue mushrooms a few days in advance and store them in a cool, dry place. Bake and fill the cake roll with whipped cream one day in advance. Cover the cake with parchment paper (loosely like a candy) and refrigerate. The next day, 1-2 hours before serving, spread the chocolate ganache and decorate Buche de Noel. 
  5. Nutrition is calculated without cake decoration, such as meringue mushrooms and sugared cranberries.

Nutrition

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