Buche De Noel Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipes

BUCHE DE NOEL CAKE (YULE LOG CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 400ºF (204ºC) with the oven rack in the center.
• Line a sheet pan (13×18″) with parchment paper.
• Next, fill a saucepan with 2-3″ of water and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat until boiling.
• Then, reduce the heat to medium or until the water is simmering.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer, place the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt and blend together with a whisk.
• Next, place the bowl with the mixture on top of your simmering water. Do NOT let the bottom of the bowl hit the water.
• Using your whisk, stir the egg mixture slowly until the sugar granules dissolve (about 110ºF or 43ºC).
• Then, remove it from heat.
• Attach your bowl to your stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
• Add in your vanilla and whisk on high for 5-7 minutes until you reach the ribbon stage (see notes below). The mixture should triple in volume and lighten in color.
• Sift in 1/3 of your flour mixture and fold (see notes) the flour in gently without damaging the structure of your egg mixture. Repeat two more times with the flour until just combined.
• Spread the cake batter evenly into your parchment-lined sheet pan, and then spread it with an offset spatula or knife all the way to the edges of the pan. Do not grease your pan.
• Bake the cake at 400ºF (204ºC) for 8 minutes.
• Then, remove the cake from the oven and place it onto a cooling rack.
• Immediately use a paring knife to carefully cut the edge of the sponge away from the sides of the pan.
• Dust the surface of the cake with powdered sugar.
• Next, place another piece of parchment on top of the cake, and then another cooling rack, and flip over to release the cake from the pan.
• Remove the parchment paper carefully, and dust the surface with more powdered sugar.
• Place a tea towel over the top of the cake and carefully roll into a spiral going lengthwise.
• Finally, place it into the fridge to cool for one hour before filling it with your frosting. For more tips and tricks on making roll cakes, be sure to read my roll cake tutorial blog post.
• Start by sifting your powdered sugar and cocoa powder into the bowl of your stand mixer to remove any lumps. The cocoa powder especially loves to clump up and make these ugly specks in the finished buttercream.
• Now, add in your pasteurized egg whites (yes, they need to be pasteurized). If you cannot get any pasteurized egg whites, you can make my chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream instead.
• Mix everything together on low speed with the whisk attachment to combine it.
• Then, mix on medium speed (setting 2 on my Bosch Mixer, setting 4 on a KitchenAid) for 3-5 minutes to help the powdered sugar and cocoa powder dissolve properly.
• Next, add room temperature butter and mix it for 5-10 minutes on high speed.
• Next, you want to turn up the speed to high and begin whipping in air! I whip mine for 5-10 minutes. Once it no longer tastes buttery, it's done.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and mix it on low speed for 10-15 minutes. This is totally optional but will help to remove excess air bubbles and make the buttercream really smooth.
• Finally, you will switch to the paddle attachment and mix it on low speed for 10-15 minutes (totally optional) to remove excess air bubbles and make the buttercream really smooth.
• Measure out your chocolate and chop it finely if it's in big pieces so that it melts evenly.
• Heat your cream on the stovetop until steam just begins to rise from the surface. Whisk occasionally to prevent burning. Do not walk away or your cream could boil over.
• Pour your hot cream over the chocolate and push the chocolate down so it's all under the surface of the cream. Let the chocolate and cream sit for 5 minutes.
• Whisk the cream and chocolate together until it's smooth. Start with small circles in the center until the chocolate and cream start creating an emulsion.
• If you have lumps or un-melted chocolate, you can use an immersion blender to make your ganache super creamy and lump-free.
• First, preheat your oven to 225ºF (107ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Bring 2 inches of water to a simmer in a pot.
• Place a clean stainless steel mixing bowl over the water. It should not touch the water.
• Combine your egg whites and sugar and whisk to combine. Occasionally whisk as it's heating to distribute the heat and dissolve the sugar.
• Once your egg whites are at 110ºF (43ºC) (or when you don't feel any grains of sugar between your fingers) you're ready to whip.
• Place the bowl on your stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
• Whisk on medium speed (setting 2 on my Bosch Mixer, setting 4 on a KitchenAid) for one minute.
• Then, add in the cream of tartar, salt, and flavoring.
• Next, bump the speed up to high and let it whip until you reach STIFF peaks.
• With a round piping tip, place your meringue into a piping bag and snip off the tip.
• Pipe your stems and caps (see the video in the recipe card for more tips on these).
• Bake them for 60 minutes, and then turn off the oven (but do not take out the cookies).
• Let them sit in the oven until they are completely cold. I like to leave mine in overnight.
• Poke a hole in the base of the mushroom and add a tiny bit of ganache or melted chocolate in the hole.
• Then, place the cap on the stem.
• Next, combine cocoa powder and vanilla.
• Splatter the tops of the mushrooms with a stiff paintbrush.
• Once your sponge cake has cooled for at least an hour, you can carefully unroll it and then fill the inside with a layer of chocolate buttercream.
• Then, roll the cake back up nice and tight lengthwise so there are no gaps in the filling.
• Place the cake into the freezer for about an hour or into the fridge overnight to chill the filling.
• Cut the ends of the roll cake off to reveal the swirl of filling.
• Then, cut off one more piece of the roll cake at a slight angle and place it on the side of the roll to represent a branch.
• Frost the outside of the Buche de Noel with chocolate ganache.
• Decorate the outside with some of your meringue mushrooms, fresh cranberries, and sprigs of rosemary.
• Dust the whole cake lightly with some powdered sugar to look like freshly-fallen snow.
• Finally, chill before serving.

BUCHE DE NOEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff. Refrigerate.
• In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale. Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until whites form stiff peaks. Immediately fold the yolk mixture into the whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioners' sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and turn the warm cake out onto the towel. Remove and discard parchment paper. Starting at the short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes.
• Unroll the cake, and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down onto a serving plate, and refrigerate until serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

CHOCOLATE YULE LOG

Steps:

• Whip powdered sugar, butter, cocoa powder, salt, and coffee liqueur together in the bowl of a stand mixer on high speed. Transfer buttercream into a separate bowl and add mascarpone cheese. Mix until combined; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush a little melted butter over a 13x18-inch rimmed sheet pan. Line pan with parchment paper and brush remaining melted butter on top.
• Combine cocoa powder, salt, and flour together in a bowl; whisk or sift to break up clumps.
• Place eggs in the clean bowl of your stand mixer. Add sugar and whip until fluffy, thick, and very light in color. Add 1/2 of the cocoa powder mixture and vanilla extract; mix on low speed for a few seconds. Beat in remaining cocoa mixture on low for a few seconds. Switch to high speed; stop once mixture is moistened but not fully blended. Pull off the whisk attachment and whisk batter with it until evenly blended.
• Pour batter onto the prepared sheet pan and spread out with a spatula, leaving some room around the edges. Tap pan on the counter to knock out the large bubbles.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is dry and edges start to pull away from the sides, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Dust a clean kitchen towel with enough powdered sugar to cover an area slightly larger than the sponge cake. Remove cake from the oven. Run a knife around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top. Run a spatula under the parchment paper to make sure it's not stuck to the pan.
• Quickly flip pan on top of the sugared area to invert the cake. Remove parchment paper and dust cake with more powdered sugar. Gently roll cake up inside the towel; allow to cool for 15 minutes.
• Unroll cake and dollop buttercream on top, reserving some for later. Spread frosting to the edges. Roll cake up over the frosting, using the towel to lift it if needed. Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top. Wrap log in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• Combine chocolate chips and hot cream in a bowl. Let sit for 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate melts.
• Make an angled cut 3 inches from one end of the log. Place log on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Apply some buttercream to the angled slice and attach it to one side. Spread a layer of ganache all over the cake, except for the swirls. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up ganache.
• Carve lines into the ganache using the tip of a knife to create the appearance of tree bark. Refrigerate until completely chilled before serving. Dust with cocoa powder and powdered sugar.

CHOCOLATE GENOISE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 1/2-by-15 1/2-by-1-inch jelly-roll pan. Line with parchment; butter and flour paper, tapping out the excess flour.
• Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda together twice into a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Skim off white foam, and pour clear yellow butter into a bowl, discarding white liquid at the bottom. Set aside in a warm place.
• In a medium-size heat-proof bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, and beat on high speed until mixture is thick and pale and has tripled in bulk. Reduce speed to medium, add vanilla, and beat 2 to 3 minutes more.
• In three additions, sift flour mixture over egg mixture, folding in gently with a spatula. While folding in last addition, dribble melted butter over batter and fold in.
• Spread batter evenly in pan, leaving behind any unincorporated butter in the bottom of the bowl. Tap pan on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake until cake springs back when touched in center, 15 to 20 minutes. Don't overbake or cake will crack. Let sit in pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.
• Dust surface with cocoa powder. To make rolling easier, trim edges of cake, and cover with a sheet of waxed paper and a damp dish towel. Invert onto a work surface, and peel off parchment; dust with cocoa. Starting from one long end, carefully roll up cake in towel. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until ready to use.