As long as I can remember, a Bûche de Noel has been a chocolate sponge roll, filled and  iced with chocolate butter cream icing, decorated with artificial Holly and a little decorative bird. 


Buche de Noel - the perfect finish to a Christmas dinner

The Bûche de Noel is part of a Christmas dinner  in Provence and for that matter, right throughout France.

When we recently spent Christmas at Maison des Pelerins, our vacation home in Provence, it was fun to see a very creative approach to the traditional chocolate log as we shopped .  I have never been a great fan of butter cream icing – so a white ice cream bûche decorated with bright purple and pink  flowers and  bright green leaves in a well known store really got my attention.

That did it - this year, inspired by that purple, pink and white ice cream bûche and a birthday cake  my son just had to have for his fourth birthday   – an Ice Cream Space shuttle -  I decided to trade my customary bûche for something more adventurous.
 The principal was pretty much the same and this has to be the ultimate in make ahead desserts!

Away I went ……… planning my creation – maybe not quite so adventurous - a chocolate roulade (a little different from the usual sponge as it has no flour in the batter, with a filling  of an orange scented home made Ice cream and iced with –  ganache (finally getting  rid of that butter cream!).  I do like the traditional “woodsy” look of the bûche rather than the more sophisticated and perhaps urban look, which has more exotic fruits and generally things not found in the forest – so the decorations will  be (the usual) meringue mushrooms, and …….  birds,  holly and last but not least, curled chocolate strips of bark.

 First step is the Ice Cream – I used a basic rich Crème Anglais (made with heavy whipping cream rather than the half and half / heavy whipping cream mixture.  The sweetening was a mixture of orange marmalade with a small amount of sugar and orange flower water instead of vanilla.  This ice cream is so easy – why do I ever buy ice cream? The best part of this ice cream is that the flavoring can really whatever you would like it to be. 
Use the basic recipe and change the flavor component.

Ice Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream (if you would like a lighter ice cream, use half and half), the heavy cream gives a very creamy ice cream.

¾ Cup Orange Marmalade

5 large egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Stir  2 cups of whipping cream or half and half  and marmalade in a bowl over a pan of hot water on the stove over a pan of water (or a double boiler) and heat until hot and bubbling around the edges.  Beat together egg yolks and sugar until thick and light very light in color.
 When the cream or half and half is hot, pour a small amount of the cream into the beaten egg yolks, constantly stirring with a whisk or wooden spoon (tempering), return the mixture to the double boiler (or a bowl over a pan of simmering water), and cook until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon and a line drawn on the back of the sopon holds its shape . 


Buche de Noel - Ice cream - cook Creme Anglais over a pan of simmering water
until it coats the back of a spoon


   Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of heavy cream.  Set aside to cool.  (At this stage you can cover and place it in the refrigerator overnight and freeze the next day, if you wish). 



When cooled to room temp., freeze in ice cream freezer according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Pack into plastic tubs and place in freezer until ready to use.

Roulade


Mis en Place for the Chocolate Roulade

With the ice cream in the freezer let’s do the Roulade – I love this light, easy  to roll “sponge cake”. 
My mother-in-law was such a great baker and her sponge cakes were just the best,  but I’m sure she would have liked this flourless version. 
Just make sure that the sheet pan is well buttered, floured and lined with parchment paper.

¼ cup plus 2 tabs granulated white sugar

6 large eggs, separated

½ teasp. Pure vanilla extract (I substituted orange flower water)

4 ozs semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces

¾ teasp. Cream of Tartar

Preheat oven to 350deg  with the oven rack in the center.  Butter or spray a 17” x 12” sheet pan.  Line with parchment paper – then butter and flour the paper.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering  water and set aside.  Beat egg yolks and ¼ cup of sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy (the mixture should fall back on itself when you  raise the beaters out of the batter). 


Buche de Noel - Whisk egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy



Add vanilla extract and melted chocolate and beat until just combined.

Using a clean bowl and beaters, beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and beat it at medium speed until soft peaks form, then little by little, beat in the sugar until you have a stiff meringue.


Buche de Noel - After adding sugar, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form



Buche de Noel - gently spread batter into a prepared pan


Fold in a small amount of egg whites (very gently) into the egg yolk mixture.  Fold the remaining whites into the batter until just combined. Be careful not to over mix as it might cause the cake to deflate.  Gently spread the batter in the lined buttered pan and bake for approx. 20 mins on the middle rack in the oven. 



Buche de Noel - When cooked, should spring back when you touch it

It should spring back when touched.  When cooked remove it from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack, cover with a damp towel and allow it to cool.

Ganache

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2cups semi sweet chocolate chopped into small pieces

Place chocolate into a bowl.  Heat cream until it bubbles around the edges.  Pour into cream and stir until smooth and glossy.  When all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy, set aside to cool.  Ganache will thicken as it cools.  It can be used right away as a glaze if that is the look you would like your Bûche to have, or allowed to cool until it spreads more like a butter cream frosting.

Assembling the Bûche

If you have made the ice cream ahead of time, and placed it in the freezer, remove and allow it to soften for approx 20 minutes, or a “spreadable” consistency.  Carefully peel back the parchment paper from the sponge.  Spread the ice cream to within one inch of the edges of the sponge, and using the parchment paper to help roll the sponge length ways, start rolling until completely rolled into a uniform log.  Wrap first in the parchment paper, then cover well with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until ready to decorate.  This can be done well ahead of time.


Buche de Noel - Bon Appetit!

Decorating -  Place the bûche on a wire rack and cut off a small piece at an angle.  Place the angled edge against the side of the bûche (as a branch growing from the side of a log).  Decorate with ganache.  Add meringue mushrooms, leaves and other decorations as you wish or place back in the freezer. Remove from freezer several hours before you plan to serve it and finish decorating at that point.  Enjoy!

Note:  The in the bûche and the ice cream can be varied to any combination you would prefer.  Substitute ¾ cup of any fruit jam you would prefer and make the Roulade with vanilla essence or a liquor of your choice.