Dessert Landscape

Bûche de Noël – My Erstwhile Nemesis

Since I’m down with the old adage, “write what you know” (or kinda know in my case), I do some baking occasionally.  It might have something to do with stealing tastes of the batter, frosting, or pure vanilla extract (resist this particular urge!) as I go, but even I get sick of whatever it is I’m making by the time it’s ready.  By the next day, however, I’m craving my dessert again and eat it with great relish and (often) pride.  And of course when you make something at home, you’ve got free license to eat it!

With an upcoming dinner party, I was inspired to make a Yule Log or Bûche de Noël, the classic French treat consisting of a thin layer of sponge and some sort of cream/jelly/flexible edible,  all rolled up.  I turned to Martha for guidance, and although the end result, I think, looked pretty good:

after 6 hours of working on this thing on a Friday night after work, I get why it’s a “seasonal” dessert.

Bear with me, because I’m about to get all Julie & Julia up in this piece.  Once I made my chocolate génoise (or French sponge), which I did not burn or, by the looks of things, overbake, plus my chocolate mousse filling, I began to ease it into its roll using a towel & parchment paper, as suggested.  As luck would have it, the cake broke almost immediately, then proceeded to not roll so much as fold in on itself, to create, rather than a round log, a flattened log with mousse oozing unstoppably out the sides.  Sweating and cursing, I then tried to move the mass over to some plastic wrap to chill in the fridge and set before decorating.  It was so full of stuff, I couldn’t get a good hold on it, and it started collapsing.  AARGH!!  I looked at the pile of crap I was dealing with and was struck by the absurdity of my pursuit.  Undoubtedly, everything I had here was delicious.  Now why was I insisting on rolling it into a shape it obviously had no interest in forming?  Why didn’t I just toss it all into a large bowl, pour some ganache on top, and have at it?  Because I didn’t want to accept defeat, that’s why.  So, after much mousse-loss, I wrapped it up and threw it into the fridge, so that I could work on the easiest thing in the world: chocolate ganache.

As you can see from my pics, I was eventually able to successfully turn my messy pile into a thing of humble beauty, using a fork, evergreen sprigs, and powdered sugar.  Pastry chefs must not only be great bakers, but also great sculpters and artists.  My respect for them grows by the day.  I was so proud, I didn’t even want to cut through it during our dinner party.  But I did, and found that the light génoise, mousse, and touch of strawberry jam melded perfectly with the smooth ganache.  I guess I’ll make another one next year.

5 Comments to Bûche de Noël – My Erstwhile Nemesis

Leave a comment