Buche de Noel – Chestnut – bûche de noël

This is another multi-step cake.  There’s still time to make one for Christmas (or just because it’s a log.  Log, Log, It’s big it’s round it’s wood.) Much like opera cake, it is made in a sheet pan or jelly roll pan.

Prep 1 half sheet pan (15×12 inches the biggest you have in your home kitchen) by coating it with non-stick spray, then cover with parchment, then spray the parchment.

Pre-heat the oven to 400° F

1.0 Cake – Chestnut “Genoise” Cake

Ingredients:

• 3      ________________ egg whites (save the yolks for something)
• 1 TBSP   ________________ sugar
• 75 grams  ________________ chestnut puree (see prep for those below – or use canned)
• 100 grams  ________________ confection sugar, sifted
• 4   ________________ eggs
• 60 grams  ________________ all-purpose flour
• 3 TBSP   ________________  melted butter
• 2 tsp   ________________ vanilla
• ¹⁄₄ tsp  ________________ salt
• ¹⁄₄ tsp  ________________ Baking soda

Instructions:

• In a large bowl, or stand mixer whip the egg whites, with the sugar.
  • Start the whites with a whisk, by hand, to avoid un-whipped egg whites from collecting in the bottom of the bowl
• Whip to stiff peaks – stiff but not dry.
• Scoop whipped egg whites into another clean bowl (I do this, just to reuse the same bowl)
• Beat the yolks, with half of the confection sugar.
• Add the chestnut puree.
• Sift the rest of the confectioners sugar, with the flour, and baking soda
• Mix in the cooled melted butter into the eggs.
• On low, add in the flour mixture, until just combined
• Remove from mixer, and fold in one third of the egg whites.
• Fold in the rest of the egg whites, carefully.
• Distribute into the pan
• Bake for 10-15 minutes.  Check every 5 minutes.
• Remove, and let cool slightly.

• While the cake is cooking, prep a clean tea towel by sprinkling with confectioners sugar.
• Also cover the back of another large pan with parchment.
• Flip the cake onto the parchment covered back of, and pull the parchment off the cake
• Then flip the cake onto the sugar covered tea towel.
• Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the cake.
• Cover with wax paper, and roll up the cake.
• Let the cake cool.
• Wrap with plastic wrap till you’re ready to unroll it and fill it.
• You can also wrap the cake and freeze it – but be sure to let it thaw in the fridge for a day before letting it come to room temp and unrolling it.

2.0 Chestnut Puree

Ingredients:

• ¹⁄₄ Cup  ________________ confectioners sugar
• 12 oz   ________________ Chestnuts in the shell (this is just how much I happened to buy)

Instructions:

• Using a serrated knife – very carefully cut the chestnuts in half.  They roll around and are hard to cut.  Be careful.
• Put the chestnuts into a pan, and cover with water (about 2 cups should do it)
• Boil for 30 minutes
• Remove the skins, and that weird inner skin thing.  If you want them to come out whole, you might want to boil them longer.
• In a food processor, grind the cooked chestnuts, then add the sugar.
• Grind till it becomes a doughy paste.

3.0 Dark Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

• 4 ________________ egg yolks
• 4 ________________ egg whites
• 6 oz ______________ Chocolate (dark – I used  valrhona guanaja, which is 70%)
• ¹⁄₄ Cup ____________ sugar
• ¹⁄₄ Cup ____________ water
• 1 tsp ______________ vanilla extract
• 4 TBSP ______________ butter (melted and cooled)
• ¹⁄₂ Cup __________ heavy cream
• ¹⁄₄ Cup __________ Chestnut Puree
• dash _____________ espresso powder

Instructions:

• This has raw egg in it – use fresh eggs that you trust.
• Melt the chocolate, slowly.  (Microwave or over a pot of simmering water in a double boiler)
• Mix the butter in to the chocolate.
• Start whipping the egg whites and slowly add in half of the sugar.  Whip to stiff peaks.
• Set aside the egg whites
• Beat the yolks and the remaining sugar (with the paddle attachment)
• Add in the chocolate and the vanilla extract.
• Fold the egg whites in.
• Whip the cream, and then fold in the cream.
• Spoon into a piping bag, and let chill in the fridge till it sets a little.

4.0 Dark Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

• 10 oz    ________________ Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped, or melted – I use our warming to melt it)
• 1 ¹⁄₄ Cup ________________ Cream
• 2 TBSPs  ________________ Butter
• 1 tsp   ________________ glucose syrup (or corn syrup, about a squirt) (You can leave this out if you want)
• Reserve an ounce of the chocolate for assembly of meringue decorations, if you’re doing those.

Instructions:

• Heat the cream, don’t let it boil.
• Melt the chocolate, in a double boiler, or lightly in a microwave, or however you want.
• Pour the cream over the chocolate
• Whisk to combine, starting in the middle.  Don’t use a spatula or spoon on ganache. Whisk.
• Add in the butter, and glucose syrup, whisking to combine.
• Set aside, and wait for it to cool to at least  or room temperature, before beating lightly.

5.1 Assembly

• Find a piece of cardboard, or a cake board, and cut it into an oblong shape
• Once you’ve made the mousse, unroll the cooled cake.
• Spread the mousse on the cake – not too thickly – and leave a decent border.
• Carefully re-roll the cake – careful to scrape up the mousse before it oozes.
• Wrap in plastic and chill.
• Once chilled, cover the cake in the ganache.
• This doesn’t have to look too fancy – it’s supposed to look like wood.
• Cut the end of the cake off, on an angle.  (Trim the other end too, and cover that end in icing)
• Stick one of the scrap pieces to the cake, and cover with more ganache.
• Use the handle fo a spoon to make wood-like indents in the ganache.
• Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill to set the ganache.

Decorate the plate with the meringues.

6.0 Meringue for decoration

Ingredients:

• 2    ________________ egg whites
• dash _______________ cream of tartar
•  ¹⁄₄ Cup  ________________ super fine sugar (not confection – caster sugar, or finely ground regular sugar)
• a bit of cocoa powder

Instructions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 300° F$
• In a mixer bowl – whip the egg whites by hand till foamy
• Put bowl on the mixer, add the tartar
• Whip to a foam, then slowly add the sugar bit by bit.
• Whip to stiff peaks.
• Spoon into piping bags – fitted with a large round tip.
• (I did two, one with large round tip, and one with a small ribbon tip – because I wanted to make hen of the woods mushroom decorations).
• On a parchment lined sheet pan, pipe a bunch of domed circles, and with a clean finger, push down the little tail that happens.
• Pipe a bunch of “stems”
• Place the sheet pan in the oven, and immediately drop the temperature to 250° F
• Prop the oven door open (I use all metal kitchen tongs for this, since I’ve melted various other ones)
• Bake for ~2 hours.  (Leave a window open if you have a tiny confined kitchen or apartment, or if you’re for some reason irrationally worried about CO)
• Remove from oven and let cool.
• Spread a thin layer of chocolate on the underside of the mushroom tops, and attach a stem (after cutting the top off, so it will stick)