The Beginnings of Tradition

Since I think I expressed my adoration for this time of year earlier, I wont bother with reaffirming those sentiments once again. Instead, I think I'll offer for your close approaching Holiday pleasure, what is quickly becoming a tradition in our home, an annual Bûche de Noël, aka a Yule Log.

 The Bûche de Noël is closely related to (or has almost replaced) the tradition of the "Yule Log," when the carefully selected Christmas log was burned to bring warmth and prosperity to the home. Although it's now used in relation to Christmas traditions, it had its origins in a "Winter Solstice" tradition.  Some traditions suggest the yule log was burned with the remnants of last years log, while others suggest the 'log' was actual a bundle of sticks tied together, and as each binding broke they toasted with a beverage. There were apparently many variations of the Yule Log, but as people slowly replaced the hearth with other forms of heating in many countries, the tradition slowly declined and was replaced with the edible cake version.

The cake itself is typically prepared using some sort of sponge cake, buttercream frosting, and various decorations possibly including branches, fresh berries, meringue mushrooms, and powdered sugar. Once iced, the log is usually sliced and placed on the side or top as another branch. I didn't want the cake to dry out (and what's wrong with more chocolate!), so I iced this piece as well.

We had our first version of the Bûche de Noël a couple years ago as part of our Christmas Eve / Dad's Birthday celebration, and have managed to find an excuse to make a new one each year since. The extra dose of sweet from chocolate ganache I use to top the log makes for an exceptionally sweet dessert that looks nice and festive sitting on the table with just a little extra adornment.This is by far the most enjoyable recipe of the three that I've tried, so I thought it an appropriate time to share it with you.


For the Cake:
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup flour
4 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a jelly roll baking sheet with a 17" x 10-1/2" with parchment paper. Butter & dust with flour. 

2. Boil water. Pour over cocoa and begin to stir. Add vanilla and continue to stir until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar. Beat until smooth and pale yellow. Add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth and well combined.Add flour and beat one more minute.

4. In a clean bowl, beat egg white until soft peaks form. Add cream of tartar and sugar and beat until it holds stiff, glossy peaks.

5. Using a spatula gently fold 1/2 of meringue mixture into chocolate. Gently fold in remaining.

6. Using a pastry bag with wide tip (or coupler), place mixture into bag and pipe in long rows filling the prepared pan.

7. Bake cake 8 minutes, until it springs back when touched in the middle.

8. Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool. Place a damp towel over the cake. When cool, invert it onto the towel and gently peel parchment paper away.

For the Filling  Icing:
1 Stick Salted Butter, at room temperature

1/2 Tsp Pure Peppermint Extract
1/2 lb Powdered Sugar
3-4 Tbsp Milk
2 Tbsp Dutch Process Cocoa

1. Cream butter. Add flavoring. Add cocoa, powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time adding milk when needed to achieve desired consistency.

For the Ganache (outer frosting):
1-1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
10 Oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate finely chopped

1. Bring heavy cream to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate and stir until smooth. Chill covered, and stir occasionally until set.

For the decorations, use your imagination! You can sift powdered sugar over the cake and make Meringue Mushrooms as I did here, or you can do whatever suits you, your guests, and your Christmas or Holiday wishes.

Enjoy!

The Holidays are Here

I mentioned earlier how much I love Christmas, and with Thanksgiving over, I wish I was sharing the first holiday baking post I had planned for some peppermint bark short bread and other goodies I made for my extended family's annual Christmas party/family reunion after Thanksgiving. Somehow though, in the mad rush between class Wednesday, Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday followed immediately by travel to visit family in Pennsylvania and Maryland, I forgot to take a picture. And of course, its the end of the quarter, so chance are Daniel will be carrying the blog for the next week. 

With the mad rush of the weekend past, I thought I would use my (late) post as a chance to reflect about the wonderful, carb-loaded meal we shared at Thanksgiving and the special time we get to spend and memories to share with our families and each other. I'm not gong to give the recipes for the dishes, although if you have a special request for something I'd be happy to type it up for you (once my final papers are typed and done ;)). 

Enjoy the pictures and the Christmas and Holiday Season!!!

The Dinner

The turkey, prepared by my parents. I'm not sure why I couldn't get a good picture, it just seems wrong to take a picture of its missing head or its backside...

  A Yellow Squash casserole, traditional holiday fare in my family's home.  I don't think I can remember a Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter dinner in which my mom didn't prepare this for us. 

   

Cornbread stuffing. The best way to describe dressing, is the essence of the holidays for me at least. With the onions, celery and tons of sage, it makes the house smell like the holidays. The leftovers don't last too long in our house either. (That's Daniel's legs in the background too :))

   Green bean casserole, because it's just not the holidays without it, or more precisely without nibbling some of the crispy french onions while everything else and everyone proceeds to the table.

 

A homemade cranberry sauce prepared by Daniel & I the night before. For my first attempt, it turned out pretty well although I'll have to play with the flavors more in the future.

  Potatoes roasted with sage and topped with bacon crumbles. A welcome new addition to our Thaknsgiving table this year, and most likely a new staple as well. 

     

 Sweet potato yeast rolls with cinnamon brown butter that I made in lieu of the yeast rolls I made last year. I should probably ask the family which they prefer, but I liked the unique color of these and the little bits of sweet potato.

 

Fruit salad prepared by mom and marinated the night before. Before serving, the grape, orange, mixed fruit, pecan, and coconut concoction are topped with fresh sliced banana.

The Desserts

 

An egg custard pie Daniel made using a recipe from his great-grandmother.

 

Pumpkin spice bars with buttercream frosting made by my mom. Quite honestly the moistest cake I've ever had.

 

Bourbon Pecan Tart made by my sister and I together.