BUCHE DE NOEL -- YULE LOG CAKE

Buche de Noel -- Yule Log Cake image

This is an adaptation of the tens of recipes that I found online for the Buche de Noel. None of those was quite right, so I kept on fixing them until I ended up with my own recipe. Mine features a chocolate sponge cake with cream cheese frosting on the inside, and cream cheese - chocolate frosting on the outside. The "snow" is...

Provided by Tammy Bui

Time 40m

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 whole egg
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1/2 stick cream cheese
1 c heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1/2 stick cream cheese
1 c heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 Tbsp chocolate powder

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F. Cover a 15-inch pan with parchment paper and grease it very well. Set the pan aside.
2. Beat the egg whites until a stiff white peak is formed. Set aside.
3. Beat the yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla together until you get a thick and creamy texture mix that is very light in color.
4. Sift in the flour and chocolate powder into the sugar-yolk mixture, and beat until well-blended.
5. Gently fold in the egg whites.
6. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread it out evenly.
7. Bake for 12 minutes.
8. While the cake is baking, take out your baking towel, or a large piece of parchment paper (a silicone baking pad will work, too).
9. Cover the entire surface of the towel/parchment paper/silicone pad generously with powdered sugar.
10. Flip the cake over on to the edge of your towel/paper/silicone pad while it is still hot.
11. Cover the entire cake genorously with powdered sugar.
12. Gently but tightly roll the cake up with your towel/paper/silicone pad, and let it cool.
13. Meanwhile, make your two frostings by whipping the ingredients together.
14. After your cake has cooled, cover the inside with the white frosting, and roll your cake back up (alone this time). Cut one end of your cake diagonally and place it on top of the main cake. Cover it in the chocolate frosting, and run the fork across the surface to create the tree bark texture.
15. Decorate your cake to your heart's liking! You may make the holly berries with gummy bears or gumdrops. If you want to make the berries out of gummy bears, trim each bear into a rounded shape and cover the candy in sugar. To make the leaves, just flatten out pieces of green gummy candy and trim them into leaf shapes, and cover them with sugar again.