Buche de Noel

This was the first Christmas without my sister. Whilst she spent time with her fiancée at his families house, my parents and I spent it with my Grandad. I must admit it was slightly strange. I forgot how much I relied on my sister to entertain me on Christmas mornings, before present openings or cooking preparations  Luckily, we had the beach near by to go look at, although our favourite tea shop was closed! Who would have thought!! I did get to have a celebratory diet coke at a local pub, so not all was lost.

Christmas Waves

I think my sister found it odd as well, seeing other families Christmas traditions. Our traditions include chocolate coins, and a bottle of Matey from Father Christmas. A trifle for those who don't like Christmas pudding and the angel is ALWAYS the last thing to decorate the tree with. Ohh...and there is usually a pint of bread sauce! 

And if at home we will normally go for a walk in one of our favourite places during the daytime and then when we arrive home its all hands to the deck to help mum make dinner. One thing I love when you meet other families out on Christmas day is that everyone smiles and wishes each other a Merry Christmas. There's also a certain silence in the air. On boxing day however everything is back to normal again. Heads down, people going about their jobs, no 'Merry Boxing Day'. It such a shame it's only one day of the year! 

So. This year we decided to have two Christmases! Yes! That means two Christmas dinners, two lots of pulling crackers and two lots of 'Oh my goodness, I can't move, I have eaten too much. Diet. Starts. Tomorrow!'. It also meant consuming nearly 2 pints of bread sauce! Oh dear. 

As an avid follower of Mary Berry (and may I add, this love was way before British Bake off Days!), I decided to test out her Christmas Yule Log recipe, aka Buche de Noel.

Hi Mary. 

Here is her recipe....http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/yule_log_15656

So you ask, how did it turn out? Well, better than expected. Mary Berry recipes are always the best. Simple and to the point.

The Buche. 

Here are a few photos of the making of the Buche....

Step 1: Rolling
 Mary said to dust with icing sugar. I think I made a snow storm!

Step 2: The Ganache. 
Thank goodness I was able to cover up the above mess with all of this yummy yummy chocolate!

Step 3:  Finishing the article.
Can we eat it yet!

Here are a few of my tips if you fancy this recipe. 

The Cake Mixture

* When whisking the eggs and sugar do it to a point where the mixture leaves a permanent trail when you hold it up. I think this is what they call soft peaks, but I'm not sure!

A Tight Roll

* Take it out exactly at 8-10 mins. If you leave it any longer the cake will dry out, and it won't roll as well, and you may get cracks. 

*You need 4 hands to roll! (You'll need a friend because I am not sure if using your feet will work!)

* Don't keep checking it when its cooling. I was so proud I kept going up to it and prodding it. I think it's probably best to just leave it and let it cool, so that you don't provoke it into cracking or falling apart. I was too tempted though!

The Ganache

* Depending on your taste, maybe half dark half milk chocolate. To sweeten you could add icing sugar and vanilla essence.

*Also Mary's recipe makes ALOT of ganache. I did 2/3rds what she said, and I still had plenty to lick the bowl with. 

Finishing Off

* Don't leave it in the fridge if you don't have to. I did and it dried out, but then I left it out for the next day, and it was much tastier!

And does a Buche de Noel just have to be for Christmas...I hope not.  I think you could happily make this in the summer, and somehow incorporate summer fruits in the inside of the roll. Or perhaps flavour the cream. You could also decorate the outside with summer fruits or make a fruit coulée. A Buche de Noel should be renamed A Buche de Annuel! (Bad Joke!) 

Anyway, the dessert went down very well.  I thoroughly enjoyed making the Buche. It was challenging but not impossible. Another classic from Mrs Berry. 

Thanks Mary!