Have a cool Yule...log!

In honor of the ancient festivities known as "Yule"...which begin on the Winter Solstice to celebrate the return of increasing daylight, and interestingly lasts for twelve days...

When asked for a holiday dessert that is really unique to Christmas, I really had to search the old memory banks for something kind of distinctive.  Then it came to me while contemplating the accent over the e in “bête”: “Bûche de Noël”…or kindly translated to English, a Yule Log!

 

As I rifled through old papers to find my recipe, I recalled the fact that this was, in fact, the first “complicated” pastry I ever made, (as a project for my seventh grade French class).  As I reviewed Mm. Agati’s recipe sheet, I stumbled upon the history of the “Yule log”:

“In pre-Christian Scandinavia, large bonfires were burned during the Jul (Yule) festivities, which honored the God Thor and celebrated the winter solstice.  As Christmas replaced Yule celebrations, the yule log no longer carried religious significance, but it still carried the traditions and superstitions associated with it.

In France, the log was to be cut only by the male members of the family, and was never cut or supplied by someone outside of the household.  Much pomp and circumstance surrounded the lighting of the Yule log, including singing and the pouring of wine over the log before it was lit.  Once lit, the log was used to cook Christmas Eve supper.  Ashes from the burned log were believed to have special powers, ranging from healing, to promoting crop growth, to increased fertility!

When, in time, fireplaces and logs became scarce in larger French cities, the practice of baking log shaped cakes was begun, to allow those without a fireplace to carry on the tradition.”

While this hasn’t been a tradition in my house in some years, I hope that it may be included in your family’s Yule celebrations this year.

Yule Log

(Bûche de Noël)

Yield:    1 Yule Log

SPONGE:

1        EA    egg white

5        OZ./ almond paste

6        EA    eggs, separated

5        OZ/  granulated sugar

½       tsp.    vanilla extract

2        OZ/  cake flour

1 ½    OZ/  unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted with the flour

FROSTING:

4        OZ    sweet butter, at room temperature

4        OZ    plain or butter flavored Crisco

8        OZ    confectionary sugar

8-10   OZ    sweet dark chocolate, melted, and warm to the touch

FOR DECORATION:

Marzipan holly berries and leaves (optional)

Melted sweet, dark chocolate (optional)

Confectioner’s sugar

1). Pre-heat oven to 425°F.  2). Gradually mix the egg white into the almond paste to soften it.  3). Whip the egg yolks with 1/3 of the sugar until thick and ribbony.  Add the vanilla.  Very slowly, add the egg yolk mixture to the almond paste; if you add it too fast you will get lumps.  4). Whip the egg whites until foamy and gradually add the remaining sugar.  Whip the whites to stiff peaks.  5). Sift the flour and cocoa together.  Carefully fold the egg whites into the egg yolks.  Fold in the dry ingredients.  6). Immediately spread the batter onto a baking paper-lined 9”x11” jellyroll pan, taking care not to “overwork” the batter.  7). Place the sponge in the pre-heated oven and bake for 8 minutes, or until the cake springs back in the middle when lightly pressed.  Dust a piece of baking paper with flour and invert the cooked sponge on top, (this prevents the sponge from overcooking and becoming dry).  Let cool.  8). While the sponge is cooling, place the butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and whip with an electric mixer until combined and there are no visible lumps.  Gradually add the sugar and continue whipping until the frosting is light and fluffy, (it will double in volume and become very white).  Place 1/3 of the buttercream in a separate bowl, and quickly mix in the melted chocolate.  Still working quickly, add this back into the remaining buttercream.  9). Once the sponge is cooled and the frosting complete, spread approximately 2/3 of the frosting over the sponge, leaving a ½” border on the short sides, and a 1” border on the long side of the sponge closest to you, (or else the frosting will ooze out the sides as you roll it).  Roll the sponge like a jellyroll starting with the top long edge, working towards you, using the paper to help you.  10). Remove the paper, and refrigerate the rolled sponge, seam side down, and covered until the buttercream is firm.  11). Once the frosting is firm, cut off 2 ½ inches from one end of the log, and attach the “branch stump” to the log with some of the remaining buttercream.  Proceed to frost the sponge-roll to resemble the bark of a log.  At this point you can just sprinkle powdered sugar over the log to resemble snow and prepare to eat your very own Bûche de Noël, or you can get fancy and decorate with marzipan berries and leaves, (available from most reputable bakeries), and create bark patterns and wood grain with the melted chocolate.  Joyeux Noël!!!