A French Christmas Yule Log

How to Make A Bûche de Noel 

A French Christmas Yule Log

Of all the culinary treats that grace the French Christmas table, nothing inspires more child-like joy than a rich, chocolate Bûche de Noël. Real yule logs, the kind from living trees, have had symbolic significance to the French for centuries.

Until the late 1800s, it was a widespread custom for extended families to gather under one roof and burn a sacramental log. In the soft glow of the embers, the family would drink vin cuit (cooked wine) and sing Christmas carols before attending midnight mass.

My family has been giving homemade Bûche de Noel’s to friends, families, and our local community since I was a small child. This holiday season, I am sharing my favorite recipe so that you may start your own tradition.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Francois

It is a most important matter,” he said, “this bringing home of the cacho-fio. The whole family must take part in it. The head of the family–the grandfather, the father, or the eldest son–must cut the tree; all the others must share in carrying home the log that is to make the Christmas fire. And the tree must be a fruit-bearing tree. With us, it usually is an almond or an olive. The olive especially is sacred. Our people, getting their faith from their Greek ancestors, believe that lightning never strikes it. But an apple tree or a pear tree will serve the purpose, and up in the Alp region they burn the acorn-bearing oak. What we shall do today is an echo of Druidical ceremonial–of the time when the Druid priests cut the yule-oak and with their golden sickles reaped the sacred mistletoe; but old Jan here, who is so stiff for preserving ancient customs, does not know that this custom, like many others that he stands for, is the survival of a rite.

“The Christmas Kalends of Provence” by Thomas A. Janvier, 1902

Bûche de Noel

Step 1: The Cake Base

PREP: 10 minutes | COOK: 10 minutes | SERVES: 8

• 1 ounce unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

• 7 large egg whites

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed 13 X 18 inch baking sheet with a buttered sheet of parchment paper.

2. Bring the cream to a rapid boil in a small saucepot over medium heat. Put the chocolate in a large metal bowl then pour over the hot cream. Using a wooden spoon, stir until completely smooth, then cool slightly.

3. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they begin to form soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat 30 seconds longer. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture just until no white streaks remain.

4. Pour onto your prepared half sheet pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 10 minutes.

Notes: Do not try this with a silicone baking mat; it won’t work. I have had many a pastry chef not believe me and end up having to make it again because it stuck.

Special Equipment: Electric hand mixers are useful devices good for whipping egg whites. If you have a stand mixer, use it in place of the hand mixer.

Step 2: Chocolate Buttercream

This chocolate buttercream is equally good for decorating a cake. You can customize the flavor by leaving out the chocolate and adding whatever flavoring you like. Try adding a few spoonfuls of dried coffee for a coffee buttercream, or vanilla extract for vanilla buttercream.

PREP: 10 minutes | COOK: 10 minutes | SERVES: 8

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

• 2 + 3 tablespoons water

• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 3 large egg yolks

• 6 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

1. Melt chocolate with 2 tablespoons of water over a double boiler. Allow to cool slightly.

2. Mix sugar with the remaining 3 tablespoons of water in a small saucepot and bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Once boiling, lower heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook until the sugar reaches 236°F on a sugar thermometer. Carefully check the temperature; it should take about 5 minutes. Be careful not to splash sugar on the sides of the pot because it may cause sugar crystals to form. See Notes.

3. Beat the egg yolks in a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot syrup in a very thin stream into yolks with the mixer motor running slowly. The sugar may get hard as it hits the cooler egg yolks, but do not worry; by the time you have added all the syrup the temperature will be hot enough to melt the lumps. Continue beating the yolks on high speed for 10 minutes, or until the mixture cools and is creamy and lemon colored. Whisk the butter in thoroughly. Then completely whisk in the chocolate.

Notes: The lid helps create steam that raises from the sugar syrup hits the lid, cools slightly, and then rolls down the sides of the pot preventing sugar crystals from forming. A single sugar crystal can ruin your syrup. PLEASE watch out, the worst burns in a kitchen are sugar burns. Hot syrup sticks to your skin and keeps burning.

Special Equipment: Sugar thermometer. Electric hand mixers are useful devices good for whipping egg whites. If you have a stand mixer, use it in place of the hand mixer.

Step 3: Frosting (Ganache)

This ganache frosting is easy to make and versatile. If you have leftover ganache try making chocolate truffles. To do so, refrigerate the ganache until it is hard, about 4 hours. Then scoop out small balls and roll in cocoa powder.

PREP: 1 minute | COOK: 10 minutes | SERVES: 8

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

• 2 ounces unsalted butter

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Off heat, stir in the cream, then let cool to room temperature.

Notes: If your ganache gets too hard to spread on your buche then microwave for 10 seconds, or until it just softens.

Step 4: Finishing the Buche

PREP: 10 minutes | COOK: 3 hours | SERVES: 8

Meringue Mushrooms (optional)

• 2 large egg whites

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 3 ounces granulated sugar

Buche Components

• 1 cooked cake base

• 1 recipe chocolate buttercream

• 1 recipe chocolate frosting

1. For the mushrooms, Make sure that the bowl you are using to beat your eggs is clean and oil-free. Add the egg whites and cream of tartar and start beating at high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add all the sugar and beat on high speed for 30 seconds longer. The eggs will be glossy and firm.

2. Lay a silicone baking sheet onto a cookie pan. Line a pastry bag with a plain tip and fill with meringue. Pipe small mounds about 1 inch in diameter onto the cookie sheet. For every mushroom cap you make you want to pipe a 1-inch long stem. Bake at 200 degrees for about 3 hours or until completely dry.

3. Lay the cake base out in front of you. Grabbing the edges of the parchment paper, pull the cake base out onto your counter. Trim the edges of the cake to make them even. Spread the buttercream over 2/3 of the cake then roll into a long log. Cut off a 4-inch slice at a 45-degree angle and use the piece to make your buche look like it has a knot.

4. Transfer to a serving platter. Use a cake spatula to apply the frosting evenly over the buche. You can create a bark effect by dragging a fork across the surface.

5. Garnish with meringue mushrooms, real pine branches, and even pine cones to give a realistic feel to your yule log.

6. Drink a glass of vin cuit and celebrate the season of sharing!