Is it possible that Christmas is already here? It feels like only yesterday that I was laying a butter-drenched cheese cloth over my Thanksgiving turkey, and shoving it in the oven.
This Christmas we’re breaking our Jewish tradition of a day at the movies, followed by a meal of Chinese food. We’re going to Brooklyn to celebrate the holiday with friends who are fabulous cooks in their own right. So, I am off kitchen-duties for this holiday. But I do have one contribution to the meal– dessert. I decided to get festive this year, and make my very first bûche de noël. It has been a process, but with eggs, sugar, and butter as my companions, I have made it through relatively unscathed.
There is the vanilla genoise as the cake. It is so light and thin, perfect for rolling. I decided the filling would be a Hazelnut Bavarian Cream Soufflé. I infused milk with hazelnuts and incorporated the mixture into beaten egg whites. There will be French Chocolate Buttercream, for frosting my bûche. But the decoration I am most excited about are the countless meringue mushrooms that I made this week to embellish my faux bois.
Dusted with a bit of cocoa, I think that these fungi are so cute, I can hardly wait to gobble them up. As I was constructing them, carving out a divot in the underside of each cap, and then securing the stems with additional meringue, I flipped the mushroom, right side up, and each made me laugh. In fact, I kept saying, “Hi!” to every one. (I know; but it’s has been a long week!)
We’re off to Brooklyn in just awhile, but I had to show you. Let’s hope all of the mushrooms make it down safely. I’ll try to snap a few pictures of the bûche de noël, completely constructed.
Have a wonderful holiday!
Wow – did that take me back. As a senior in high school, I decided that I was going to create a Buche Noel during school vacation. My family always had a big New Year's Day party .. the perfect event for the unveiling of such a wonderful dessert masterpiece. However, I had decided to apply "early decision" to my college of choice, so my parents told me the college application needed to be complete before any baking was to be done. Long story short, college application complete, Buche de Noel complete, along with countless meringue mushrooms, which amused me to no end (I'm sure I greeted each upon their completion as well!), and much praise and admiration for my pastry skills. And the icing on the cake (pun intended) – got into college early and sat back and relaxed while all my friends stressed over applications that spring!
Wow – did that take me back. As a senior in high school, I decided that I was going to create a Buche Noel during school vacation. My family always had a big New Year's Day party .. the perfect event for the unveiling of such a wonderful dessert masterpiece. However, I had decided to apply "early decision" to my college of choice, so my parents told me the college application needed to be complete before any baking was to be done. Long story short, college application complete, Buche de Noel complete, along with countless meringue mushrooms, which amused me to no end (I'm sure I greeted each upon their completion as well!), and much praise and admiration for my pastry skills. And the icing on the cake (pun intended) – got into college early and sat back and relaxed while all my friends stressed over applications that spring!
Wow – did that take me back. As a senior in high school, I decided that I was going to create a Buche Noel during school vacation. My family always had a big New Year's Day party .. the perfect event for the unveiling of such a wonderful dessert masterpiece. However, I had decided to apply "early decision" to my college of choice, so my parents told me the college application needed to be complete before any baking was to be done. Long story short, college application complete, Buche de Noel complete, along with countless meringue mushrooms, which amused me to no end (I'm sure I greeted each upon their completion as well!), and much praise and admiration for my pastry skills. And the icing on the cake (pun intended) – got into college early and sat back and relaxed while all my friends stressed over applications that spring!
Wow – did that take me back. As a senior in high school, I decided that I was going to create a Buche Noel during school vacation. My family always had a big New Year's Day party .. the perfect event for the unveiling of such a wonderful dessert masterpiece. However, I had decided to apply "early decision" to my college of choice, so my parents told me the college application needed to be complete before any baking was to be done. Long story short, college application complete, Buche de Noel complete, along with countless meringue mushrooms, which amused me to no end (I'm sure I greeted each upon their completion as well!), and much praise and admiration for my pastry skills. And the icing on the cake (pun intended) – got into college early and sat back and relaxed while all my friends stressed over applications that spring!
Wow – did that take me back. As a senior in high school, I decided that I was going to create a Buche Noel during school vacation. My family always had a big New Year's Day party .. the perfect event for the unveiling of such a wonderful dessert masterpiece. However, I had decided to apply "early decision" to my college of choice, so my parents told me the college application needed to be complete before any baking was to be done. Long story short, college application complete, Buche de Noel complete, along with countless meringue mushrooms, which amused me to no end (I'm sure I greeted each upon their completion as well!), and much praise and admiration for my pastry skills. And the icing on the cake (pun intended) – got into college early and sat back and relaxed while all my friends stressed over applications that spring!