Ever see those Stepford moms bringing that ‘picture perfect’ over-the-top professional-looking dessert to the neighborhood Christmas party and you can’t help but think….”Bitch, that must be store bought.” Either it was…or she knows Honey Badger’s Buche de Noel recipe!
Ingredients (for the filling):
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered / confectioners sugar (plus extra for dusting)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients (for the cake):
- 6 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup white sugar, divided
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Dash of salt
- 6 egg whites
Ingredients (for the ganache frosting, or you can just frost with leftover filling!):
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
Steps:
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand or stand mixer to whisk together all of the spread ingredients well, until stiff peaks form, then cover and place in the fridge to chill
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- Prepare a large (10″x15″) high-rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the parchment paper
- Clean off your mixers / whisks
- In another large mixing bowl, use your hand or stand mixer to whisk together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the white sugar until it turns a pale yellow – I mean, really…whisk the absolutely CRAP out of this! It will likely take up to 5 minutes of straight beating
- Add in the 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 2 tsp vanilla, and the smallest dash of salt and blend until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated
- Clean off your mixers / whisks again!
- In a third large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form into soft peaks
- Add in 1/4 cup white sugar and whisk further until stiff peaks form
- Fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites and fold together until incorporated
- Carefully spread out the batter onto the parchment paper-lined pan / sheet and bake for about 14-15 minutes (until the cake is firm and springs back to touch)
- Heavily coat a clean dish towel with some of the confectioners sugar (or if you don’t have a clean dish towel…shame on you! But you can also use the parchment paper that the cake is being baked on)
- Remove the cake from the oven, and carefully turn it over onto the dish towel (it may help to run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to ensure it slides out in a single piece)
- Carefully roll up the cake into a log, using the towel or parchment paper, and allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes
- Unroll the cake, and top with a thin coating of the frosting mixture from the fridge – leave about 1 inch clear from the edges
- Re-roll the cake, and set seam side down
- Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour
- To make the frosting, place the chocolate chips in a medium mixing bowl
- Heat the heavy cream in the microwave until it just begins to boil
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, and stir together slowly, until it’s smooth
- Allow this frosting to cool to room temperature or cooler
- Once cooled, use your hand / stand mixture to whip to aerate and become more malleable
- Remove the log from the fridge and unwrap the plastic wrap, but keep the log seam side down
- Coat the log with the ganache frosting
- Use a fork to rake lines through the frosting to make it look like a log, then dust with some more confectioners sugar
- Refridgerate until ready to serve, or eat it right away!
- Enjoy! And happy holidays!
Honey Badger's Kitchen 