Recipe: Buche De Noel (Yule Log)

Title: BUCHE DE NOEL (YULE LOG)
Categories: Candies, Christmas
Yield: 16 servings

-----------------------BUCHE DE NOEL-----------------------
3/4 c Cake flour
3/4 ts Baking powder
1/4 ts Salt
5 ea Eggs
3/4 c Sugar
1 ts Vanilla extract

---------------CHESTNUT BUTTERCREAM FILLING---------------
1/2 c Sugar, superfine
1 ea Egg yolks
1 pn Salt
1 1/2 ts Vanilla extract
2 tb Cream, heavy
1/2 c Butter
2 c Sugar, powdered
30 ea Chestnuts, whole cooked
2 tb Butter
4 tb Cream, heavy
1/3 c Sugar, powdered

--------------------MOCHA SILK FROSTING--------------------
1 1/4 c Sugar, powdered
3 tb Cocoa powder
2 ts Instant coffee
5 1/3 tb Butter
1 1/2 tb Corn syrup
1 ts Vanilla extract
2 tb Cream, heavy

Have ready: clean lint-free dish towel and cookie
sheet larger than jelly roll pan. Preheat oven to 400;
prepare 10"x15"x1" jelly roll pan by greasing it,
lining bottom and sides with wax paper, and greasing
wax paper. Bring eggs to room temperature and
separate. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt; set
aside. Beat yolks until thick and pale. Gradually add
6T sugar, beating well after each addition. Mixture
should fall in thick ribbon when beaters are lifted.
Add vanilla and beat again. With clean dry beaters,
beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining
sugar, beating constantly, until whites stand in firm,
glossy, moist peaks. Fold 1/3 whites into yolk mixture
to lighten it, then fold remaining whites in too.
Gradually fold dry ingredients into egg mixture; fold
in gently but thoroughly. Spread batter evenly in
prepared pan, making sure to get it into the corners.
Put pan into oven immediately. Bake 10-12 minutes,
just until cake is golden on top and tester comes out
clean. Do not overbake. Remove from oven; working
quickly, cover jelly roll pan FIRST with clean towel,
then with inverted cookie sheet. Turn over pan, towel,
and sheet to turn out cake. Remove jelly roll pan;
peel off wax paper. Slide towel and cake onto counter;
cake is wrong side up. Cut off any crisp edges, fold
one end of towel over short end of cake, and roll cake
in towel. Place rolled cake seam side down on wire
rack or cookie sheet to cool completely. CHESTNUT
BUTTERCREAM FILLING: combine sugar, egg yolk, salt,
vanilla, and cream; beat for 8 minutes at medium
speed. Without washing beaters, cream butter until
light. Add yolk mixture a little at a time, beating
well after each addition. Gradually add powdered
sugar, beating well after each addition. Set basic
buttercream aside. Puree chestnuts with butter, cream,
and powdered sugar. Stir chestnut puree into
buttercream, blending thoroughly. If necessary, thin
with a little more cream to bring to very spreadable
consistency. MOCHA SILK FROSTING: powder instant
coffee by placing in plastic bag and crushing with
rolling pin. Mix together sugar, cocoa, and coffee.
Add remaining ingredients and beat for 1 minute at
medium speed. If necessary, add a little more cream
to make frosting easy to spread. Unroll cooled cake,
leaving it on towel; don't worry about the cake
looking deflated, it will perk up soon. Spread 1/2 c
frosting evenly over cake, all the way to the edges.
Spread 2 c filling over thin layer of frosting,
pushing generous amount into curved end. Roll up
again, without towel but using it to help roll. Place
cake, seam side down, on cake plate or tray. Remove
any excess villing from ends and seam edge.
Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm filling. Trim and
discard (or eat!) a thin slice from one end of chilled
cake; cut and reserve wedge from other end. Spread a
small amount of filling on top center of cake and
press reserved wedge on it to make the "knothole."
Frost entire cake with remaining frosting, building
frosting up around sides of "knothole." Do NOT cover
knothold top! Work frosting as far under roll as
possible. Repeatedly draw narrow metal spatula
lengthwise through frosting to simulate rough texture
of bark. Snip pieces of angelica into leaf shapes and
cut glace cherries in half to make log decorations.
Keep cake refrigerated until serving; it is much
easier to slice when cold and firm. Before serving,
surround cake with holly and cranberries.