Buche de Noel or Yule Log & A Very Merry Christmas To All :)!!!

I had promised Manasi,that I would make a Yule log this Christmas and bring in some Christmas cheer into our home. Manasi was very excited as she along with her friend  Lauren had made Buche De Noel 2 years back for a french project and claimed it was  the coolest  thing !!! Also when you do something with  a close friend you  create special everlasting memories, it is sweet because I realized we invariably ended up talking about her and Lauren,and the good times they had when they were together in the same school :)

I had fun making the chocolate Swiss roll and rolling it up ,which was a little tricky (just the first roll) after that it came very naturally and  the chocolate frosting was the best part , me and Manasi kept licking the  frosting that came on our hands :0 Manasi helped me get the bark effect by running the fork through the frosting in crooked lines. The effect looked stunning and the log tasted oooh so yummy,we could not get enough of it. I hope I can convince you enough to make it this season, (I plan to do this for New Year's also) you can involve the little ones in this preparation,frosting the Swiss roll is fun, and there is no one way or wrong way of frosting,this is a log and has a rustic appeal .So they can have a go at it :) Sprinkling the powdered sugar is even more fun and gives it  the snowy effect which is even cooler :)!!!

Baking A  Chocolate Swiss Roll:
Ingredients: Makes one 8 inch roll
Eggs: 3
Sugar: 3 oz caster or super fine
Self Raising Flour: 2 oz
Cocoa Powder: 1 oz unsweetened

For Filling:
Heavy cream( double)  120 ml
Sugar: 1 tsp

Chocolate Frosting:
Unsweetened baking Chocolate: 3 oz
Butter Unsalted: 2 tbsp
Milk: 1 cup
Powdered Sugar: 3 cups
vanilla: few drops

Method For Baking A Swiss roll:
Take the three eggs in a big bowl( they will double in size) and add sugar and beat with an electric beater for about 10 minutes till the eggs becomes pale and thick and the mixture trails off the whisk in ribbons.

Now fold in the flour & cocoa very gently and make sure you do not over fold .
Grease a 8 by 12 inch Swiss roll pan or cut a parchment paper and line the pan with this and brush the paper with butter/oil. Now pour the batter onto this and very gently spread this evenly.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degree f and bake this for 10- 12 minutes  or until well risen and firm to the touch.

Take a tea towel and spread a parchment paper and dust it with icing sugar and invert the Swiss roll on this.

Now take a knife and very gently lift it up from the edge and then take the edge get your hands on the roll along with the parchment paper and tea towel and make a roll and keep rolling it gently,don't worry about the cracks ,there will be frosting to cover that.

Now press the roll gently for a couple minutes and unroll it on the parchment paper and whip the double heavy cream with sugar until stiff . Spread this evenly on the sponge after it is cool enough to hold the cream. Spread the whipped cream evenly and roll the sponge along with the parchment paper and leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes.Meanwhile you can get the chocolate frosting ready.

Method for Chocolate Frosting:
Take a heavy bottomed pan and add the 2 tbsp butter and when melted add the unsweetened baking chocolate and cook on very low flame stirring constantly till it becomes smooth.Now turn off the flame and add 3 cups sugar and 1 cup milk and beat with an electric mixer till it blends well. This should already be thick and easily spreadable consistency but if not then stick it in the fridge for some more time till it has  achieved the desired spreadable consistency.

Now get the Swiss roll out from the fride and put it on a flat plate or the baking tin and remove the parchment paper and tea towel. Cut the ends at a slanting angle and use them to stick either on the sides or on the top. This is entirely up to your creativity :)

Now comes the best part of frosting the Swiss roll.  Take spoonful of frosting and spread it on the log in a thick layer and then with a fork make angled or crooked lines to give it the bark effect.

You can finish this by sprinkling some powdered sugar to give it a snowy effect, and you can also make some holly leaves and do whatever you fancy and go wild with creativity :)

Notes: Roll the Swiss roll immediately once it comes out of the oven and is still moist. Leaving it to coll before rolling is not a option you have as there is no moisture and the sponge develops cracks.

P.S Everyone have a wonderful holiday season and wish you all the very best from 2011,I will be taking a week long break from blogging and will see you in 2011 :) So long....
Stay warm and be safe with your loved ones,God Bless !!!