Bûche de Noël (Chocolate chestnut log)
| Published: 11th December 2007 10:28 |
A classic French Christmas treat, the light flourless sponge and chestnut filling make a welcome change to heavy chocolate logs available in the shops.
Serves: 8-10
Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the base:
6 Large eggs
150 g Caster sugar
50 g Cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp Icing sugar
For the filling:
240 g tin Sweetened chestnut purée (crème de marrons)
4 whole candied chestnuts (marrons glacés), roughly chopped
1 tbsp double cream
For the frosting:
50 g Dark chocolate
275 ml double cream
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Line a 32 by 23cm swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper.
2. To make the base separate the eggs, put the whites in a large bowl and the yolks in a smaller bowl. Then, using an electric hand whisk, whisk the egg yolks until they start to pale and thicken, add the sugar and continue to whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. Now thoroughly whisk in the cocoa powder.
3. Clean the whisk thoroughly, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Stir in one spoon of egg white into the chocolate mixture, now carefully fold all of the egg white into the chocolate mixture, until thoroughly combined.
4. Spread the mixture into the prepared tin, giving it a few taps to even it out, and bake for 20 minutes or until it is risen and puffy and feels springy in the centre, be careful not to overcook.
5. Let it cool completely, then place a sheet of silicone paper or baking parchment (larger than the swiss roll tin) and sprinkle it with some icing sugar. Turn the base out on to the paper and carefully peel off the cooking paper.
6. Empty the contents of the chestnut purée into a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of the double cream and mix thoroughly. Spread the mixture carefully and evenly all over the base. Sprinkle over the chopped candied chestnuts.
7. Roll the base over lengthways into a long roll, keeping it on the edge of the paper, transferring it to a serving plate. If it cracks or loses its shape don't worry, just pat it back into a log shape, nothing will show because of the topping.
8. Now cut two diagonal pieces off each end, to give two triangular pieces. Place one on one side of the log, cut side to join it, and the other on the other side but this time nearer the top.
9. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over some hot water. Whisk the rest of the double cream till it's spreadable, be careful not to over mix. Spread the cream evenly all over the log. Then drizzle a little trickle of melted chocolate up and down the length of the cream, take a teaspoon working lengthways, blend the chocolate lightly into the cream, giving a woody bark effect.
Due to the use of fresh cream, the log should be eaten with in 2-3 days. If however you want to make it a little early you can wrap the un decorated log in cling film and store it in the fridge for a few days before decorating.
Community Comment:
Add your comment:
You will need to sign in to post a comment to this article. if you do not have an AboutMyArea account, you can join now for free.
