Bûche de Noël : a French Tradition

It is no understatement to say the Bûche de Noel is one of the Christmas traditions that the French get most excited about. This log look-a-like cake is a must on the French Christmas table and a dessert no one will pass on – even on an over-filled belly. 

If you are interested in learning more about the festive origins of the Bûche de Noel, you can visit my Classic Chocolate Bûche de Noël recipe. 

In France, literally every French bakery and pastry shop offer Bûches de Nöel on their stands, from the classic to the most modern and exotic-flavored versions. With such an incredible choice of Bûches de Nöel at every corner baker, few French people make their own Bûche de Nöel at home nowadays. Although you will still find passionate homemakers (like myself) tackling this project every year.  Plus, finding a premade Bûche de Nöel outside of France is quite difficult, so making one yourself is the obvious decision. 

Making your own Bûche de Noël at home 

Despite its elaborate look, a rolled-up Bûche de Nöel is often far easier to make at home than what you may think. This lighter and easier version will in fact only take about one hour of your time, whereas most classic versions would take two to three hours of your time. 

This simple Bûche is a combination of two elements: a light vanilla Génoise sheet cake rolled into a cylinder and a simple orange-flavored mascarpone filling (plus, fresh raspberries for garnish of course). Take it step-by-step: make the Génoise cake first, then the filling, and finally assemble the cake. 

Can you make this Bûche de Noël ahead? 

Yes, not only can you, but you should! After being made and assembled, this Bûche de Noël should chill in your fridge for at least 4 hours to set and firm up. You can keep the Bûche in your fridge for up to 24 hours. Because this Bûche isn’t covered with frosting, it is also easy to wrap with plastic film to chill, without making a mess or altering its look. 

This makes it a great make-ahead dessert if you are hosting a Holiday dinner! You can prepare the Bûche the evening before or the morning of, and keep the Bûche well wrapped in your fridge until you are ready to serve. Right before serving, unwrap the log, trim off the ends and dust it with icing sugar. 

Can you freeze it? 

Yes, you can even freeze it. After being made and assembled, wrap the Bûche tightly in plastic film and freeze, for up to 1 month. The day before serving, transfer the Bûche overnight in your fridge, and allow it to thaw. 

Baking Tips: 

• I recommend you separate the eggs about 30 minutes before you start, to allow them to warm up to room temperature. The egg whites should be at room temperature for them to retain more air when beaten. It will be easier to reach a firm peak. If too cold, the whites will be stiffer and won’t welcome in air as easily. 
• Keep an eye on the oven! The Génoise sheet cake bakes fast and the edges will turn from golden to “too brown” in no time. 10 to 11 minutes (depending on your oven) should be enough. 
• Intimidated by the prospect of rolling up a cake? Here is a trick to make it easier and avoid cracks: roll up the Génoise sheet cake right out of the oven while still warm, in a clean humid kitchen cloth. You don’t want to let the cake cool before you do this. A cloth dusted with sugar works too; but I tried to limit the amount of sugar used in this recipe. Rolling the cake when it is still warm and soft keeps the cake moist and allows it to “memorize” its rolled shape. When the cake is cool, gently unroll it and immediately spread the filling into it and roll it back up. 
• I love the raspberries in this Bûche, but they are interchangeable. Exotic fruits work very well here, such as cubed ripe mangoes (same quantities), cubed ripe pineapple (same quantities), cubed ripe kiwis or passion-fruit pulp (about ½ cup) 

I hope you’ll love this Raspberry Bûche de Noël recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. 

You may also like:

• Classic Chocolate Bûche de Noël 
• Chestnut Cream Cake 
• Apple Breton Pound Cake
• Classic French Chocolate Truffles

Raspberry Bûche de Noël

Print Recipe

Serves: 6-8 people Prep Time: 1 Hour Cooking Time: 11 Minutes 11 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 3.6/5

( 5 voted )

Ingredients

For the Génoise cake:
4 large eggs, yolks and whites separated and at room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (125g) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt

For the filling:
1 cup + 3 tbsp (275g) mascarpone (35% m.f - 54% moisture)
Zest of an orange
1/2 cup (50g) powdered sugar
250g fresh raspberries

Instructions

For the Génoise cake: 

Step 1 - Pre-heat your oven to 400°F (205°C) with a rack in the middle. Butter a 10x15-inch (25.5cm x 38cm) rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper (the butter helps the paper "stick" to the pan). 

Step 2 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until foamy and a ribbon forms when lifting the whisk. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Switch to a spatula and fold in the flour and salt. Stop mixing when just incorporated; the batter will be quite thick at this point. 

Step 3 – In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until firm. Add a spoonful of the egg whites to the batter and mix to loosen the consistency. Add the rest of the egg whites and gently fold in with a spatula. Gently spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out with a spatula so it covers the whole pan. 

Step 4 - Bake for 10-11 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake sheet comes out clean. Right out of the oven, lightly sprinkle a clean kitchen towel with water (to make it just humid, not wet), lay it onto your counter and turn the cake onto it. Peel off the parchment paper and immediately (and carefully) roll the cake with the kitchen towel, starting from the narrow (shorter width) side. Roll as tight as possible, without pressing onto the cake. Set aside on your counter. While the cake cools, make the filling. 

For the filling: 

Step 1 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together the mascarpone, sugar and orange zest. Rinse and pat-fry the raspberries.

Assembling: 

Step 1 - Transfer the rolled cake onto a working surface and slowly unroll it. Evenly spread the mascarpone filling onto the entire cake sheet. Scatter raspberries evenly over top, slightly pressing them into the filling (keep a few for decorating the log later). Re-roll the cake into a log, as it previously was (minus the cloth). Wrap the log into a plastic film and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. 

For serving, unwrap the log, trim off both ends, dust with powdered sugar and top with fresh raspberries.

The post Raspberry Bûche de Noël appeared first on Pardon Your French.

Festive Origins

The tradition of the Christmas Yule log—an actual log, not the cake—stretches back to more than 2000 years ago, before the Medieval era. People in Scandinavian, Germanic, and Celtic countries would celebrate Winter solstice by selecting and cutting a log, bringing it back to their homes, and burning it in their hearth throughout the longest night of the year. 

In different countries and families, the choice of the wood (cherry, oak, or birch), the size of the log, and the manner in which it was lit were of utmost importance. This ritual, a huge part of the celebratory traditions in these households, was a way to welcome the new year and bring fortune for the whole family.

Around the 12th century, the tradition was adopted by the Catholic Church. To add religious symbolism to the ritual, logs were sprinkled with holy water before being burnt. The fire then needed to be nurtured to last 12 days, from Christmas Eve until the Epiphany. 

From the Hearth to the Oven

This tradition remained as such until about the 19th century. It then slowly vanished with the disappearance of the large hearth within homes, as many people moved to smaller urban houses. 

With no fireplace to burn in, logs were instead symbolically placed on mantles as decoration. Later, in the late 1800s, the first Yule log as a decorative cake was invented—with various French bakers all fiercely claiming credit for its invention, of course. 

This simple, light and fluffy Swiss roll-style dessert stood in stark contrast with other common French Christmas desserts of the time, which tended to be overly rich and dense, packed with dried fruits and nuts—closer to the British Christmas pudding or German stollen. It was quickly adopted amongst French households, and by the end of the 20th century, had also caught on in other francophone countries, such as Belgium, Switzerland, and even Quebec, Canada. 

A strong French Tradition

Today, the French’s appetite for the Bûche de Nöel remains alive and well. Every year, bakeries and pastry chefs all around the country kick off their efforts to create their most unique Bûche as early as October. Each chef always coming up with new flavors and elaborate decorations to distinguish themselves from other bakers. Berry, chestnut, or coconut cakes adorned with gnomes, mushrooms, and pine trees are just a few examples.

With such an incredible selection available at every corner bakery, few people in France make their own Bûche de Nöel at home anymore. 

Outside of France, though, finding a Bûche de Noel may not be the easiest of tasks. But creating your own at home is far easier than you may think.

It will take two to three hours of your time, depending on your baking abilities, but I guarantee that the process will be fun and rewarding, and leave you with a stunning, festive centerpiece for your holiday table.

Making your own Bûche at home 

Despite its elaborate look, this traditional Chocolate Bûche de Nöel is a simple combination of only two elements: a light vanilla Génoise sheet cake rolled into a cylinder and a rich dark chocolate buttercream. The Bûche is presented with one end cut off and re-attached to the side of the cake to resemble a branch, before being entirely covered with buttercream. 

This festive dessert is far easier to make at home than what you may think. Take it step-by-step: the Génoise cake first, then the chocolate buttercream, and finally the assembly.

Baking Tips: 

– Avoid cracks in the Génoise Cake

The trick to preventing cracks in a Génoise cake when rolling it (or any swiss roll cake) is to roll the Génoise right out of the oven while still warm, in a clean kitchen cloth dusted with sugar. This keeps the cake moist and allows it to “memorize” its rolled shape. When the cake is cool, gently unroll it and immediately spread the buttercream into it and roll it back up. 

– Make a fluffy and spreadable Chocolate Buttercream

As its name suggests, a chocolate buttercream is made with a generous amount of butter, whipped gradually into a fluffy chocolate meringue. The butter should be soft (at room temperature) – to be properly incorporated – yet not too soft or it will make for a runny buttercream. If the buttercream becomes too fluid during the process of making it, pop your bowl into the fridge until it has chilled through.

– Create a bark-like look  

Once the cake is covered with buttercream, a bark texture is created by dragging a fork along the cake. It doesn’t have to be perfect; the more rustic the better. 

– Decorations 

For finishing, a Bûche de Nöel is decorated with (mostly) edible ingredients to recreate a woodsy theme. You can follow along these few traditional suggestions, or get creative and use ingredients you may already have in your kitchen. 

• Garnish the log with meringue mushrooms to match the woodsy theme.
• Sprinkle crushed pistachios here and there to recreate moss.
• Dot the log with fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs to resemble mistletoe. 
• As a finishing touch, dust powdered sugar on the finished log to recreate snow. 

I hope you’ll love this Classic Chocolate Bûche de Noël recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. 

More Holiday Baking ideas: 

• Cocoa Almond Thumbprint Cookies from Alsace (Linzele) 
• Spiced Cookies with Candied Citrus Peels and Almonds (Leckerli)
• Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll 
• Almond Chocolate Twice-Baked Cookies from Provence (Croquants)
• Raspberry Jam-Filled Sablé Sandwiches (Lunettes de Romans)

Classic Chocolate Bûche de Noël

Print Recipe

Serves: 8-10 Prep Time: 2 hours Cooking Time: 12 Minutes 12 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.7/5

( 6 voted )

Ingredients

For the Genoise Cake: 
1 cup (150g) all-purpose flour 
1 tsp (5g) baking powder 
4 large eggs 
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract 
3 tbsp (40g) butter, melted and cooled 

For the Dark Chocolate Buttercream: 
7 large egg whites 
½ tsp salt 
1 ¼ cup (250g) sugar  
6 ounces (157g) dark chocolate, melted and cooled 
½ tsp vanilla extract 
1 ½ cup (355g) unsalted butter, softened

For decorating:
8-10 cranberries, for garnish
8-10 fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Instructions

A. The Genoise Cake: 

Step 1 - Pre-heat your oven to 375F (190C) with a rack in the middle. Butter a 10x15-inch (25.5cm x  38cm) rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Butter the parchment or spray it with cooking spray. Set the pan aside.

Step 2 -In a large mixing bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until thick and foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla, and beat for 2 more minutes. 

Step 3 - Gently fold the flour into the wet ingredients and stop mixing when just incorporated. Slowly pour the melted butter into the batter while still mixing, and stop again when just incorporated. Gently spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out with a spatula so it covers the whole pan. 

Step 4 -Bake for 12 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake sheet comes out clean. Right out of the oven, sprinkle a clean kitchen towel with about 1 tablespoon of sugar and flip the cake onto it. Peel off the parchment paper and roll the cake in the kitchen towel, starting from the narrow (shorter width) side. Make the buttercream while the rolled cake cools to room temperature. 

B. The Dark Chocolate Buttercream:

Step 1 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with salt on high speed until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Step 2 - In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 2/3 cup (155ml) water over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by half or until it has thickened to a thin syrup consistency. 

Step 3 - Start beating the eggs whites on high speed again and slowly pour in the syrup. Continue beating and pour in the melted dark chocolate and vanilla extract. Continue beating until the mixture has completely cooled, about 5 minutes. Add the softened butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating well between each addition until the butter is fully incorporated. 

Step 4 - Once all the butter is incorporated, the buttercream should be fluffy and spreadable. If too soft, refrigerate for one hour until it has chilled through. 

C. Assembling: 

Step 1 - Unroll the cake sheet and transfer it carefully onto a working surface. Evenly spread half of the buttercream, about 2 ½ cups, onto the entire cake sheet. Re-roll the cake into a log, as it previously was. 

Step 2 -Using a large serrated knife, cut a quarter of the cake off of the log on a diagonal and attach that end piece onto the center of the cake with buttercream, to resemble a branch bulging from a tree log. 

Step 3 - Transfer the Bûche de Noël to a serving plate and use the remainder of the buttercream to cover the log entirely. Smooth it out with an offset spatula. Take a fork and run it through the log to leave streaks resembling tree bark. Adorn the Bûche de Noël with cranberries and rosemary sprigs.

Chill the Bûche de Noël for at least 2 hours before serving, to allow the buttercream to set. Dust with powdered sugar right before serving.

The post Classic Chocolate Bûche de Noël appeared first on Pardon Your French.

The origin of the Swiss Roll.

In spite of the name “Swiss roll”, this iconic dessert is believed to have originated in Central Europe, likely Austria. And like many other countries, France adopted this dessert and made it part of its classic baking repertoire. It is notably often made to be used in the creation of a “Charlotte Royale”, made from a Bavarian cream set in a mold that’s lined with slices of raspberry jam Swiss roll. 

A Swiss Roll is easy to make. 

Despite its elaborate look, a Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll is a simple combination of only two elements: a light vanilla Genoise cake baked on a sheet pan, that is then rolled into a cylindrical shape with some raspberry jam. Trust me, you’ll soon realize how this classic dessert is far easier to make than what you might think. To ease you even further into the process, here are a few of my cooking notes and handy tips. 

Take your eggs out of the fridge two hours before 

A Génoise cake is traditionally made with no chemical leaving agents (ie. baking powder). Instead it relies on the eggs being whipped for 10 minutes to absorb and retain air. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature, so they retain more air and whip to a fuller volume – making for a fluffier cake texture. 

Avoid cracks in the Genoise Cake

The trick to preventing cracks in a Genoise cake when rolling it (or any swiss roll cake) is to roll the Genoise right out of the oven while still warm, in a clean kitchen cloth dusted with sugar. This keeps the cake moist and allows it to “memorize” its rolled shape. When the cake is cool, gently unroll it and immediately spread the jam into it and roll it back up.

Warm up the jam 

I am going the easy route here and using store-bought raspberry jam. But feel free to make your own of course. Either way, I recommend you warm up the jam slightly to make it more runny before you spread it onto the cake. A Génoise cake has a delicate texture, so you may rip the crumb off the cake if you spread a jam that is too thick. 

Let it rest 

After spreading the jam and rolling the Swiss roll into it cylinder shape, I recommend you let it rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours. This will allow for the Génoise cake to absorb some of the moisture from the jam. And the two components (Génoise cake and jam) will bind together better. The cake will be moister and better tasting. 

I hope you enjoy this Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll as much as I do!
Any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment. 

You may also like:

• Orange Yogurt Cake 
• Raspberry Jam-Filled Sable Sandwiches
• Vanilla Chocolate Marble Cake 
• Lemon Poppy Seed French Yogurt Loaf

Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll

Print Recipe

Serves: 8 people Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 13-15 Minutes 13-15 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.5/5

( 14 voted )

Ingredients

½ cup + 2 tbsp (125g) sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour (128g) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
½ cup raspberry jam

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 375F (190F)  with a rack in the middle. Butter a 10x15-inch (25x38cm) rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Butter the parchment or spray it with cooking spray. Set the pan aside.

Step 1 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk with an electric hand mixer for 10 minutes, until the mixture is pale, fluffy and has tripled in volume.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Gently fold the flour into the egg mixture in three additions using a large spatula. Stop mixing when just incorporated.

Gently spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out with a spatula so it covers the whole pan. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake sheet comes out clean.

Step 2 - Right out of the oven, sprinkle a clean kitchen towel with about 1 tbsp of sugar and flip the cake onto it. Peel off the parchment paper and roll the cake in the kitchen towel, from the narrow (shorter) side. Set aside for 30 minutes.

For assembling, unroll the Genoise and evenly spread the raspberry jam (previously warmed up) onto the entire cake sheet. Roll the cake back up tightly, into a log. Cut off about 1/2inch on both ends and let it rest for at least 2 hours before sprinkling with powdered sugar.

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment below, rate the recipe and/or share a photo on Instagram: tag @pardonyourfrench  and hashtag it #pardonyourfrench.  Bon Appetit! 

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The post Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll appeared first on Pardon Your French.