Bûche de Noël

This traditional Christmas dessert from France has its origins within the "yule log": In France, as in many other countries also, it was common practice to burn a log in the fireplace. As the large fireplaces and ovens started disappearing, the tradition started to evolve: Instead of burning real tree logs, sweet Bûche was used. This was first mentioned in 1879 and has now established itself as a typical Christmas gateau. 

Sponge:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Mix the soya milk, water and lemon juice in a big bowl. Add some grated tangarine peel, together with some oil and vanilla. 

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl.

Place some baking paper on the baking trays (35x25 cm), so that all corners of the tray are covered. Mix the runny mixture into the dry mixture very thoroughly so that there is one well mixed mixture in the end. Pour this into a baking tin and bake for 20 minutes in the oven. You can see how to roll the Biskuit here.

Filling:

Let the chocolate melt together with the vegetable cream over a bain-marie. Keep stirring and mixing it. 

Place some backing paper on the kitchen surface and roll out the biscuit roll on it. Spread some chestnut mousse on it and then spread the chocolate & cream mixture on top.

Roll up the biscuit and form the Bûche with the help of some cling film. Let it cool off in a fridge overnight.

On the next day, carefully peel off the cling film and baking paper and place the roll on a plate. Cut the ends off straight. Place back in the fridge whilst preparing the ganache.

Ganache:

Melt the dark chocolate over a bain-marie. Once the chocolate has half melted, add the chestnut cream and soya cream and mix everything thoroughly. If the mixture should become "flakey", just add a couple of teaspoons of hot water and mix again.

Coat the rolls with a silicone brush with the ganache.

Decoration:

Melt the white chocolate over a bain-marie. Pour the melted chocolate onto a silicone mat of some baking paper and flatten the mixture with a spatular. Place it in a fridge until the melted chocolate becomes hard. Then remove the mat / baking paper and cut the chocolate pieces into differently sized pieces. Decorate the rolls with these pieces (the chocolate bits can also be placed in the ganache). Place the rolls into the fridge until serving.