Buche de Noel

 

I’ve been making this recipe for years.  My recipe comes from one of my old Family Circle cookbooks, so old the pages are yellowing from use. Such a classic dessert to present at the holiday table.  It truly looks much harder to make than it really is.  However, there are alot of steps.  The adorable meringue mushrooms add to the ‘wow’ factor.

I’ve added some of my product recommendations below as well.  I can’t say enough about using a good jelly roll pan and silpat baking mats!

Cake

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

confectioners sugar

chopped pistachio nuts

Coffee cream filling (recipe follows)

Chocolate butter frosting (recipe follows)

Mushroom merigues (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 15x10x1″ jelly roll pan, line with wax paper, grease.  Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Beat eggs at high speed until thick and creamy.  Beat in granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating all the time until mixture is very thick.  Stir in the water and vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture. Spread batter evenly onto pan. Bake 12 minutes, or until center springs back when lightly touched. Loosen around the edges and invert onto a clean towel dusted with powdered sugar. Peel off the wax paper. Starting at a long side, roll up cake, jelly roll fashion. Wrap in towel and cool completely.

Make the coffee cream filling: Combine 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tbsp instant coffee powder and 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, beat until stiff with mixer at medium.

Unroll cake carefully, spread with coffee cream filling, reroll. Place on serving platter. Cut a 1/2″ thick slice from one end of cake roll, reroll tightly to form a “knot” on a log. Position in place with toothpicks if needed.  Frost cake with chocolate butter frosting, leaving the ends open and unfrosted.  Run the tines of a fork the length of the cake and around the knot to resemble bark (see picture). Sprinkle ends of roll with pistachio nuts.  Chill until ready to serve. Decorate with mushroom meringues just before serving

Chocolate butter frosting. Melt 1/2 stick butter and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate in small saucepan. Cool slightly. Add 2 cups confectioner sugar, 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Beat until frosting is smooth.

Mushroom Meringues

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp almond extract

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsals

Preheat oven to 250F. Grease two large cookie sheets and flour lightly. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and almond extract until foamy and double in volume, with mixer at high speed. Sprinkle in sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating until sugar dissolves completely and meringue stands in firm peaks when beaters are lifted. Attach a #10 plain tip to a pastry bag. Fill with meringue. To make mushroom caps, press out meringue in 1 1/2″ rounds. Smooth with a knife if needed but do not press down.  To make stems, hold pastry bag upright, press our meringue while gently pulling straight up on bag for about 1 1/2 “.  Bake 30 minutes or until firm, but not brown. Let stand several minutes on cookie sheets. Loosen carefully with a small knife and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Melt chocolate in cup placed in a small skillet of hot water. Working carefully, make a small hollow in underside of each cap with the tip of a wooden spoon handle.  Fill hollow with small amount of melted chocolate, then gently press a stem into the hollow. Let stand until chocolate is firm.  Store in a tightly covered container in a dry place.

 

Fresh Bread

Admittedly this isn’t a recipe at all.  I just have to share this idea, since I use it all the time to fill the house with that baked bread smell, plus the bonus of having a nice fresh loaf to accompany dinner.  I keep frozen bread dough loaves handy in the freezer all the time.  Take out in the morning, place in a greased bread pan, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.  By the end of the afternoon you should have a nicely risen loaf ready for the oven.  Who can resist?

Snow Day!!

Isn’t it ironic that any other day of the year, my kids just don’t want to get out of bed to get ready for school, but with the anticipation of a possible snow day the next morning, they are all up even earlier the next day because, yes, a snow day has been called.   Oh help!  So, for hours now, my back door has been opening and closing with the traffic of snowy, wet children going in and out for sledding.  It is good to be a kid for sure.  Welcome them in with lots of steaming hot chocolate and fresh cookies or try my easy chocolate cake recipe.  A snow day is a great day to include the kids in the baking.  Whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Fill the house with sweet smells, a glowing fireplace and lots of joy.  Don’t worry parents – they should be back to school tomorrow.

My all-time favorite Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

A good freind of mine brought me these for Christmas one year.  I insisted on having the recipe!  They are so delicate in flavor and the dried cranberries add just the perfect slightly chewy texture.  Warning:  They are addictive!!

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 cup unsalted butter softened

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup dried cranberries (chopped)*

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

Cream sugar, butter and salt.  Blend in cranberries and vanilla.  Mix in the flour.  Roll our and cut into squares (or shapes).  Bake 13-18 minutes in preheated 325 degree oven on parchment paper lined cookie sheet until pale brown.

*A coffee bean grinder works well to chop the cranberries.

Easy One Bowl Chocolate Cake

I like to make this cake as a great after school treat.  I bake it in a decorative bundt type pan and dust with powder sugar.  So simple and satisfying with a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

2 Cups sugar

1 3/4 Cup flour

3/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp each of baking powder and baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 Cup milk

1/2 Cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

1 Cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour bundt type pan or 2, 9″ rounds.  In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt.  Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.  Stir in the boiling water last.  Batter will be thin.  Pour into prepared pan and bake 30-35 min. or until cake tests done with toothpick.  Cool approx. 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Spiced Nuts

This is a terrific recipe from Marcus Samuelsson.  These nuts have just the right amount of spice and sugar. Warning, you may not be able to control yourself.  These also make great hostess gifts presented in a pointy shaped plastic goody bag, available at most craft stores, tied with decorative ribbon.

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup unsalted raw cashews

1/2 cup peeled and blanched whole almonds

1/2 cup walnut halves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1 tbsp. light brown sugar

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add nuts, cinnamon, salt, paprika and cayenne and cook, stirring often, until nuts are fragrant and golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Crumble sugar over nuts and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and coats nuts, about 3 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl and serve warm, or cool and store in an airtight container at room temp. For up to 1 week.

Pine Cone Cheese Ball

This is such a clever idea – Herbed cream cheese, easily shaped into these adorable pine cones, add a sprig of rosemary and your done.

2 8oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 small package Boursin cheese, herbed

approx. 2 cups whole almonds

sprigs of fresh rosemary for garnish

Mix the softened cream cheese with the boursin.  Shape on a plate into a round with a point.  Starting at the top of the pine cone, press the rounded side of the almonds into the cheese in rows to mimic the spikes of the pine cone.  Garnish with rosemary.

This recipe is enough to make 2 small pine cones as above or one large.

TIP – blanched almonds can be used as an alternative to the whole almonds, but you will need a little more patience to get the same effect.

Sage Bread Stuffing

Aaahh, the perennial favorite, called dressing or stuffing, it seems no Thanksgiving is complete without it.  Here is my recipe for a very easy, yet always delicious stuffing. This recipe typically is enough to stuff a 16-18lb. bird.  If I have extra, I place it in a small casserole dish and bake alongside the turkey and pour some of the basting juices over the extra stuffing as well.  Serve at the table, or better yet, save for the next day with the turkey leftovers!

One 12 oz. bag seasoned bread cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 small can of chopped water chestnuts, drained

1/2 medium stalk of celery – peel 2 or 3 of the larger outside stalks off.  Chop from the top down so as to get the ‘greens’. Chop half-way down the entire bunch into about 1/2 inch thick pieces

1 stick butter

2 1/2 Cups chicken broth

1/2 Cup chopped fresh sage leaves

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic, water chestnuts and celery in the butter until tender.  Add the sage leaves and continue to cook.  Stir in the chicken broth and allow to come to a low boil, stir in the entire package of bread cubes.  Remove from heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Cranberry Relish

I’ve been making this recipe since I was a teenager – it has always been a favorite.  What makes it even better?  You can make it days in advance, because actually the longer it sits, the better it gets!  What could be easier – one less thing to worry about on Thanksgiving day.

2 bags of fresh cranberries, washed and drained.

Place in a food processor with the knife blade and process until the cranberries are roughly chopped.   Continue to process, adding 1 – 1 1/2 cups sugar (I give the room for a little more, because some like it sweeter, and other prefer the cranberries more tart.  Use your discretion here.  (If your not sure, go with the lesser amount, more can always be add later).  Process until completely ground and the cranberries resemble a lumpy applesauce.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

Allow to sit at least overnight for flavors to blend and the raisins to plump up.

Roasted Root Vegetables

I love this recipe because of its ease and the way the aroma fills the house when cooking.  There are many variations to the root vegetables as well.  Use your imagination with your combinations.  Either way the result is delicious.

Parsnips – about 3 large, pared and chopped into rings

Sweet potato –  2 scrubbed and chopped into cubes

Turnips – 2 medium, peeled and chopped into cubes

1 large onion peeled and sliced into large wedges

1/2 tbsp chopped garlic

1/2 tbsp herbs de provence

2 springs fresh rosemary

1/4 cup olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together so that vegetables are well coated.  Add more olive oil if needed.

Roast at 350F, check on the vegetables as they bake tossing them every 15 minutes or so until desired doneness, approx. 45 minutes to an hour.