Harridge Post & Prospector

Roxie’s Recipes (for the Lazy Cook)

With Christmas preparations well underway here at Harridge House, I figured it was time to bring out the annual Bûche de Noël, or rolled cake log. A word of warning: this one takes a bit of time and patience. A search of the internet yields a wide assortment of variations on this holiday dessert. As usual, my take on this incorporates bits and pieces of various recipes. I didn’t want it to be overly sweet so the cake includes a bit of spice, which is balanced out nicely by the raspberry preserves and Baileys Irish Cream in the filling layer.

Cake:

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp gloves
  • 3 tbsp butter

Filling:

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 3-1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tps Baileys Irish Cream

Frosting:

  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/8 cup confectioner’s sugar
  1. Preheat your over to 425˚. Melt the butter in a small saucepan until it starts to foam. Using a brush, take a bit of the butter to grease a baking sheet, then line the baking sheet with parchment paper and also grease the top of the parchment paper.
  2. Separate the egg whites and whisk them until stiff peaks form. The best way to do this is with your stand mixer, starting slow and then gradually working the speed up until the eggwhites are nice and frothy. Set the egg whites aside.
  3. Mix your dry ingredients – flour, cocoa powder and spices. Using your stand mixer, combine the egg yolks and brown sugar, then using a sifter, gradually add your dry ingredients. Next add the egg whites and remaining melted butter and mix until your batter is smooth.
  4. Pour the cake batter into your prepared baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Watch it carefully during the last part of the baking process because it is thin enough to burn easily.
  5. While the cake is baking, lay out a clean dishtowel, lay a sheet of parchment paper over it and dust the parchment payment lightly with confectioner’s sugar.
  6. When the cake has finished baking, turn it over onto the fresh parchment paper you have prepared and remove the parchment paper that was used for baking it. Dust the surface lightly with additional confectioner’s sugar and lay another fresh piece of parchment paper over it. Now roll the cake up tightly and set it aside to cool.
  7. While the cake roll is cooling, prepare your Baileys filling. Once the cake has cooled, unroll it and remove the top layer of parchment paper. Spread a thin layer of raspberry preserves over the top and then spread your Baileys filling over that. Gently roll everything back up and refrigerate overnight.
  8. The following day, place the dark chocolate chips in your stand mixer bowl. Warm the whipping cream until it barely starts to simmer and then pour it over the chocolate chips. Stir gently until the chips are completely melted, then whisk until completely combined. I wound up adding 1/8 cup of confectioner’s sugar to taste. Allow it to cool completely, then frost the cake log, using your spatula to add lines similar to tree bark. You can make a small “branch” by cutting a few inches from the log and attaching it to the side with frosting.
  9. There are recipes out there explaining how to make various decorations for your cake log by making your own marzipan or meringue. I went the easy route this time by just using store-bought marzipan, forming it into mushrooms and dusting them with cocoa powder.
  10. Serve with coffee or a nice after dinner apéritif.

Now, Sunday at 9pm, tune your radio to KNVC 95.1 FM Carson City – or if you’re not in range, you can pull it up on their website: https://knvc.org. If you happen to miss it for some reason, they will re-air it next Friday at 8pm.

Need to catch up on previous episodes? Go to https://anchor.fm/harridgehouse or your favorite podcast provider to stream previous episodes from Season 1 and Season 2.