The Buche de Noel is a traditional cake made in France at Christmas. It is usually a thin sponge cake wrapped with a filling and frosted in chocolate, then decorated to look like a log. That part I can handle. In its über-traditional form, it also includes little meringue mushrooms. I stay completely away from the mushrooms. I’m not that great at plain meringue…I can’t imagine trying to make it look like any sort of object.
If you don’t mind working a little harder to impress, this cake is definitely worth the effort. The cake is a great chocolate, and the filling is very creamy. The chocolate frosting hardens while you’re refrigerating the cake - so don’t put it on too thick, or you won’t be able to cut it!
The next time I make it I think I’m going to cut the vanilla down by half because the vanilla flavor becomes almost too overpowering. Also, since I made two of these this year, I’m making something easy next year. Holly cookies, double chocolate mint chip cookies…I’m not sure what, but something easy. This cake is not easy, even if it is totally worth it.
One more thing - make sure you start this cake a day before you need it because it has to be frozen overnight. Also, finish it a few hours early the next day because it should be refrigerated up until the time you plan to slice it. If it’s melted, it won’t slice worth a darn, and you’ll miss the great spiral shape of the cake.