Bûche de Noël

A low-lift but gorgeous, and deeply chocolate roll cake, filled with coffee whipped cream + a brilliantly easy way to make white chocolate "mushrooms"

Dec 14, 2024

∙ Paid

Bûche de Noël with chocolate cake, coffee whipped cream, chocolate glaze, white chocolate tree mushrooms, and pistachio/matcha moss

Hello hello!

I’ve been wanting to make a Bûche de Noël since November, but to be completely honest, it’s been a bit of a tough month for me and I haven’t had a lot of time to devote to recipe developing in the last couple weeks.

But then I thought, maybe it’s been a hard month for others as well, as this time of year can sometimes be? It’s an overwhelming season in so many ways.

That thought gave me renewed energy to come up with a cake that was an easy-lift but beautiful, too. No extra meringue mushrooms that occupy the oven for hours, no complicated mousse to fill the cake with, and just a simple, pretty ganache to finish the cake off with. You don’t have to make the white chocolate mushrooms either—just some pretty pistachio “moss” and sugared cranberries and call it a day. If you have sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies, those make a pretty garnish as well.

The cake itself is a keeper—deeply chocolatey, easily rolled, and moist. It would make the perfect simple Swill Roll when you want a fast dessert. The addition of freeze-dried coffee elevates the filling, but you could make it with plain whipped cream or fold cream with fresh fruit or jam.

The recipe below looks long because of the components, but they are super simple: pistachio flour mixed with matcha tea for “moss”, cranberries rolled in egg white and sugar, and an ingenious method for making tree “mushrooms” that Carolyn Nugent of Poulette Bakeshop in Parker, Colorado created while working at Tartine Manufactory, that just involves melting white chocolate, sifting cocoa over them, and pressing flat; you can make them in under 10 minutes. If you are ever in the area, Carolyn and her husband Alan are incredible pastry chefs and their bakery is well worth the trip (it’s 27 miles south of Denver).

Or just make the cake–it bakes in under 15 minutes—roll it up with filling, and sift some powdered sugar over it. This cake is light and delicious with either the coffee or plain whipped cream, and you could serve some warm chocolate ganache on the side.

Deconstruct as you need—it’s all good.

I wish everyone a sane and easy next few weeks til New Year’s!

Liz