Bûche de Noël (Christmas Chestnut Log)

My daughter made this buche for Christmas. The cake recipe is based on a recipe from America's Test Kitchen and the chestnut cream is a family classic. I helped her with advice on rolling, filling and decorating it.

Ingredients

Cake
5 eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 by 16 inch baking sheet
Oil for the baking sheet
1 sheet of parchment paper
1 clean towel slightly bigger than the baking sheet
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Chestnut Cream Filling
1 can chestnut puree
¼ cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Topping
7 ounces semisweet chocolate in small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the baking sheet with oil and cover with the parchment paper. In a large bowl beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale yellow, 8 to 10 minutes. I used the flat beater on my mixer.
2. Sift the flour in a big bowl, add the baking powder, salt and mix. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the beaten egg mixture folding delicately, until well combined.
3. Spread the batter evenly in the baking sheet. Tap the baking sheet on the counter to remove any bubble. Bake until the cake springs back lightly when pressed, around 15 minutes.
4. Dust the towel with confectioners' sugar. Use a small paring knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and invert the warm cake onto the towel. Gently remove the paper. Cut any stiff edges if necessary. Starting at a short end, carefully roll the cake and towel into a log. Cool at least 30 minutes.
5. Filling : in a saucepan, heat the chestnut puree, sugar, vanilla and cream on medium-low heat. Beat until smooth.
6. Gently unroll the cake, and spread the chestnut cream leaving 1 inch from the edge. Re- roll up the cake. Place the cake on a serving plate to decorate.
Don’t freak out if the cake cracks here and there, the topping will do a good job of sealing and hiding it.
Tip: Put parchment paper around the cake. This will keep the plate clean while you're frosting. You can see how we did it in the image below.





7. Topping : heat the chocolate and butter in a metal bowl over a saucepan filled of simmering water (to make a double boiler). Keep the sauce pan over low heat to melt the chocolate, stirring from time to time. Remove from heat, add the cream and rum. Stir until smooth. Spread the chocolate topping over the cake. Let it set for 2 minutes.
8. Use a fork to make ridges in the frosting to imitate a tree bark.






9. Decorate with whipped cream and fruits.

Tips:

• Make sure the cake doesn't overbake and become too dry, or it will be hard to roll.
• If you let the chocolate topping cool down too much it will set up, so frost your cake while it is still liquid or reheat before using.

Onion and Cheese Quiche

This quiche is always a big hit at home. This year I doubled the recipe to make two of them: one for the Christmas potluck lunch at the office and one for the family.

You will notice, I use margarine instead of just butter. I find that it makes the crust more flaky.I like to pre-bake the crust to avoid sogginess. Depending on my mood and the time I have, I use one or the other method described in the Tips below. 

Timing wise: the onions take 45-50 minutes to caramelize (on medium-low ) so I suggest that you start with the dough and cook the onions while the dough is resting in the fridge.

Ingredients
Dough :
2 cups flour
½ cup butter (softened)
3 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons water

Filling:
4 eggs
4 big onions
1 cup heavy cream or coconut cream
2 cups grated cheese (Gruyere, Swiss cheese, Jarlsberg)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Nutmeg to taste (1 or 2 pinch)
Salt,pepper

11 in (27 cm) pie pan.

Directions
Prepare the crust

1. Combine the flour, salt, butter and margarine to obtain something like a coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle the water, one tablespoon at a time and mix just enough for the mixture to hold together and turn into a smooth dough. Add more water if needed.
2. Form a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Cooking the onions

1. Peel and slice the onions.
2. Heat oil over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions and cook slowly uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent around 30-40 minutes.
3. Add the sugar, stir and cook another 15 minutes until the onions are slightly caramelized. The sugar helps caramelize the onions.
   

Assembling and baking the quiche

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F (200 C), with the rack in the middle position.
2. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Roll out and transfer to the pan pressing up the sides. See notes below.
3. Bake the shell for 15 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and cream. Stir in the grated cheese. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Put aside half of this mixture for the top.
5. Mix the other half with the onions and spread on the partially baked crust.
6. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the onions to form a nice golden top.
7. Bake until the quiche has puffed and is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

Tips on pre-baking the crust:
(1) A quick method is to prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and bake for 15 minutes. The crust might be a little bit bumpy.
(2) If you want to be sure your crust is even, line it with foil and pour around 2 cups of dried beans to weight it down. Bake 10 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, and prick the crust with a fork to let any air bubble escape. Bake another 3-5 minutes.

Pandoro

Every year I have a list of recipes to make during the holiday season. Last year when Simonetta Held posted the Pandoro Sfogliaro on Google+, I promised I would try it. So I did and it came out almost perfect. I made it again this year and it came up more beautiful, very light and delicate.

I started prepping the day before and left it to rise all night. In the morning the size had tripled! It was more than ready to go into the oven.

The Pandoro is baked in a star-shaped but you can use any mold as long as it is deep enough.

The final step is very similar to making puff pastry. The Pandoro takes more time and more patience to make than the Panettone, but it was definitely worth it.

In the end it doesn't have the traditional look, but the taste is almost perfect.

You will find a lot of tips at Simonetta's blog.


Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1 + 1/2 teaspoons of instant dry yeast
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 eggs + 1 yolk
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zeste of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons water

Tools
Mold: 7.5in diameter x 4in high
A rolling pin.
A stand up mixer or food processor

Directions

.Step 1: the starter - 11am

1. Mix 1/3 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of instant yeast.
2. Add the brown sugar and 1/3 cup of water. Mix very well then place to rise until doubled (50-60 minutes).

Step 2: Dough #1 - 1pm

For this step you will need the following out of the ingredient list above:

1+ 1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon instant dry yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter softened
2 teaspoons of luke warm water
1 egg + 1 egg yolk

I use a KitchenAid stand mixer for all my breads and brioches, it helps a lot. If you don’t have a similar appliance, it will take a little bit more time and muscles!

1. Mix the yeast with the flour and add to your starter.
2. Beat the sugar, egg and egg yolk and water in a bowl. Gradually add to your starter and flour. Combine well.
3. Add the butter one small piece at a time. Knead until everything is well blended and smooth.
4. Cover and let it rise until it doubles in size.

Step 3: Dough #2 - 4pm

For this step you will need the following out of the ingredient list above:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup butter softened

1. Beat the sugar, egg, salt and zest in a bowl and add to the first dough.
2. Add the flour.
3. Knead until everything is well blended and smooth. If the dough is too sticky, add one or two tablespoons of flour (one at a time). I knead it 15 minutes. Put in a buttered bowl, cover and let it rise until it doubles in size.
4. Mix the butter and the vanilla together. If the butter is not soft enough, put it few seconds in the microwave. Leave it at room temperature until it is used in the next step.

Step 4: Puff pastry steps - 7pm

For this step you will need the mix of butter and vanilla and a rolling pin.

1. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape around 1-1.5 inches thick.
2. Distribute the cold butter over in small pieces.
3. Fold the top third of the rectangle down over the dough.
4. Seal the seams by pinching the dough in order to trap the butter inside.
5. Chill 20-25 minutes in the fridge.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 three times.
7. Butter and dust your Pandoro mold with flour.
8. Form a ball with the dough and transfer to the mold, smooth side part at the bottom.
9. Cover and let rise until the size doubles or triples.
10. Transfer to the mold and let it rise. Again I put it in the oven with the light on. It should reach the edge of the mold.

I left it over night with a temperature of 67-68 DegF (19 DegC), but if it’s in a warm corner, 2-3 hours may be enough.

Step 5: Baking- Next day 8am

1. Pre-heat the oven at 375 DegF.
2. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower to 350 DegF and cook until golden brown (about 30 minutes). Check doneness with a skewer.
3. Let it cool before unmolding it. Transfer to a plate and dust the surface with sifted icing sugar to decorate.

Tips

Make sure the butter is not too soft and refrigerate the dough in step 4 as instructed. If it's not cold enough and the butter is too soft, you will have a hard time folding the dough.

The picture below is my first trial, it was very good but it needed another 10 minutes in the oven to hold itself correctly. I left it to rise overnight in the oven, no draft.
.

Note: I started it around 11:00 in the morning and finished around 8:00 pm, most of it being waiting time.

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Raspberry Sauce

I looked at various bundt cake recipes and then I came up with my own based on what I had in my cupboard. The result was surprisingly good in my daughter's own words: the right amount of chocolate and super moist. She wanted the recipe to make one for the office xmas potluck. I simply served it with a homemade raspberry sauce. I had frozen juice made from my garden's berries, so I just heated it and stirred in 2 teaspoons cornstarch, et voila!

Ingredients
10 squares unsweetened chocolate (10 oz)
¾ cup butter (1.5 stick)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs (yolk and white separated)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup rum


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Butter and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
3. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
4. Place the chocolate and butter in a metal bowl over a saucepan filled with a little of water (to make a double boiler). Heat the sauce pan over low heat to melt the chocolate, stirring from time to time. Let it cool.
5. While beating, add the mayonnaise, sugar, vanilla, egg yolks and rum.
6. Gradually add flour mixture alternating with the milk.
7. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks then gently fold them into the batter mixture.
8. Pour into the pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes at 375 F then lower the heat to 350 F (165 degrees C) and bake for a total of 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
9. Let cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Serve with raspberry sauce or chocolate sauce. You can also just dust with sugar and serve.