Bûche de Noël

Today is the first recipe for our Hamless Holiday series of recipes and this time we're counting down to the appetizer on Christmas Day. This Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log cake was a really nice addition to the table spread. Today is also the winter solstice, which also tied into the Yule Log. The history channel has this article on the history of the Yule Log cake. A log was burned with pine cones to celebrate the winter solstice and the days getting longer. I think that is a great reason to celebrate.

This recipe is from Betty Crocker.

Here are last year's recipes:
Appetizer: The Melting Pot's Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue
Drink: Red Velvet Cake Martini
Main Dish: Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Pie
Side Dish: Roasted Green Beans & Red Peppers
Dessert: Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

Ingredients:
Cake

-3 eggs

-1 cup granulated sugar

-1/3 cup water

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-3/4 cup flour

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

-1 cup whipping cream

-2 tablespoons granulated sugar

-1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

Garnish
-1 can chocolate frosting

-1/2 cup chopped green pistachio nut

Beat eggs for 5 minutes. Gradually add the other cake ingredients.
Pour into a 11x13 baking pan lined with foil, or a larger pan if you have it.
Bake for 12-15 at 375.

Flip the cake out of the pan and peel off the foil.
Roll the cake in a floured towel and cool for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat the filling in chilled bowl.
Spread the filling on the cake and roll.

I just used canned frosting, and frosted the cake.
I heated it up a little so it was easier to spread.

Cut the end off of the cake to give it a cleaner edge.
Put the piece on top, and frost that.

Crush the pistachios and put them on one end of the log.

Run a fork through the cake to make the frosting look like a log.

This was time consuming to make, but it looked really nice. It tasted pretty good, and there was plenty of cake. I thought it was worth it not to make the frosting myself, since there was already so much work that went into making this cake.