Buche de Noel

As per Christmas tradition in our family, I'm in charge for dessert. This year I made my take on a dessert called Buche de Noel. It's a French name for a Christmas cake shaped like a log. Traditionally it looks a lot like a swiss roll. There are a lot of modern takes on this dessert and I was inspired to make my own.

A couple of months ago I bought different silicon molds, including the one I used in this post. I used two different sizes for this dessert. One is smaller and it serves as an insert for the bigger one.

I wanted the dessert to represent all the Christmas colors, white, red and green. For white, I made a cream cheese mouse, red, raspberry curd and matcha mousse for the green element. The flavors also really work together. For some crunch I made a coconut crispy layer and a coconut meringue. This coconut meringue is very simple to make and it's absolutely amazing. It's lighter then a regular biscuit and it goes well with all the other flavors.

The whole dessert was delicious and I was very happy to serve it to my family. They were impressed and I must say, it's one of my favorites.

Buche de Noel

(Makes one 25cm x 8,5cm)

Time:

Preparation: 2h 30min

Baking: 15min

Cooking: 10min

Setting: few hours and overnight

For the raspberry curd:

• 3 egg yolks
• 220g frozen raspberries
• 4 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 3g gelatin
• 1 teaspoon raspberry vodka (optional)

For the matcha mousse:

• 45ml hot water
• 5g matcha powder
• 50g heavy cream
• 2 leafs gelatin
• 1+1/2 tablespoon glucose
• 100g white chocolate (chopped in small pieces)
• 150g heavy cream

For the coconut meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• 100g white granulated sugar
• 150g coconut flour

For the paillete feuilletine:

• 35g room temperature butter
• 35g icing sugar
• 1 egg white
• 35g flour

For the coconut crunchy:

• 60g white chocolate
• 15ml vegetable oil 
• 30g desiccated coconut
• 30g paillete feuilletine (recipe above)

For the cream cheese mousse:

• 18g water
• 30g egg yolk
• 56g powdered sugar
• 160g cream cheese
• 4g gelatin leafs
• 200g heavy cream

For the white chocolate glaze:

• 150g white granulated sugar
• 75g water
• 150g glucose syrup
• 100g condensed milk
• 16g gelatin
• 225g white chocolate
• white food coloring (optional)

Making the raspberry curd:

Soak gelatin in cold water, set aside.

Place frozen raspberries in a small pot and set on low heat to thaw.

Combine egg yolks and sugar and whisk.

Once the raspberries are soft, blend with immersion blender. Pour the mixture through a sieve in a pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, pour it over the egg yolks while whisking.

Pour the mixture back in a pot and place back on heat. Cook until thick. Take off the heat and add gelatin, stir. Pour the curd in a smaller silicon mold that will fit into the bigger one. Place aside to cool then place in the freezer.

Making the coconut biscuit:

Preheat oven to 170°C (338°F).

Place the egg whites in a bowl of your electric mixer and start whisking. When the egg whites are foamy start adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add coconut flour and fold with a spatula. 

Place the meringue on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Smooth until thin with a palette knife. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool completely.

Cut the meringue the same size as the Buche de Noel. Save the leftovers.

 Making the matcha mousse:

Pour hot water in a cup and add sieved matcha. Stir and set aside. Melt the white chocolate.

Pour 50g heavy cream in a small sauce pan. Heat until boiling, add glucose, gelatin and water with matcha tea.

 Stir to combine and pour over melted white chocolate.

Blend with immersion blender until smooth. Set aside to cool completely.
Whip 150g heavy cream until soft peaks form.

Gently fold the cream into the matcha mixture.

Pour the mousse over the frozen raspberry curd and place back in the freezer for 10 minutes. Take out and place the leftover coconut biscuit on top of the the matcha mousse, pressing gently. place back in the freezer until solid.

Making the coconut crunchy:

First we need to make the crunchy paillete feuilletine. Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F).
Beat sugar and butter until creamy. Add the egg white and beat to combine. Fold in the flour.

Spread the mixture thinly on a silicon mat or baking paper.

Place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 8-10min. Set aside to cool then break into small pieces.
Toast the coconut and melt the white chocolate. Combine the chocolate with oil, coconut and cooled paillete feuilletine.

Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and place the crispy on top. Put another parchment paper on top and, with a rolling pin, roll until very thin. Place in the freezer to harden.

Cut the coconut crunchy the same size as the coconut biscuit and place it on top.

Making the cream cheese mousse:

Soak gelatin in cold water.

Place water and sugar in a small pan. Place on medium heat. Once the mixture reaches 100°C start whipping egg yolks. When the sugar mixture reaches 121°C add it slowly to the egg yolks while constantly whipping. 

Heat the cream cheese until liquid and hot. Add the soaked gelatin and stir. Sift in powdered sugar and add egg yolk mixture. Fold to combine.

Whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold it in the egg yolk mixture until combined.

Pour the mousse in the bigger silicon mold, spread it thinly on the sides. Set it in the freezer for 5 minutes to slightly harden. Take out the frozen raspberry curd and matcha mousse and insert it in the bigger silicon mold on the cream cheese mousse. Top with the rest of the mousse and place back in the freezer.

Making the white chocolate glaze:
Soak gelatin in cold water.
Combine sugar, water and glucose in a small pot. Place on high heat.
Pour condensed milk in a separate pot, set aside. Once the sugar mixture reaches 121°C (250°F) take it off the heat and add it to the condensed milk while constantly whisking.

Place back on the heat until boiling. Take off and add soaked gelatin, stir to combine. Add white food coloring and pour over the chopped chocolate. Blend with immersion blender until smooth.


Assembly:
Unmold the Buche de Noel. Place it on a wire rack over a large bowl. Pour the white glaze over. Let it sit for a minute for the glaze to harden. The glaze will be really sticky but it will set up nicely. Transfer the whole thing on top of the coconut crispy and coconut biscuit. Place in the fridge to thaw and garnish.