by Maura
Years and years ago (circa 2008), I didn't cook. If it didn't involve butter, flour, and sugar, I didn't make it. I baked and that was it. Ironically, I was 10lbs thinner, but that is neither here nor there. I was so into baking that I was even part of a group called the Daring Bakers. Each month, I would participate in a baking challenge with hundreds of other bakers. I made eclairs, opera cakes, Julia Child's French bread, apple strudel, and lemon meringue pie, among other recipes. You can see some of them on my now-defunct blog, MauraLessa (fka AnonymousNY).
(Image credit: bonappetit.com)
The one challenge I regret I did not tackle was the Bûche de Noël. A traditional French dessert served around Christmas, the Bûche de Noël is an impressive accomplishment. Also known as a Yule Log, the Bûche de Noël is a vanilla genoise cake with chocolate butter cream icing, rolled into a log. The outside of the cake is frosted with chocolate icing and decorated to look like a tree log. Many other types of cakes and fillings can be used, but genoise and chocolate butter cream is traditional.
(image credit: epicurious.com)
There are very few things I have an interest in baking these days; as I get older, I prefer savory over sweet. However, I will one day make a Yule Log for Christmas.
Have you ever made a Bûche de Noël? Do you have any desserts on your baking bucket list?
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