Buche de Noel

By charlotteh371

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
• 14 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup nutella
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sweet chestnut puree
• 1 tbsp. dark rum
• seeds from 1 vanilla bean
• holiday candy (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

preheat the oven to 375. in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of sugar until very creamy, about 2mins. in a separate, medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and cocoa powder. slowly add dry ingredients to the egg mixture, beating on low until fully incorporated.

in a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites on medium high until foaming, then add a pinch of salt, and gradually add the remaining sugar until lightly stiff. using a spatula, slowly fold the egg whites into the batter, adding about 1/4 of the egg whites at a time. fully incorporate so you don't see any streaks of white, but do not overmix.

coat the sides of a 15 x 12inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. pour the batter into the pan and bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean about 10 to 12 mins.

When the cake is finished, invert onto a piece of parchment paper that has been dusted with powdered sugar. peel the baked parchment paper from the top, and carefully roll the cake, starting on a short side, in the sugar coated parchment paper to make a log. cool completely.

to make the frosting, melt the chocolate, nutella, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium -low heat, stirring with a rubber spatula. once completely melted about 4 mins, whisk until smooth and creamy.

Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer and allow to cool completely. stir in the chestnut puree, rum and vanilla. gradually add powdered sugar, until incorporated. whisk on high for 3 to 5mins.

unroll the cake and trim edges so they are even. spread a 1/4 inch thick layer of frosting evenly over the cake, leaving a 1/2 inch border on the long sides. roll the cake back up.

cover the exterior of the log with frosting. allow to set for 15mins; use a fork to create a bark design with the frosting. decorate with powdered sugar and holiday candy.