PHOTO: Alan Richardson/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Gingerbread Bûche de Noël from Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan.
Laura Brehaut/Postmedia News
Originally published on December 12, 2014; National Post
Originally published on December 12, 2014; National Post
The bûche de Noël, or yule log, is a classic French Christmastime dessert. In the traditional style, sponge cake is frosted, rolled, frosted again, and decorated with meringue mushrooms and the like for a woodland feel. Pâtisseries have taken the form and run with it – pastry chefs release limited edition concepts each year – and the cake is revisited, deconstructed and embellished. Do as many French do, and pick up a confection at a pâtisserie, or better yet, try your hand at award-winning author Dorie Greenspan’s beautiful, pecan praline-studded Gingerbread Bûche de Noël.