Canadian Christmas Cooking: Baking week kicks-off with Rose Murray in the AM kitchen

Bûche de Noel

•   (Yule Log)
• Makes 10 to 12 servings
• A traditional French holiday cake, this is made and decorated to resemble the yule log, which burns in the hearth to denote friendliness and warmth. Bûche de Noel is often served in French-Canadian homes as a spectacular ending for the Christmas Eve dinner.

  
Cake
 

• 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) granulated sugar, divided
• 1 cup (250 mL) cake-and-pastry flour
• 4 eggs, separated
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
• Icing sugar

Rum Syrup
 

• ¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (60 mL) water
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) dark rum

Coffee Cream

• 3 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup (150 mL) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (125 mL) water
• 1 cup (250 mL) butter, softened
• 1 ½ tbsp (22 mL) dark rum
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) very strong black coffee

Chocolate Butter Icing

• ¼ cup (60 mL) butter, softened
• 2 cups (500 mL) sifted icing sugar
• ½ tsp (2 mL) vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) half-and-half (10%) or table (18%) cream
• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted (2 oz/60 g)
• Candied cherries and candied citron peel or angelica

 

• To make the cake, prepare a 15 x 10-inch (38 x 25 cm) jelly-roll pan with greasing it with butter, lining it with one layer of buttered parchment paper and sprinkling it with flour. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup (250 mL) of the sugar and the flour.
• In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until thick. Beat in the vanilla. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites, then gradually fold in the flour mixture, a bit at a time.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed.
• Sprinkle a clean tea towel with icing sugar. Turn the hot cake out onto the towel and carefully remove the pan and paper. Trim any hard edges from the cake. Roll the cake and towel up from a long side and cool. The roll should be long and thin.
• Meanwhile, make the rum syrup by boiling the sugar and water together in a small saucepan for about 3 minutes or until syrupy. The syrup will burn if cooked too long, so watch it carefully. Cool and add the rum.
• To make the coffee cream, beat the egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl until thick. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, boil together the sugar and water until the mixture registers 240ºF (115ºC) on a candy thermometer and forms a soft ball when a little is dropped into a bowl of cold water.
• Gradually beat the hot syrup into the egg yolks and continue beating until the mixture is lukewarm. Add the butter, bit by bit, still beating constantly. Beat in the rum and coffee. Let cool completely and chill briefly if too runny.
• Unroll the cake and brush it with half of the rum syrup. Reserving ¼ cup (60 mL), spread the coffee cream evenly over the cake. Roll up the cake like a jelly roll. Wrap it in wax paper and chill until the coffee cream is firm.
• To make the chocolate butter icing, cream the butter in a large bowl. Add about half the icing sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt. Stir in the remaining sugar alternately with the cream. Blend in the chocolate. Beat until the icing stands in sharp peaks. If the icing is too stiff, add a bit more cream.
• Unwrap the rolled cake. Cut a small diagonal slice from each end of the cake. These slices will make the knots in the log. Brush the outside of the cake and the knots with the rest of the rum syrup. Attach the knots to the top of the log (the rum syrup will act as glue). Using the reserved coffee cream, decorate the ends of the knots and the ends of the log.
• Spread the rest of the cake with some of the chocolate butter icing. Using a pastry bag filled with the remaining icing, decorate the log and knots to look like bark. (Alternatively, spread the icing smoothly over the entire log and run a fork along the length of the log to resemble bark.) Decorate the finished log with candied cherries and candied citron peel or angelica cut to resemble holly leaves.
• Store the finished cake in a cool place until serving time so that the coffee cream does not become too soft. If you store it in the refrigerator, let the cake return to room temperature before serving.

Spiced Nuts

• Makes about 8 cups (2 L)
• It's always good to have something interesting on hand to serve with a holiday drink. These spicy nuts go well with a mulled cider or a glass of sherry.

• 2 cups (500 mL) walnut halves
• 1 cup (250 mL) whole blanched almonds
• ½ cup (125 mL) pecan halves
• 2 egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) ground allspice
• ½ cup (125 mL) butter
• ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
   
• Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Spread out all of the nuts in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes or until light brown. Leave the oven on.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff.
• Fold in the spices until well combined, then fold in the toasted nuts.
• Put the butter on the same baking sheet and heat in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes or until the butter melts. Spread the nut mixture out on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring often, until the nuts are brown and no butter remains on the baking sheet. Tip the nut mixture out onto a large sheet of foil and cool.