Soooo... for those of you who pay attention to my blog, you'll know I joined a group of bloggers called the Daring Bakers. There are about 400 bloggers who are members. Each month, a host selects a recipe and all 400 of us complete the exact same recipe (you can only change the recipe for reeeeeaaaallly good reasons). This month's challenge was a Bouche de Noel, or a Yule Log.
Additionally, for those who know me, you'll know I'm not that much of a baker. I'll cook till the all day though! I love to make up recipes and test them on my roomates (those unsuspecting blokes! I don't think they mind though!!!). Quite a few of my 100 in 1001 goals have to do with cooking, blogging or photography (specifically numbers 5, 7, 24, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 83, 85) so I figured the Daring Bakers were a perfect fit for me! I hope the Daring Baker Challenges will push me to use my Kitchen Aid mixer more than ever, push me to try recipes I would never tried, and push me to overall be a better cooker (I don't consider myself a chef just yet! haha :) and yes, I realize cooker isn't a word).
So, enough blabbing and on to the blogging!
Genoise cake - triple-ing in size
me, cooking during the first stages of the buttercream (thanks cousin Joe for taking the pic!)
Genoise cake, out of the oven... less than 10 min, and still brown :(
So even after all that babysitting, my genoise cake was a smidge overcooked...
Here is a pic of my buttercream. It was the most AMAZING icing I have ever tasted. It was like eating coffee ice cream. HOly MoLY. Yum. I could have eaten the entire bowl (and then promptly would have a heart attack from all the butter! :)
Some of the Daring Bakers had trouble with this frosting. I don't know what I did to get by without breaking it, but I guess I was lucky?!?!
My butter wasn't TOTALLY soft, but I did cook the egg whites and sugar until they were HOT like ALMOST boiling... maybe that is what saved me?
I also beat the heck out of them (they were very cool) before I added the butter...
Another view of my toasted genoise cake
I decided to use vanilla whipped cream as the yule log filling. Looking back, I should have just used the rest of the buttercream frosting. It would have stood up better against rolling the genoise.
seeee... overcooked cake can't cooperate. (say that 5 times fast!) Since the cake was dry I wasn't able to roll it as prettily as I had hoped. Eh, oh well. Once the icing was on top though, you couldn't tell it didn't roll properly! :)
Prepping for frosting!!!! :)
This is not one of those cakes where you scrape the frosting off into the trash bin! This is one of those cakes where you clean your plate and hope you can have seconds!
I didn't put the cocoa on the meringue before baking... oops. I rubbed it on after they were baked. I actually liked the outcome. :)
more mushrooms
The finished cake! Hurray!
This is my church choir, before cake!
This is my church choir *with* cake! :)
Thanks guys for being such wonderful guinea pigs on my maiden voyage with the Daring Bakers. I think i'm REALLY gonna like this Daring Bakers thing! :)
If you wanna tackle this recipe, I have listed it below. Yum Yum Yum.
Merry Christmas everyone!
I also beat the heck out of them (they were very cool) before I added the butter...
Another view of my toasted genoise cake
I decided to use vanilla whipped cream as the yule log filling. Looking back, I should have just used the rest of the buttercream frosting. It would have stood up better against rolling the genoise.
seeee... overcooked cake can't cooperate. (say that 5 times fast!) Since the cake was dry I wasn't able to roll it as prettily as I had hoped. Eh, oh well. Once the icing was on top though, you couldn't tell it didn't roll properly! :)
Prepping for frosting!!!! :)
This is not one of those cakes where you scrape the frosting off into the trash bin! This is one of those cakes where you clean your plate and hope you can have seconds!
I didn't put the cocoa on the meringue before baking... oops. I rubbed it on after they were baked. I actually liked the outcome. :)
more mushrooms
The finished cake! Hurray!
This is my church choir, before cake!
This is my church choir *with* cake! :)
Thanks guys for being such wonderful guinea pigs on my maiden voyage with the Daring Bakers. I think i'm REALLY gonna like this Daring Bakers thing! :)
If you wanna tackle this recipe, I have listed it below. Yum Yum Yum.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Plain Genoise:
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off (also known as cake & pastry flour)
¼ cup cornstarch
one (1) 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again
1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.
3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).
4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.
5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.
6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.
7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.
9.While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.
10.Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.
Coffee Buttercream:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy
1.Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.
2.Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.
Meringue Mushrooms:
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
1.Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.
2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.
3.Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.
Assembling the Yule Log:
1.Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.
2.Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.
3.Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.
4.Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).
5.Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.
6.Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.
7.Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.
8.Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.
9.Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.
10.Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.
11.Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.
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