Try this recipe yourself, or browse for more recipes in this large online cookbook. Not found the recipe you're looking for? Browse all recipes on this site in alphabetic order, or use the simple one keyword search field.

Chocolate Chestnut Buche De Noel

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients and directions for this recipe

7 oz Bittersweet or semisweet
-chocolate; chopped
1 sm Can; 250 grams, Chestnut
; Cream or Sweetened
; Chestnut Puree
1/3 c Rum
Buttercream; See recipe
1 Genoise sheet cake; baked
Meringue Mushrooms; recipe
-follows
1 Sprig fresh Pine or Holly

Place chocolate in a small bowl with 1/4 cup water. Set bowl in a pan
of barely simmering water, stirring frequently until melted and
smooth. Set aside to cool. Combine 1/2 cup, or more to taste, of
chestnut cream into 1 slightly rounded cup of buttercream. Set aside.

Assemble the Buche: Peel parchment liner from cake. Lift foil under
cake and invert it onto a second sheet of foil. Remove the original
foil, peeling away the browned genoise "skin" stuck to it. Moisten
the cake with the rum, using a pastry brush. Spread chestnut
buttercream evenly over the cake. Roll the cake tightly, the long
way, into a "log" using the foil to aid you if necessary. Wrap log
tightly in foil. Freeze until hard, or at least firm. The firmer the
cake, the easier it will be to decorate. Log may be completed to this
point, and kept frozen, up to 6 weeks.

Stir chocolate mixture into remaining buttercream and refrigerate or
freeze until needed.

Finish and Decorate the Buche: Soften reserved chocolate buttercream
and beat just until smooth. Unwrap the frozen log. Trim a fraction of
an inch from each end to even the edges. Spread the log with most of
the reserved chocolate buttercream. Do not frost the ends. Use a fork
to texture the buttercream so that it resembles the bark of a tree.
Dip a sharp knife in hot water, then wipe dry. Cut the diagonal
"stump" off each end of the log. Set stumps aside. Transfer log to a
serving platter. Affix stumps to the log. Cover bare spots with
buttercream. Use the fork to touch up the bark effect as necessary.
Decorate with sprigs of pine and meringue mushrooms. Store in the
refrigerator. For best flavor and texture, remove Buche from the
refrigerator at least an hour before serving.

Yield: 12 servings

Busted and entered for you by: Bill Webster

CHEF DU JOUR ALICE MEDRICH SHOW #DJ9149

See also:
Previous recipe Chocolate Chestnut Bourbon Torte W/a Kentucky Bourbon Cream
Next recipe Chocolate Chestnut Cake

Or try one of these recipes:
Gourmet Grapes
Salmon In Pinot Noir Marinade