Bûche de Noël

Cake

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Dutch cocoa
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan until the milk is hot and the butter has melted. Set is aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs until they are thick, about 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating 4 minutes more until the eggs are thick and pale. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture just until blended. Gradually whisk in hot milk mixture.

Pour the batter into a 15 ½-x-10 ½-inch jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper. Bake 14 to 17 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool cake 15 minutes, then invert it onto a towel dusted lightly with confectioners’ sugar. Roll the cake and towel together, starting at the short side of the cake. Cool the cake while it is rolled in the towel. Prepare the buttercream.

Dutch Chocolate Mocha Buttercream

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 4 ½ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 4 to 5 tablespoons milk
• Dash of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt ¼ cup of the butter and the chocolate in the microwave at 50% power, stirring to melt the chocolate. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the remaining butter with 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar until it is smooth. Gradually add the second cup of confectioners’ sugar and the espresso powder, plus 1 tablespoon of the milk. Add salt and vanilla.

Pour in reserved chocolate mixture and beat well. Beat in remaining confectioners’ sugar, alternately with the milk, until the buttercream is smooth.

When the cake is cool, unroll it. Spread it with half the chocolate buttercream, then reroll it. Transfer it to a serving platter with the seam on the bottom. If making meringue mushrooms, reserve ¼ cup of the buttercream. Spread the remainder on the sides and ends of the cake and score with a fork to resemble tree bark. Decorate the cake and platter with meringue mushrooms or as desired.

Yield: 1 cake