Chocolate Chestnut Buche de Noel
- 7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 small can, 250 grams, Chestnut Cream or Sweetened Chestnut Puree
- 1/3 cup rum
- Buttercream, recipe follows
- 1 Genoise sheet cake, baked
- Meringue Mushrooms, recipe follows
- Sprigs of 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.
bittersweet, cream, rum, buttercream, genoise sheet cake, mushrooms
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-chestnut-buche-de-noel-recipe.html (may not work)