Chocolate and Salted Caramel Bûche de Nöel

Name: Chocolate and Salted Caramel Bûche de Nöel
Prep time: 4 h
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons baking powder; 113 grams bittersweet chocolate; 118 milliliters sifted cake flour (See Notes); 2 Tbsps confectioners sugar; 2 Tbsps light corn syrup; 3 larges egg whites, at room temperature; 3 larges egg yolks, at room temperature; 158 milliliters heavy cream; 0 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon Maldon salt; 237 milliliters sugar; 113 grams stick unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature; 237 milliliters unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 59 milliliters vegetable oil; 118 milliliters water

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Bûche de Nöel might be just the side dish you are searching for. This recipe serves 8. One portion of this dish contains around 7g of protein, 35g of fat, and a total of 513 calories. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 4 hours. A mixture of baking powder, vegetable oil, egg whites, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so scrumptious.

Instructions

For the Cocoa Meringue Decorations: Adjust oven rack to upper third and lower third positions and preheat oven to 225°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Ingredients you will need

Cocoa Powder

Equipment you will use

Baking Paper

Baking Sheet

Oven

Beat whites on medium speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form and no grit remains, about 7 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Sugar

Sift 1/4 cup cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar over mixture and beat just until incorporated.

Ingredients you will need

Cocoa Powder

Sugar

Transfer half of meringue to large pastry bag (or gallon-sized zipper-lock bag) fitted with 1/4-inch pastry tip (See Notes). Sift remaining 2 tablespoons cocoa powder over remaining meringue and beat just to combine; set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Cocoa Powder

Equipment you will use

Pastry Bag

Pipe out 5- to 10-inch batons and 1/2-inch buttons on prepared baking sheet.

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Fit a second pastry bag with the 1/4-inch pastry tip and fill with remaining cocoa meringue. Repeat piping procedure.

Ingredients you will need

Cocoa Powder

Equipment you will use

Pastry Bag

Bake until meringues are set and dry, 60 to 90 minutes.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Carefully break batons up into different sized pieces.

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack

Meringues may be prepared a day in advance: cover cooled meringues with plastic wrap and store in a dry, room-temperature place.

Ingredients you will need

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Plastic Wrap

For the Chocolate Icing: In small saucepan, bring cream and corn syrup to simmer over medium-high heat (or microwave in bowl).

Ingredients you will need

Corn Syrup

Chocolate

Cream

Icing

Equipment you will use

Microwave

Sauce Pan

Bowl

Place chocolate in medium bowl.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Pour warm cream over mixture, and whisk until smooth.

Ingredients you will need

Cream

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Press plastic wrap directly on chocolate, and refrigerate until set and spreadable, 1 to 2 hours.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Plastic Wrap

For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly coat jelly roll pan (See Notes) with baking spray. Line with parchment paper and once again lightly coat with baking spray. Dust with enough cocoa powder and tap to evenly distribute and knock out excess.

Ingredients you will need

Baking Spray

Cocoa Powder

Jelly

Roll

Equipment you will use

Baking Paper

Oven

Frying Pan

Sift sifted cake flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup sugar, and baking powder. Sift mixture once again, then, place in large bowl.

Ingredients you will need

Baking Powder

Cocoa Powder

Cake Flour

Sugar

Equipment you will use

Bowl

In medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, oil, and vanilla on until smooth.

Ingredients you will need

Egg Yolk

Vanilla

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Bowl

Add to flour mixture and whisk together until combined (mixture will be thick).

Ingredients you will need

All Purpose Flour

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Whisk in hot water and mix until smooth.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Equipment you will use

Whisk

In separate clean, dry mixing bowl, whip egg whites and salt with whisk attachment on medium speed soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue whipping until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Ingredients you will need

Egg Whites

Sugar

Salt

Equipment you will use

Mixing Bowl

Whisk

Stir 1/3 of egg whites into cake batter until thoroughly combined. With rubber spatula, gently fold in remaining egg whites.

Ingredients you will need

Egg Whites

Equipment you will use

Spatula

Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread out evenly.

Ingredients you will need

Spread

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Bake until top of cake is pale golden and lightly springs back when you press down on it, about 15 minutes.

Equipment you will use

Oven

While cake bakes, dust clean, dry kitchen towel with cocoa powder.

Ingredients you will need

Cocoa Powder

Equipment you will use

Kitchen Towels

Run a knife around edges of just-baked cake. Turn cake over onto prepared towel. Starting at the short end, roll cake in towel and place seam-side down on cooling rack. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Roll

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack

Knife

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and 2 tablespoons corn syrup in heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, stirring with wooden spoon over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer mixture until it turns dark amber and just begins to smoke.

Ingredients you will need

Corn Syrup

Sugar

Water

Equipment you will use

Wooden Spoon

Sauce Pan

Immediately remove from heat and stir in cream and salt. Stir until smooth.

Ingredients you will need

Cream

Salt

Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature.

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Meanwhile, stir remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, remaining 1/4 cup water, and remaining 2 tablespoons corn syrup in heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and boil syrup until it registers 238°F on candy thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Corn Syrup

Syrup

Sugar

Water

Equipment you will use

Candy Thermometer

Sauce Pan

While syrup boils, place egg whites in clean, dry mixing bowl. Whip with whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Carefully start pouring in the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream with the machine still running. Beat the mixture until the outside of the bowl is cool to the touch and the whites are thick and glossy, 5 to 7 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Egg Whites

Syrup

Equipment you will use

Mixing Bowl

Whisk

Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting until each piece is incorporated before adding the next.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Add cooled caramel sauce and mix just until combined. Refrigerate until needed (if it is too firm to spread, let sit at room temperature about 15 minutes, then whisk to smooth out).

Ingredients you will need

Caramel Sauce

Spread

Equipment you will use

Whisk

To Assemble: Carefully unroll cake, leaving it on towel.

Spread cake with caramel filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides. Slowly and gently roll the cake, this time without the towel, starting at the short end.

Ingredients you will need

Caramel