The Imperfect Community

[Sewingsiren]

This is my Christmas dessert table. Dd made the "gingerbread" house and I made the cookies, mince pie, and Buche Noel ,which has the unfortunate and amusing English name" Yule Log" I am so vulgar (I am potty training a toddler though).

[Jessica]

You have a dessert table??

I tried to make canned soup the other day and it was really strong. I mean, very thick. Scott then informed me that I forgot to add water. I can't help it. The stove and I don't have an amicable relationship and instructions/directions take up too much of my time.

I'm impressed!!

(BTW, "yule log" always makes me giggle too!)

[Sewingsiren]

[julymom]

It looks great! Good for you! This is the first year in about 6 or 7 years that we haven't had a Buche de Noel. I was too sick to make the effort this year. The first time we had one, I bougt it from a Patisseri in Strasborg, France (which was about 45 mins from where we lived at the time), and was just about the most beautiful bit of food I've ever seen. It had merenge mushrooms, marzipan squirrels, holly and mistletoe, spun sugar snow and looked almost like a real log. It was almost too pretty to eat. Almost. It tasted even better than it looked. Damn the French and their excellent pastries! Anyway, after that, I decided to make my own (because it was expensive). Mine aren't quite as pretty (by any means) or as good, but they're still quite tasty. We actually have ours on Yule, and not Christmas. Can I ask what recipe you used? What kind of filling? I like to try new versions each year.

[Sewingsiren]

My recipe was nothing special, if fact it would make a French pastry chef cry . I used a boxed cake mix followed the recipe used 6 egg yokes and added 1/4 of cocoa. I baked it on a cookie sheet lined with foil and when it was done (still warm) I spread raspberry jam on top and rolled it into a log, saving about a 3" strip off the end to make the "knot", which I spread with black cherry jam (because I ran out of raspberry). I arranged the log and knot on a platter and iced the whole thing with chocolate cream frosting. I used a fork to make the frosting look like bark. I then decorated it with black walnuts, pecans, almonds, and hazelnuts (in the shell), I arranged rosemary boughs on the plate on either side of the cake and dusted the whole thing with powdered sugar.
I have surfed a bit looking at more Buche de Noels and mine kind of looks like a crap compared to them, but I *was* proud of it.

Check out the "Art Deco" one:
http://www.joyeuse-fete.com/joyeux-noel/buches.html
It's kind of cute, no?
Ps. do you ever make traditional English food? The pie that I am holding is a mince or Christmas Pie. Most Americans hate it, but my dh and kids like it alot.

[Anthromomma]

Ooh, pretty. I'm attractive dessert-impaired, so stuff like this always makes me jealous.

[DietCokeHead]

Wow, that is really nice. You guys go all out with the holidays, don't you?? That must be so fun for your kids.