Daring Bakers: The Log

Happy New Year! This post is long, so here's the setup:


1. introduction to my experience making the Yule Log

2. Explanation of the Yule Log challenge from Daring Bakers Website, with a few additions in green from me

3. Link to the Daring Bakers Blogroll, where you can explore all the other pretty yule logs!




1. I LOVED making the log. It took weeks of planning the flavors, purchasing the ingredients, (no, Wegmans does not sell mango puree) and days of cooking, photographing, and decorating. I learned SO MUCH from making this log, mainly because it was about 10 different recipes in one. Most of all, I am proud to have conquered my fear of caramel. Thanks ever so much to Diana, for being there to take photos and for lending moral support. You can see more of her work here.






2. Introduction to the log from the Daring Bakers website:

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand

SO, what is a French Yule Log you say and how is it different from the Yule Log we made last December if you were a member then?

In France you can buy two kinds of Yule log, either the Genoise and Buttercream type that we made last December, or what is more commonly purchased which is a frozen Yule Log very reminiscent of an ice cream cake, only often it’s not made of ice cream but rather frozen mousse of some sort. In French this is called an entremets which is sometimes loosely translated in English as simply a cream dessert. This also means that this recipe is not holiday-specific, it is also just a scrumptious dessert recipe.

This recipe comes almost entirely, except for one small labeled portion and some of the variations courtesy of our dear Daring Baker Fairy Tartelette, from the website: Florilège Gourmand (address above) which belongs to Flore (who has not disclosed her last name to me in my exchanges with her) and is unreal. Her website is in French and different portions of the recipe have been pulled from the recipes in the entremets section.

So, to the business of our Yule log:

#1 DO NOT PANICK when you see that this document is 18 pages long. The actual recipe is not 12 pages long, it’s more on the order of 3-4 pages once you choose your flavors.
Marion and I believe in Culinary Freedom and wanted to make this as fun and accessible as possible for everyone around the world.

#2 THE CHALLENGE RULE is that you MUST MAKE ALL 6 of these elements for the log:

1) Dacquoise Biscuit This is a egg white and almond meal cake that stays very light and puffy, and can be formed into different shapes.

2) Mousse I chose to make a mango mouse instead of chocolate. Good choice!

3) Ganache Insert I made a white chocolate caramel ganache.

4) Praline (Crisp) Insert Based on comments from other Daring Bakers who said the crisp was hard to cut, I made the coconut crisp (with homemade Lace Gavottes) outside of the log. I cut the crisp into stars to decorate the log.

5) Creme Brulee Insert I made a cardamon creme brulee.

6) Icing The assembly will essentially be a Dacquoise Biscuit at the bottom, and the inserts inter-layered with mousse, with an icing finish.

That’s about it for rules. Oh yeah, please have fun!

3. Now that you have been fully acquainted with French Yule logs, check out other people's creations here.

No Tuesdays with Dorrie... Chanukah party!

I have been cooking up a storm, but not for TWD. Feel free to check out other people's butterscotch pudding creations here.

Here is a shot of me turning some latkes for my Chanukah party. We had applesauce, Israeli salad, and Jason even brought "Chanukah Balls," the traditional fried dessert of choice for this Jewish holiday. Of course, most of us just bought Dunkin' Donuts. Jason is a cooking overrachiever, and I hope to taste more of his creations soon!

TWD: Yet. Another. Cookie. (Buttery Jam!)

Welp, I am officially underwhelmed. After many straight weeks of recipe hits, this buttery jam cookie from Dorrie Greenspan's cookbook, Baking, from My Home to Yours, was a tasteless, texture-free flop. And that dough was so sticky! So hard to get off the spoon! Ah well, win some, loose some.

And it's not like I'm not eating the durned things. For more (and more interesting) takes on this cookie that sticks in your throat like the words "I broke your blender", go to Tuesdays with Dorrie.

TWD: Sugar Cookie!

A quick posting this week for a quick cookie: sugar cookies! Tuesdays with Dorrie, the weekly baking group that makes recipes from Dorrie Greenspan's book, Baking, from my Home to Yours, made sugar cookies this week. Check em out here.

Caution: woe betide the baker that does not refrigerate this dough for copious amounts of time. You will end up with a sticky mess.

Suggestions: go for the lemon peel! Go for it! Adding lemon zest to sugar cookie dough makes the flavor subtle and fragrant, alluring and memorable. Also, try subbing whole wheat pastry flour, just because it tastes so good!

Thanks to Diana for this photo. You can see more of her delightful photography here.

The Promise of the Cookie

This is the cookie you reached for, high above you on a counter top. This is the cookie your grandmother made- or the cookie your best friend's grandmother made. This is the cookie in the pastry shop you couldn't have, this is the cookie you read about in story books, this is the Promise of the Cookie.

A Cookie will taste moist, but also crunchy.
A Cookie will be nutty, but also have a bit of jam.
A Cookie will be rich and chocolaty.
A Cookie will be yours alone, will be fulfilling, will be more than a bite.
A Cookie will be Beautiful.

This week, for Tuesdays with Dorrie, we made Linzer Sables from Dorrie Greenspan's book, Baking, from My Home to Yours. Check out the other lovely takes on this recipe here.

Linzer: refers to an Austrian or Hungarian torte or cookie with a lattice design. The Linzer torte is the oldest known torte in the world, according to Wikipedia. (There's a recipe from 1653!) Who cares?!?! I totally do.

Sable: A classic French cookie, slightly crumbly, often with nuts; comes from the French word for sand.

These cookies called for half flour, half ground almonds. I subbed whole wheat pastry flour for the white flour. I also cut the sugar in half. Then I baked 'em, stuff 'em with raspberry jam and very dark, very fine chocolate ganache.

And then the Promise of the Cookie was fulfilled. All the disillusionment of childhood melted away... because This Cookie was Everything I Thought a Cookie Would Be.