Buche de Noel

Today the boys and I went to my moms house to learn how to make a Buche de Noel with our dear friend Spence Toll. He makes one every year for the Christmas party at mom's, and it meant a great deal to me to see him in action. Spence is really incredible; he had prepared printed recipes for us all, and timed each task (whip egg yolks for 3 minutes, for instance) on his wristwatch, giving us updates ("20 seconds") throughout. It was great fun. 



Tasting the batter...



Spence prepping for baking...                               Peeling the wax paper off the cake... 

Spreading the whipped cream....                           Rolling the buche (this part was exciting!)



                      Ta DAH!!

So now it rests in the freezer so that the (homemade!!!) mocha butter cream icing doesn't tear the cake. I'll snap a picture at the party on Wednesday of the finished product. Hopefully this will become part of our family's Christmas traditions.