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Macadamia and milk chocolate Yule log cake (Bûche de Noël)
Bûche de Noël (Yule log cake) is a staple for French people for Christmas. The traditional version of a yule log cake consists of a roll cake filled with ganache or crémeux (I shared a recipe for an easy traditional yule log cake last week here). But just like I said in that post, the yule log has evolved over the years, and now more and more French pastries shops are no longer making roll cakes. Instead, they switched to mousse for the yule log.
For visuals, I use a mold that looks like a yule log. Keep in mind this mold is totally optional for the recipe I am sharing with you today. Knowing that most people do not have this mold at home, I am giving you the quantities for an 18 cm diameter, 5 cm high entremets round mold/cake ring.
- This mousse cake
is composed of : - savoiardi sponge
- macadamia cremeux
- chocolate mousse
- macadamia crunch
What
I used
For the flavors, I opted for macadamia and milk chocolate. Macadamia because I always loved this flavor in ice cream, and to be honest, I never got to taste it in anything else. The taste of macadamia is quite light and subtle, which is why I decided to pair it with milk rather than dark chocolate, which would have overpowered its taste. For the sponge, you will find the recipe for “biscuit cuillère” which is the one used in tiramisu, made from scratch! Industrial savoiardi are dry so they can absorb a lot of coffee. The original, homemade ones are not dry at all but are well suited to absorb liquids, like coffee. I brushed my sponge with an espresso. On top of that sponge sits a layer of milk chocolate and macadamia crunch, which adds more texture.
Tips to succeed when making
this mousse cake
Use good quality macadamia butter and milk chocolate. This will make a huge difference!
Make sure to add your egg whites into your egg yolks gently for the sponge cake. As soon as it is baked, wait for a few minutes until it cools down before putting saran wrap on top of it. This will retain the humidity of the cake.
For both the crémeux and the mousse, you have to cook the egg yolks at 179-183°F (82-84°C). If you do not have a thermometer, cook your eggs while always stirring, stop when the mixture becomes thick, and start to coat your spatula. It should look like this:
Make the mousse at the very last moment, when you are ready to assemble the whole cake. If you leave it in the fridge it will be very difficult to use.
The crunchy part, while delicious is optional, make your life easier by skipping this part if you are in a hurry.
The mirror glaze must be applied to a frozen mousse cake. Make sure that your cake has been in the freezer for at least 5-6 hours.
The mirror glaze must be at 75°F (24°C) when you apply it to your mousse cake. Make sure to mix it with an immersion blender before pouring it on your cake. You can freeze the remaining for weeks!
As always, the main key to succeeding at this mousse cake is to take your time and plan in advance. You don’t have to do all the elements of this dessert the same day. You can make the crémeux and freeze it for days until use. Same for the sponge. The only thing that has to be done right before use is the chocolate mousse. I recommend you to do this mousse cake in two days to pace yourself.
On my Instagram, you will find a reel that shows you how I make the assembly and glaze the cake to help you.
If you want to learn more about mousse cakes with step-by-step detailed videos, I have a course for that! In my mousse cake course for the home baker, you can find more than 20 video recipes to make the mousse cake of your dream. Click here for more details.
Have fun with it and enjoy your holidays with your family!
Chocolate and macadamia yule log
Equipment
- 18 cm large, 5 cm high cake ring or silicone mould
- 16 cm large and 2 cm high (or higher) cake ring
- 20 cm large cake pan
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- saucepan
- thermometer
- immersion blender
Ingredients
Macadamia crémeux
- 190 g whipping cream (at least 30% fat)
- 35 g egg yolks
- 25 g sugar
- 1.5 g Gelatin powder or sheet (200 blooms) (add 10 g of water to powder for bloom)
- 50 g macadamia butter
Savoiardi sponge (Biscuit cuillère)
- 3 eggs
- 100 g sugar
- 45 g cornstarch
- 45 g flour
Macadamia crunch
- 150 g macadamia butter
- 80 g milk chocolate
- 80 g feuilantine (or crushed corn flakes)
Milk chocolate mousse
- 200 g milk
- 5 g gelatin sheets or powder (200 blooms) +30 g of water to bloom the powder
- 60 g egg yolks
- 40 g sugar
- 25 g dark chocolate
- 180 g milk chocolate
- 270 g whipping cream (at least 30 % fat)
Dark chocolate mirror glaze
- 290 g sugar (1)
- 120 g water (1)
- 90 g whipping cream
- 100 g water (2)
- 130 g sugar (2)
- 120 g dark chocolate
- 18 g gelatin powder or sheets (200 blooms) +1 08g of water to bloom the powder
Instructions
Macadamia crémeux
- Bloom your gelatin powder with water. In a small saucepan, bring whipping cream to a boil. Whisk egg yolks with sugar. Pour a 1/3 of hot whipping cream on egg yolks. Whisk and pour everything back to the saucepan. Cook on low heat while continuously stirring until it reaches a temperature of 179-183°F (82-84°C). Pour directly on macadamia butter and gelatin in small pieces. Whisk until homogenous. Pour in a mold or cake ring smaller than the one for your mousse cake (16 cm diameter) and keep in the freezer until it hardens (around 4h).
Savoiardi sponge (Biscuit cuillère)
- Separate the yolks from the whites in your eggs. Whip egg whites at medium speed while adding sugar progressively until they are at soft peaks. Whisk your egg yolks and add your whipped egg whites to them little by little. Finish by adding sifted flour and cornstarch very gently with a spatula. Bake in a baking tray for 12 min at 410°F (210°C) or until light brown. Let it cool down, then cut off the borders to get a 16 cm large sponge cake (you can use a 16 cm ring cake to do it). You can, if you want, add some espresso coffee to it, to make it moister and add extra flavor.
Macadamia crunch
- Melt your milk chocolate then add to macadamia butter. Add feuillantine, then whisk together. Put on top of the savioardi sponge:
Milk chocolate mousse
- Bloom your gelatin powder with water. In a small saucepan, bring milk to a boil. In a bowl whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Pour 1/3 of hot milk on egg yolks. Whisk and pour everything back to the saucepan. Cook on low heat while continuously stirring until it reaches a temperature of 179-183°F (82-84°C). Pour directly on dark and milk chocolate chopped in small pieces and whisk until your chocolate is fully melted and integrated. Whip whipping cream to soft peaks. Add to chocolate/egg mixture gently with a spatula. Use immediately for assembly.
Upside down entremets assembly
- Pour the chocolate mousse into your mold and fill 1/3 of the mold with it. Apply mousse to the sides of the mold. Put the frozen macadamia crémeux in the middle. Pour again chocolate mousse on top of the crémeuxup to ¾ of the mold. Finally, add the sponge and push it down until the mouse entirely fills the mold. Leave in the freezer for at least 6 hours.
Dark chocolate mirror glaze
- Whisk 108 g of water to bloom your gelatin and keep it in the fridge for 20 minutes. In a small saucepan, cook water (1) with sugar (1) until it reaches 230°F (110°C)to make a syrup, then remove it from heat. In another saucepan, bring to a boil whipping cream, water (2), and sugar (2), and add syrup to it. Bring everything to a boil before adding gelatin. Pour onto dark chocolate chopped in small pieces. Mix with an immersion blender. Cover with saran wrap. You can either use it the same day or another day (leave in the fridge in that case). Either way, it should be at 75°F (24°C) when using it to glaze your frozen entremets.
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