As the 2022 edition of The Cake Slice Bakers draws to a close, I was excited to see a Mod Yule Log as one of the choices this month.
In this group, we are given a selection of three cake recipes. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book. Our choices for November 2022 were ~
Vanilla-Bean Pound Cake
Grandma Ellen's Trinidad Rum Cake
Mod Yule Log
Culinary Cam (you're here)
My Christmas Babe's Bûche De Noël Parade
This year my younger son turns nineteen. His birthday is two days before Christmas and it's a tradition that he gets a Bûche De Noël as his birthday cake. The top left photo was the very first one I made for him...for his second birthday. And we have made one every year since. Well, I skipped his fifteenth birthday because we were on a plane to Denmark that day.
Unfortunately this Mod Yule Log assignment is due before he comes home for Thanksgiving break. So I will probably do another traditional Bûche De Noël in December! But it was nice to know there is another option.
One thing I did love was that her recipe just referred to other recipes in the book. I used the opportunity to make the elements from my favorites as well.
Mod Yule Log (Modern Bûche De Noël)
What You Need...
your favorite chocolate cake recipe, made into three 6-inch layers (I used this batter from my Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes)
your favorite chocolate ganache (I used the one in my Death by Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes)
peanut butter for filling the cake
meringue mushrooms for decorating (my Magical Meringue Mushrooms)
chocolate bark for decorating
To make the chocolate bark, melt and temper your chocolate. Lay a piece of parchment paper on top of a baking sheet. Take a pastry brush and paint a strip of chocolate as tall as your cake - or higher. Repeat until you have enough strips to cover the cake. Place the sheet in the refrigerator to harden completely.
To Assemble
Place a cake layer on your serving platter. Add a dollop of ganache and a smear of peanut butter. Repeat until you have stacked all three cake layers. Whip the ganache until it is lightened and fluffy. Then frost the sides and the top of the cake. Reserve some whipped ganache to "glue" the bark to the outside of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Then sprinkle sliced almonds around the base of your log and decorate with meringue mushrooms.
Well, that's a wrap for my November #TheCakeSliceBakers offering. We'll be back next month with a writer's choice. We are able to bake anything from the book that we would like to try or like to repeat. Stay tuned!