Chocolate Yule Log – This Bûche de Noël Only Looks Difficult

If you’ve never made a Yule Log because you thought it would take a lot of time and effort, then you probably made the right decision, since it does. But, if you haven’t tried this classic holiday dessert because you thought it required advanced baking and pastry skill, then get ready to bûche, since the techniques required are actually quite simple.

This classic holiday dessert is a showstopper, but it’s often better looking, than it is tasting, which is not the case here, thanks to a simple-to-make, rich chocolate sponge cake, and mocha buttercream filling. Having said that, if you have a favorite frosting or filling, literally anything you can spread will work here. As long as you can slice it later, pretty much anything goes.

I forgot to add the vanilla extract, and I’ve made that correction in the ingredients below, but above and beyond what you add to the batter, you can also drizzle the baked sponge with many delicious, possibly adult beverages. Coffee liqueur is a great choice, as is dark rum, Kirsch, and Framboise, just to name a few. This practice probably started to cover up dry, overcooked cake, which of course would never be a problem for us, but even a perfectly cooked sponge can benefit if you’re so inclined.

As far as the decorations go, just a dusted and frosted Yule log makes for a great presentation, but half the fun is creating a scene around your log, and an image search should give you plenty of ideas. I may try to sneak in a video for how to do the meringue mushrooms, but not sure exactly when. Regardless of how you decorate it, or what you flavor it with, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one Chocolate Yule Log (8 portions):
NOTE: This was for a 13 X 18" sheet pan)

2 tablespoons melted butter for greasing pan

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

5 large room temperature eggs (do not use cold eggs)

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Bake at 400 F. for 8 to 10 minutes

For the filling:
NOTE: I thought mine had too much buttercream, so I'd probably use 2/3 rd for this and save the rest for cupcakes)

1 2/3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup room temp butter

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons coffee liquor, and or any other flavoring or extract, or a splash of milk to achieve a light, fluffy buttercream

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

Ganache frosting:

1 cup hot heavy cream

8 ounces dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate

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Cream Puff "Crack Buns"(Choux au Craquelin) – Chef John Goes Hollywood

These gorgeous cream puff "crack buns” were inspired by the Great British Baking Show, which is not only my favorite cooking show, but currently my favorite thing on television. Maybe it's the accent, or because the contestants are all so nice, and actually try to help each other. Or, it could be the fact that when the time is up, and they try to work for a few more seconds, the hosts just politely scold them, instead of immediate disqualification, which is what would happen on our much more uptight American culinary competitions.

It's probably all of the above, plus the fact I always get so many wonderful ideas for videos, with these Choux au Crackelinbeing a prime example. Like I said in the video, these would be great filled with all kinds of things, but it's hard to beat vanilla bean pastry cream. I'm pretty proud of the recipe we posted a few years ago, and while I enjoy it straight, traditionally it would have some whipped cream folded in to lighten the mixture.

Speaking of favorite things, Boston cream pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts, and this was basically an individually portioned, probably superior version of that. The only thing that would have made this experience any more enjoyable would have been getting that coveted Paul Hollywood handshake. Maybe one day. In the meantime, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 6 to 8 Crack Buns:

For the “crack” crust:

3 tablespoons soft butter

1/4 light brown sugar (1 1/2 ounces)

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour (47 grams)

pinch salt

For the choux pastry:

1/2 cup water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

pinch salt

1/2 cup flour

2 large room temperature eggs

melted dark chocolate, optional

- Put into 450 F. oven, reduce to 350 F., and bake for 30-40 minutes or until browned and fully puffed.

- Get the vanilla pastry cream recipe here.

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons – What a Difference an “O” Makes

I’ve always found it amusing that macaroons, which are one of the easiest cookies ever, has the same name, give or take an “o,” as the famously difficult macaron. 

Even though they have the same origin, which the Italian word maccarone (also where we get macaroni), they couldn’t be more different in texture, as well as the skill they require.

Since we did (and totally nailed) the hard one, I figured I should do the easy one, especially since I just got back from vacation, and something simple seemed like a really good idea. Speaking of easy, using sweetened condensed milk streamlines the operation, and produces a very nice texture, but if you can’t find it, there are many macaroon recipes that use white, or powdered sugar, so don’t let that slow you down.

Regarding the chocolate dip, you can just melt, and use any kind you like, but for that extra professional touch, I suggest tempering the chocolate before you dip.  There are many complicated demos online, which involve heating and cooling the chocolates using very specific temperatures, and they work great, but I generally don’t have the patience. 

Instead, I use a shortcut method that involves chopping up some dark chocolate into the size of peas, melting 75% of it, and then stirring in the other 25%, until it melts. That should get you pretty close, and at the very least you’ll have a firmer, snappier texture than if you just melted all the chocolate at once, and started dipping. Either way, I hope you give these easy coconut macaroons a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 24 Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons:

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

1 large egg white

3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

- Bake at 350 F. for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Chocolate Granola – Take That, Count Chocula!

I know chocolate granola sort of sounds like candy, but introducing cocoa into the mix not only makes it delicious, it also actually makes it better for you! Possibly. No one is really sure. The point is this really tastes great, and would make a wonderful treat for the chocolate lover, mother or otherwise, in your life.

I showed amazing restraint not adding anything more that oatmeal and almonds, since I really think that’s the best plan for the chocolate base, but I would have no problem with you accessorizing this as you see fit. Coconut flakes are an obvious choice, as are other usual suspects like dried fruit, any and all nuts, and assorted seeds.

If you want a stickier granola, that will more easily clump together, you can up the brown sugar and maple syrup a bit, as I used the bare minimum in this recipe, but I think it’s plenty sweet enough, especially if you’re a fan of dark chocolate.

Speaking of chocolate, I used Guittard’s Cocoa Rouge, a Dutch-process cocoa, which has a lower acidity than regular cocoa, and works perfectly flavor-wise. However, I’ve heard that type of cocoa doesn’t retain as much of the nutritional value, due to the way it’s processed. The good news is, any high-quality cocoa will work here.

By the way, I was only half-kidding about making this for someone, and then keeping it all for yourself, so best play it safe, and make a double, or triple batch. No matter how much you make, or what you add in, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!



Makes about 3 1/2 cups of Chocolate Granola:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)

pinch of cayenne

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (Dutch-processed if possible)

2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup chopped almonds

- Mix, and bake at 250 F. for about an hour, or until as crunchy/chewy as you like.

Nipples of Venus (Capezzoli di Venere) - Keeping Abreast of the Latest in Valentine’s Day Confections

I don’t remember much about the movie, Amadeus, which isn’t surprising, since I don’t remember that much about the early eighties in general, but I do recall the famous “Nipples of Venus” scene. At the time, I wondered if that was actually a real thing, or just something made up for the movie, but since there was no Internet yet, I never found out.

Fast forward thirty-plus years later, and inspired by a viewer’s request, I finally learned that these were in fact real, and very delicious, thanks in part to star of the show, chestnuts. While not a common ingredient, chestnuts aren’t that hard to find, and worth the effort, since they work really well in this.

If you must, another nut like almond, or hazelnut, should work about the same, especially when you consider your guest, or guests, will be fairly distracted by the eye-opening appearance. Speaking of Netflix and chill, you could show Amadeus after dinner, with these served as a sexy snack during the viewing. From there, you’re on your own. Regardless of whether you serve these on Valentine’s Day or not, I still really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 24 Nipples of Venus:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

1/3 cup white sugar

6 ounces dark chocolate

14 ounces whole chestnuts

pinch of salt

pinch of cayenne

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup brandy

*8 ounces white chocolate, chopped, divided

1/3 cup powdered sugar

enough milk to make a very thick paste

1 or 2 drops red food coloring

*This is more white chocolate than you need for coating, but that's how this stuff works. Just eat the rest. 

Chocolate Croissants – But Just Barely

I’ll admit to being pretty underwhelmed the first time I had a chocolate croissant, or “pain au chocolat,”as I’d mispronounce it; but eventually I realized the relatively sparse amount of chocolate wasn’t any kind of stinginess, but rather the true secret behind this amazing pastry.

Properly done, this should ride that line between sweet pastry and a savory bread, so don’t overdo it with the chocolate chunks; otherwise you’ll lose that beautiful balance. Other than that, not much can go wrong. Just be sure to bake them until nicely browned, and let them cool before enjoying.

While this will work with that dough in the tube, I’d like to think you’d make a batch of your own dough using our recently posted croissant recipe. Don’t worry, it only seems like a lot of work. Either way, I really do hope you give these chocolate croissants a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Chocolate Croissants:

1 batch of croissant dough from this recipe (split in half for two batches of 6)

about 1 cup roughly chopped chocolate chunks, or chips

1 large egg, plus 1 tablespoon of water for the egg wash

coarsely ground sea salt

- Bake at 400 F. for about 20-25 minutes, or until well-browned

Chocolate Bark – Temper, Temper

In addition to sharing an easy, and beautiful edible holiday gift idea, I wanted to make this chocolate bark so I could test a simplified technique for tempering chocolate without a thermometer. It sounded too good to be true, but worked fairly well, which is the problem. Is fairly good, okay? 

Properly tempered chocolate will snap when broken, and retain that gorgeous glossy sheen. Poorly tempered chocolate is sort of dull grey, and the texture is soft, and waxy. This was somewhere in the middle.

Using this method, you will get close to properly tempered chocolate, and you might get lucky, and actually end up with perfectly tempered chocolate, but in hindsight, since using a thermometer isn’t really hard, and the extra steps required not that strenuous, I’ll probably just do it the right way next time.

In fact, I may do a future chocolate truffle video as an excuse to show you the “professional” method, but in the meantime, check out this great article I found on Allrecipes, as well as this video from Monarch Media that does a good job of explaining the steps. There are also hundreds of other videos online that take you through the procedure. Regardless of which method you go with, quick and imprecise, or deliberate and exact, I stand by my assertion that this would make a great holiday gift. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 36 pieces of Chocolate Bark

1 1/2 pounds dark chocolate (70% cacao)

1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1 cup shelled, roasted, salted pistachios

1/2 cup dried gogi berries

about 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt