Loaf de Noël

If you’ve ever wanted to make a bûche de Noël but simply don’t have the time or patience to make a Swiss roll cake and all of the decorations that come with it, we suggest this loaf de Noël. This decorated loaf cake delivers all of the drama and trappings of a traditional bûche de Noël with only a fraction of the work. Made in one bowl, sans mixer, this loaf comes together quickly with a handful of pantry staples and utilizes one batch of buttercream for both the inside and exterior of the cake. While simple in preparation, the final product is anything but.

There are a few special additions that make this festive cake shine. Cocoa powder gets bloomed in melted butter, which gives the cake a richer depth of flavor. While you can’t taste any coffee in the finished cake, the addition of instant espresso powder also helps to intensify the chocolaty flavor. Sour cream does double duty by keeping the cake plush and moist while adding a subtle tanginess. In order to mimic the layers of cream inside a roulade, the cake gets cut into thirds lengthwise and spread with two layers of vanilla buttercream (flavored and stabilized with white chocolate) so that when it’s sliced into, it’ll reveal a layer cake of sorts. The same vanilla buttercream gets mixed with melted chocolate to cover the outside of the cake to create the illusion of a log. Decorated with sugared cranberries and sprigs of rosemary, it’s a showstopper for any holiday table.