Gingerbread Bûche de Noël

Roast Chestnuts and peel the shells or you can use store bough chestnuts and roast them.

In a heavy bottom pan, add chestnuts and milk. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until the chestnuts are soft.

Remove from heat when the chestnuts are soft. In a blender, cream the mixture into a paste/ puree. Store in a clean jar until needed in the refrigerator. 

Preheat the oven to 230 F/ 100 C degrees. In a clean steel bowl, add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Whisk until soft peaks are formed, gradually add sugar and whisk until stiff peaks are formed. 

Using a piping bag, pipe some mushroom heads ( circular more like a macaron rounds) and few tiny pipes for the base of the mushroom. Bake for 20-30 minutes. 

Cool in the oven. Once cooled to room temperature, brush with black cocoa powder. 

Melt the chocolate and use it as "glue" to stick mushroom tops to bottoms. Chill the refrigerator until needed in an air tight container. 

Preheat the oven to 300 F / 160 C degrees. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper.

In a small cup, add the colour and vodka. Mix thoroughly. Pour this mixture into the bowl that has cookie crumbs (use any light coloured crumbs, i used graham cracker). 

Add and cream butter into the cookie - colour mix. Using an offset spatula, spread the butter crumb mix on to the parchment.

Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and let it chill. Break into slightly bigger pieces to use as moss. Store in an air tight container. 

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Grease and line a 1/2 cookie sheet with parchment paper. Grease the paper on top and dust with flour, tap out the excess flour. 

In a large bowl fitted with whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whisk the egg white until stiff peaks are formed. Transfer to another bowl and Keep aside until needed.

In the same bowl, add the egg yolk, sugar and black treacle. Whisk until light, pale and fluffy. 

Fold the egg whites and sift and fold the dry ingredients (Baking powder and cake flour) in batches. Make sure you don't overmix. 

Pour the batter into prepared jelly pan/ 1/2 cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light brown. 

Remove from oven, dust the cake with icing sugar. Place a linen on top of the warm cake and roll it into a roll. 

Let it stay as a roll until it cools to room temperature. Meanwhile make the brandy syrup.

Add 1/4 cup of chestnut puree in with 1/2 cup of whipped cream and let it chill for couple of hours. Add another 1/2 cup of cream and whip the cream until stiff peaks are formed. 

Add Vanilla and icing sugar and whisk for 30 seconds. Keep the cream chilled until assembly. 

In a small pan, heat the whipped cream and semi sweet chocolate. Chill the mixture for a couple of hours or overnight.

In a bowl attached with the whisk attachment. Whisk the chilled chocolate ganache until soft peaks are formed. 

Add cream cheese and whisk until stiff peaks are formed. Sift the icing sugar and whisk for 15 seconds. Chill the frosting until needed. 

In a small pan, add brandy, sugar and water. Cook on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and forms a syrup. 

Once the roll cake is cooled, brush the cake with warm brandy simple syrup. 

Using an offset spatula, spread the chestnut whipped cream on the roll cake. Roll it back again and chill it for an hour in the fridge. 

Place the gingerbread roll cake on a cake board or a serving board. Using an offset spatula, coat an uniform layer of frosting. The finish doesnt need to be perfect as its a "log". 

Chill again for 15 - 30 minutes. Cut 2 triangles on the edge of the roll (check the bon appetit link for the tutorial on how to cut it. I followed those steps. 

Place the cut pieces as side trunk of the log, frost the joints and dust the log generously with black cocoa. 

Using the fork, make tree bark lines and give another dusting of cocoa powder.

Place the edible mushrooms, edible moss and edible gingerbread streusel dirt. 

Enjoy it on Christmas with your loved ones! this will be a show stopper!!!