"Buche de Noel" (Christmas tree trunk)

To bake the "Buche de Noel", first preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a rectangular baking tin (approx. 30x40 cm) with baking paper.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Set aside.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light and creamy. Carefully stir in the flour. It is important to sift the flour and add it slowly to avoid lumps. Then carefully fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.

Spread the dough evenly in the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven for around 10-12 minutes until firm and lightly browned. It is very important that you do not bake the dough for too long, otherwise it will break when you roll it up.

In the meantime, break the chocolate into pieces and melt over a bain-marie.

Whip the cream until stiff and mix 2/3 of it with the melted chocolate to make the chocolate cream for the filling.

Remove the baked dough from the oven and immediately cover with a damp kitchen towel. This prevents the dough from drying out and we can easily roll it later.

As soon as the pastry has cooled, spread the chocolate cream on top and carefully roll up the pastry.

Mix the remaining whipped cream and powdered sugar and cover the rolled dough with it to simulate the tree trunk.

Finally, dust the "Buche de Noel" with powdered sugar and decorate with fondant figures as desired.

Tip: You can prepare the "Buche de Noel" a day in advance and keep it in the fridge until ready to serve.

Enjoy your meal and Merry Christmas!