The Gingerbread Church

Have I said how much I love the holidays? I love the holidays! One of the things I look forward to the most is creating gingerbread structures. It has become my tradition since 2010. This year, I decided to replicate a historic 1900 Episcopal church as I love the architecture.

This is a week-long labor of love. I play holiday music while I work to get in the Christmas spirit. I spend days designing and constructing the church. In addition, I prepare a dessert buffet which I will present at the gingerbread church's unveiling. 

The walls and steeple are made out of gingerbread. Everything is in the details as some say, so I take my time carving the “bricks” and designs into the walls and steeple. Once I get started, I can’t stop. 

                                                     

Nearly every church has stained glass windows and this one is no exception. The windows of my church are made from poured sugar. Poured sugar consists of cooking water and sugar to a high temperature, adding glucose, and cooking it even more. Once it reaches the desired temperature the poured sugar can be colored and poured into molds. In this case, the molds are cut-outs in the gingerbread church walls. Once the sugar has set the stained glass windows are complete. To highlight the beauty of the stained glass, I install lighting inside the church. 

The church is not complete until the doors, the roof and the landscape are decorated with royal icing. I get lost while decorating. Although it is time consuming I enjoy every minute of it.

The church doors:

Close-up of the landscape:

While the gingerbread church was being created, this came together for the edible edifice's unveiling: 

The Menu for the December 2014 Gathering:  

* Passion fruit cheeseflan

* Mini lemon and blueberry jam trifles

* Milk chocolate mousse

* Stollen

* Almond cakelettes with an assortment of creams

* Pumpkin apple cake pudding 

* Egg nog

* Meringue cookies 'Brutti ma buoni'

* A village of cocoa-gingerbread houses petits fours

* Truffles

* Crystallized Almonds

* Linzer tart and Flamande tart

One week later, the gingerbread church and the dessert buffet are ready for their unveiling at the rectory of Father Ron Pollock in Somerville, NJ:

From my friends and family to yours, I wish you the happiest of holidays!

Presenting The Bûche de Noël

The holiday season is a time of family, friendship and food – three things I enjoy immensely. The tree is decorated, gifts are wrapped, and the Bûche de Noël is ready to make its appearance.

Popular in France, the Bûche de Noël, literally meaning “yule log”, is a light, fluffy sponge cake filled with jam or preserves and covered in buttercream. The log is cut with the ends strategically placed to give the appearance of a chopped tree branch while the buttercream is “carved” with a fork to emulate tree bark. The cake can be decorated with meringue snowmen, mushrooms, candies or actual floral items. It is lovely to look and even lovelier to eat. The Bûche de Noël is perfect for entertaining loved ones at the holiday season.

This year, perhaps Santa would appreciate a slice of the Bûche de Noël instead of cookies.  

 

Recipe for Bûche de Noël

To see a video demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waniPOySdVY&index=1&list=PLAWpIBpOvRSJa8KNjNwUtSojHovkMX2Ul

Ingredients

Sponge Cake

Soaking syrup (simple syrup spiked with liquor)

Filling

Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients for the Sponge Cake

4 egg whites

125 gm granulated sugar

4 egg yolks

125 gm cake flour, sifted

60 gm butter, melted but not hot

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a half sheet pan with cooking spray; line the pan with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Prepare a French meringue with the egg whites: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites and sugar to stiff peak.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks.

4. Fold egg yolks into French meringue.

5. Fold sifted cake flour into the meringue in 1/3’s.

6. Remove about 1 cup of batter and place in a separate bowl. Fold melted butter into this batter.

7. Fold melted butter/batter into remaining batter.

8. Pour batter into sheet pan and gently spread evenly.

9. Bake for 5-7 minutes, rotating pan halfway so cake cooks evenly. Cake is done when it is browned evenly, springs back to the touch, and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

10. Upon removing cake from oven, turn it onto a cooled pan or baking rack.

Ingredients for the Filling

100 gm heavy cream

25 gm powdered sugar

50 gm cranberry preserves or other desired flavor

Procedure

1. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, add heavy cream and powdered sugar. Make sure the bowl and heavy cream are both cold.

2. Whip the heavy cream until medium peaks.

3. Gently fold in the cranberry preserves.

4. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Ingredients for the Buttercream

75 gm egg whites

150 gm granulated sugar

75 mL water

35 gm granulated sugar

225 gm butter, cubed

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cream of tartar

200 gm chocolate, melted over double boiler

Procedure

1. In a saucepan, combine 150 gm granulated sugar and water. Using your finger or small spatula, gently stir sugar into water being careful not to get sugar on sides of saucepan. If this happens, use a wet brush to remove sugar crystals.

2. Cook sugar to soft-ball stage (238°F). Do not stir the sugar while it is cooking.

3. Prepare Bain Marie and melt chocolate. Once chocolate is melted, set aside so it cools to room temperature.

4. When the sugar begins to boil, prepare an Italian meringue: Add egg whites, remaining 35 gm sugar, pinch of salt and cream of tartar to a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk egg whites to medium peak. If medium peak is reached before sugar reaches soft-ball stage, lower speed on mixer. Do not turn mixer off.

5. When sugar reaches soft ball stage, pour sugar into mixer with Italian meringue, being careful not to pour onto whisk.

6. Increase mixer to high speed until meringue is at room temperature.

7. Gradually add cubes of butter until thoroughly combined. Continue mixing until the buttercream is the consistency of mayonnaise.

8. Fold the melted chocolate into the buttercream.

Assembling the Bûche de Noël

1. When cake has cooled, brush with soaking syrup.

2. Spread cake with a thin layer of buttercream.

3. Place the cake in front of you so the long edge is next to you. Roll the cake into a log.

4. Cover the log with buttercream.

5. Using a serrated knife, cut the ends of the log off in a diagonal.

6. Place the ends on top of the log to resemble branches.

7. Completely cover the cake with buttercream.

8. Using a fork, score the frosted cake so it resembles tree bark.

9. Cake can be decorated with meringue, marzipan characters, or other decorations. You can also gently sift powdered sugar over the cake to give the appearance of snow.