Chocolate Hazelnut Buche de Noel

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This recipe is for the classic French Christmas cake – Buche de Noel by the ‘The Great British Bake Off Series 1’ winner Edd Kimber. The chocolate sponge is filled with delicious hazelnut praline meringue cream and topped with crunchy hazelnuts with a shimmer of gold powder. This showstopper is the perfect celebration cake. Enjoy!

Ingredients
4 eggs
100g caster sugar
70g plain flour
30g cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting

For the Buttercream
50g milk chocolate, melted
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs
225g unsalted butter at room temperature, diced
4 tbsp hazelnut praline paste (homemade or shopbought)

To Decorate
cake décor gold glitter (optional)
50g blanched hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
hazelnut liqueur

For the Sugar Syrup
5 tbsp sugar and 5 tbsp water simmered in a pan until the sugar dissolves 

Method
– Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C with a fan. Grease and line a baking tray.

– Place the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer. Whisk for 7 minutes and then transfer to a large bowl.

– Mix the flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Sieve this into the egg and sugar mixture. Use a spoon to gently fold the ingredients in.

– Pour the mixture onto the baking tray and spread it to the edges. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

– Place a tea towel onto your work top and line with a piece of baking paper. Remove the cake from the oven and the tray and place it onto the lined tea towel.

– Fold the excess tea towel up to the cake and then roll the cake up tightly. Allow it to cool completely.

– To prepare the filling, place the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

– Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and continue to whisk until the sugar has dissolved.

– Take it off the heat and transfer to a stand mixer. Whisk until cool.

– Add the butter a little at a time while you continue to whisk. 

– Add the melted chocolate and praline paste. Whisk to combine.

– Carefully unroll the cake. Brush the sugar syrup and liqueur all over the inside of the cake. Then, evenly spread ½ the butter cream on top.

– Carefully roll the cake back up. Place this on your serving plate.

– Coat the cake in the remaining buttercream.

– Mix the hazelnuts and edible gold glitter in a bowl. Use this to decorate the cake.

Time to tuck in!

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