Sunday, December 28, 2008

french yule log- a daring bakers challenge


this month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous hilda from saffron and blueberry and marion from il en faut peu pour etre heureux. they have chosen a french yule log by flore from florilege gourmand.

it has been hard for me to sit on this entry!  when i first read this month's challenge i was incredibly excited.  i like making special and complex things for my family.  they are patient with my experiments and are quick to lay on the praise.  the second, third, fourth reading of the challenge?  that's when i started to get a little worried.  six separate elements?  a creme brulee insert?  what?  i wasn't sure if i could pull this one off.  

but i did!  while all six elements were required we were allowed lots of freedom with flavors. and that's where i feel i did the best work.  i chose to work with the basic almond dacquoise and dark chocolate ganache.  i flavored the creme brulee with ginger, prepared the white chocolate and coconut crisp and prepared a raspberry mousse.  a lot going on, yes, but the flavors and textures offset each other in a pleasing way.  

i served the dessert with the rest of the sweets on christmas day at my mother's. i really do feel like the pictures don't do the finished product justice.  

almond dacquoise....



white chocolate for the coconut crisp insert...

raspberry mousse...

mould lined with dacquoise...
mousse piped around creme brulee...

unmoulded... i like how you can see the ganache peeking out...

sliced (it had been sitting out too long; i think it would have looked prettier had it been half frozen!)...


17 comments:

Linda Judd said...

What pretty pictures! Your flavors sounded so original and like a perfect blend. Nice work! And congrats on completing this challenging challenge ;-)

Sara said...

Mmmm, raspberry mousse sounds divine! Yum. :)

Unknown said...

Mine was like that too when I cut it the first time...I let it sit out too long, so I put it back in the freezer and took another pic! Great job...the raspberry sounds delicious!

Mrs Ergül said...

wow! here is a very colourful yule log!

Jo said...

Great job on your yule log and I like the sound of raspberry and chocolate. Great flavours.

raquel said...

well done!

Anonymous said...

Great work! That sounds like a lovely flavor combination.

Hilda said...

Good job and nice combination of flavors! I'm glad you enjoyed making this. Have a Happy New Year!

silverrock said...

lovely looking log! Congrats on this month's challenge :)

Olga said...

The raspberry mousse sounds great! and it probably went really well with the chocolate.

Amy said...

Great job on this challenge - your flavours look wonderful together.

Amy

Anonymous said...

I do love the shape of your log,a nd the idea of using raspberrys! Bravo

Happy Holidays!

Anonymous said...

ooh. Pink mousse. How fabulous.

Anonymous said...

Ginger sounds like a fantastic addition!!

breadchick said...

I'd say your flavors are quite lovely together. Well done.

Emma said...

Love the flavours choices, and it looks really beautiful!

Tara said...

Congrats on a successful challenge... love the pink mousse! :)