Bûche de Noël with Chocolate Cream, No Butter

Ingredients

• 10 eggs (this amount of eggs gives you a large bûche like the one in the photo—you can use 5 eggs or more depending on the size of the bûche you want)
• 2 and 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• Note: For each egg, use 30 g sugar and 30 g flour
• Note: 1 tablespoon equals 10 g
• Note: If you want a white cake, use 3 cups flour and no cocoa. If you want it chocolate, replace 60 g of the flour with 60 g of chocolate as we did in this recipe (60 g equals three quarters of a cup)
• Chocolate cream filling:
• 550 g dark chocolate (or as desired), chopped
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 pinch vanilla
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 small pinch of salt
• How to make the chocolate cream:

Method

1. Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla for not less than twenty minutes until the eggs thicken and the sugar dissolves well.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa and add them to the egg mixture in batches (so the egg mixture does not deflate under the weight of the flour), folding with a spoon without vigorous mixing until the batter is homogeneous.
3. Pour the batter into a large rectangular baking pan lined with parchment or greased with butter and dusted with flour so the batter spreads across the pan about 1 cm thick.
4. Bake on the middle rack at 160°C (320°F) for twenty minutes—do not open the oven during this time.
5. Allow the sponge to cool completely and brush it with fruit juice or simple syrup.
6. Spread the filling (any chocolate cream) along the length of the sponge and roll it like a sandwich.
7. Coat it on the outside with the chocolate cream as well.
8. Decorate with chocolate shavings and sifted powdered sugar.
9. Leave the Bûche in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably longer before serving.
   Timers: 180 min
10. Mix the chocolate, cocoa, vanilla and a pinch of salt.
11. Place the liquid cream alone in a saucepan over the heat until it just heats without boiling, then pour it over the chocolate and cocoa mixture.
12. Stir continuously until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
13. Let them cool, then beat them in an electric mixer for two minutes until they thicken.
14. Keep the chocolate cream filling in the refrigerator until ready to use.