Gingerbread Bûche de Noël Recipe (2024)

To me there was too much fuss made over the "cracking" threat. To avoid anything like that happening (and to make the spreading of frosting easier) the trick I learned is to brush the cake with a sugar syrup (which may be flavored with any alcohol or whatever you want to add to it when you make it).
Never fails.

A harmless shortcut: use whipped cream instead of frosting.

You are right ann, I use my stand mixer's bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar for a short bit. hold the bowl over a simmering water and hand whip it while the whole mixture warms up. you want to avoid cooking the eggs but bring the temperature up. Once done, back to the stand mixer. I've done this recipe twice now and it works like magic.

Great! Definitely labor-intensive -- at least four hours' active time plus chilling and cleaning up -- but worth it. Would definitely do it over two days next time. I added 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar to the filling, and replaced 1/4 cup of the brown sugar in the cake with granulated maple sugar -- lovely. Didn't like the taste of the icing on its own but worked perfectly with the finished cake. I will try subbing Sortilege maple syrup liqueur for the vanilla next time.

I made this yesterday for a dinner tonight. If you sift the dry ingredients into the wet you'll prevent little lumps from forming in the batter.Since I went to the trouble of making the Italian meringue, I used the extra to make meringue mushrooms for garnish (recipes widely available online) and after making long grooves in the log, I used my kitchen torch to brown the lines. Sift a bit of cocoa powder on the plate and you've got yourself a showstopper.

This is a really fun, festive and delicious cake. Can't wait to make it again next Christmas. I found that the Tbs of vanilla extract in the frosting was a bit heavy handed and plan to add 1/2 Tbs next time.

Next time I make this I'll triple the filling. There is so little filling that it's nearly invisible in a slice. Did I do something wrong?

This was a lot of work but a good learning experience. There wasn't nearly enough filling in the recipe to fill it properly. Also, the sponge and filling were quite flavorless and not very gingerbread-y. Next time I would double the filling amount and add more spices.

When I successfully bake things like this, I seriously consider moving to the UK and starting a long-term grift to get on the Great British Bake Off.

well worth the prep time. perfect balance of sweet, crunch, and frosting. try adding a little salt to the pecan brittle.

A showstopper and although it takes time the steps themselves aren't difficult. It's as delicious as it is beautiful.
Don't frost it too far ahead (like a couple of days) it's really best freshly eaten--later that day or the next.

This recipe was very good. Following notes from others, I doubled the filling and made 3/4 of the frosting, and both turned out the right amount. I also added about 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar and a handful of finely chopped crystallized ginger to the filling, and used 1.5x the suggested spices in the cake, plus a pinch of nutmeg. Delicious!

Delicious. Just be careful with the baking time so it doesn't over-bake and dry out.

Glad I doubled the filling, as other commentors suggested. I learned on the Great British Baking Show not to overfill my jelly roll cakes, so I saved about 1/4 of the filling and used it in my frosting. As a mom of three, I don't have time for meringue! So I topped it with a whipped cream frosting, stabilized with the leftover filling. Perfect!

Tip: for those not thrilled with the cake here, try Laurie Colwin’s gingerbread, then turn into a cake or trifle. And because to me it needs an acid, I add an orange compote. A lot of sweat (I do one thing per day a few days before) but wins raves.

No flavor at all and I doubled the spices. I will not make it again.

The egg step for the cake is extremely finicky. You need the eggs to almost triple in size. And you have to carefully fold and follow the butter step of mixing in batter to the butter or else the egg mixture will fall too flat for the dough to rise.

Delicious and light holiday dessert. Had to make it twice because the first time I under-beat the eggs which resulted in a deflated batter and flat and dense cake. The second time I made sure to beat for at least 7 minutes on highest speed of my stand mixer (even though it seemingly doubled in volume after ~4 minutes). Sifted in the flour mixture and made sure that the melted butter wasn't too cold. Kept the frosting simple by making a whipped cream cheese frosting for filling and the outside.

The frosting did not set up and I used a thermometer- it tasted more meringue and eggy than marshmallow- I would used a marscapone whipped frosting for a better balance - in fact I might use that as both frosting and filling. The sponge cake was nice though! Definitely make over two days

Made this today for Christmas dinner tomorrow. Swapped 1:1 GF flour. Came out great. Filling amped up by adding 1/2 cup confectioners sugar. Nice roll. Generous. Plenty of filling (beat the heck out of it.). Lost my candy thermometer so I’ll have to do a non-marshmallow icing tomorrow (unless there’s a new thermometer under the tree?)

For all the time, the ingredients, the equipment....and I followed the recipe EXACTLY...took my time...this dessert was the worst. The gingerbread was dry and difficult to unroll with no cracks during the unrolling. No one at my table of 8 finished this cake and only half was eaten at each person's dessert plate. It was dry and tasteless despite the ingredients. I wish I had gone to a bakery and bought dessert.

Made this for Christmas. Came together and looked great, but the flavors were incredibly flat. I'd consider at least doubling the spices along with adding 1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg. DEFINITELY torch the meringue at the end right before you serve, it adds a much better flavor to the cake. The filling also needs less cream cheese and more sugar.

Made this delectable treat again this year, but 1.5x the filling and added orange zest to it. Finally nailed the genoise sponge. There are a lot of hazards here, but I believe in Dorie!

I thought molasses is a key ingredient in gingerbread. No molasses I’m this recipe.

This recipe was very good. Following notes from others, I doubled the filling and made 3/4 of the frosting, and both turned out the right amount. I also added about 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar and a handful of finely chopped crystallized ginger to the filling, and used 1.5x the suggested spices in the cake, plus a pinch of nutmeg. Delicious!

Grr… cute video, but the focus should have been on the overly-complicated frosting rather than the rolling of a roulade. After a failed attempt (burned caramel), I had to create a simple vanilla frosting. This is the second MC recipe I’ve attempted that has had unnecessary twists and turns.

Kid is allergic to pecans but is okay with peanuts and almonds. Can I substitute?

I made the NYT sponge cake recipe and just added the ginger and cinnamon to make my life easier. I also found the filling pretty plain as is so I added some sugar and lemon zest to it. I was excited to make such an interesting frosting but it was too much vanilla and tasted like alcohol and felt kind of one dimensional. Maybe I did some things wrong, not sure but wouldn’t bother to make again. Will plan something else for the holidays.

I got curious about the melted butter, and for what it’s worth, the cake is a genoise. It’s the trickiest of the sponges and drier and chewier than American sponges.