Buche de noel sponge cake gets better when you pair with happy places. It’s a Christmas cake that’s celebrated around the world.
The recipe I use is modified from a sponge cake in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
And it’s cake that can be made anytime. It’s a happy new year 365-day cake to celebrate happy moments (and visit your daily inner happy place).
At home, baking is my jam and how I swiss roll decorated with sprinkles, plus vanilla-chai and chocolate-flavored for both tastes. I see the cocoa and Greek yogurt ingredients as both healthy and happy 🧡
This Buche de Noel sponge cake rolls me into the mood to share my happy places on the planet besides home (and some are ranked happiest places and cities, so I know I’m not the only one 😊).
For Americans, “the happiest place on earth” to visit is Disney World: a place where you can find the dressed-up celebrity mouse and his wife waltzing about their world adding to people’s fantasy land dreams.
Overseas, I like to “doll up” in a grown up city like Copenhagen… it’s ranked as the happiest city in the world for its cobblestone-street charm and cool vibes on the water. I’m grateful I checked it off my list in 2018.
Every day is a photo postcard there:
It’s pretty magical and the culture embraces balance as a way of life. It’s in their calm and cool energy, taking time to slow down and not rush around.
Then if you head north to Bergen, Norway, you’re in happy central territory for trolls.
You know, the colorful ones like Poppy with her glitter-power and friends from the movie, Trolls.
It’s a different place where you may not be sure whether to laugh or give a puzzled look as you venture around.
The whole idea of trolls is wondrous and can make you curious about what exists out there? If nothing else, it’s fun to look at the indigenous troll trinkets like characters in Disney but with 4 fingers and toes.
…Bergen is just a hop, skip, and a jump from little Norwegian towns surrounded by lush foliage and waterfalls. Occasionally you can see a cute roof, and wonder who lives in those dwellings like a Nordic scene from the EuroVision movie.
…And what do they eat? I’m into biodiverse eating, but in Norway, they have fresh fruits and similar protein categories that are also in our healthier Western diets. You may have heard of the Nordic Diet, one of the flavors in anti-inflammatory diets out there today.
One main difference is they use canola oil over a southern Mediterranean diet that uses EVOO (and is not a “diet”). Unlike fad or buzzy trending diets, these are based on the daily foods (what they eat) in an entire region in the world.
Like most cities, they have organic markets and local farmer’s markets with the freshest seasonal goods.
Here I saw some fresh berries:
And plenty o’ wild salmon (where many restaurants source their catches) where you can make your own healthy fish and chips.
And moving away from the rural and into the City of Light life like in Emily in Paris, you can be in a new awe.
It’s a walking city.
Paris is a happy place to visit as there’s so much to see walking around and when you just wanna chill, you can stroll in the parks.
Another happy place to visit is the U.K. where there’s so much to see and do. And I’m enamored since The Great British Bake Off show full of baking tent fun and laughs.
Who knew there were flowers in the winter like these ones in Shakespeare’s Garden on the other side of the pond of…
Washington, D.C. which is where I lived and worked most my life.
You may know Washington, D.C. for the power-hungry, political society. But that’s only a part of the area.
You can relax and take a leisurely kayak or canoe on the Potomac River or take a scenic drive along to see the monument skyline.
There’s plenty of American history to discover as it’s the place where Presidents temporarily live during office. And was permanent home to the first President, George Washington. Plus so much more interesting history on the downtown mall.
Then when you’ve seen enough of the historical buildings, you can fly south (like birds that still migrate) to a slower pace.
One happy getaway is…
Clearwater, Florida.
Hope and Winter from The Dolphin Tale movie lived there. Dolphins are happy mammals, so that should tell you something 🐬
On vacay, you don’t feel the hustle and bustle from the city with slow driving cars, less stress on the streets, and fewer tourists. It has a tropical vibe like a pina colada smoothie you can sip on watching the Florida palm trees swaying and beautiful sunsets.
The Gulf is known for fresh fish catches like fresh grouper, so a fishmonger can bring it to you cooked fresh from the boat.
So those are the happy places I can drop a pin on📍(plus one when I’m making the Buche de Noel sponge swiss cake 😋).
Buche de Noel Sponge Cake
Equipment
- Silpat and baking pan
- tea towel
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup monk fruit sugar
- jam and yogurt of choice (for filling)
Instructions
- Separate eggs. Tip: It's easier to separate eggs when they are cold from the fridge. Then let them warm up to room temperature.
- Beat egg yolks in a regular size bowl and add juice and baking powder.
- Separately beat egg whites in a larger mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. The small amount of sugar will help bring the texture together.
- After step 3, gently pour egg yolks into egg white bowl. Gently fold in egg whites to combine yolks. Don't mix or overmix as that will deflate the egg white air which is the reason why the egg white was separated from the eggyolk in the first place. This will give a higher rising sponge cake.
- Spread on a Silpat lined baking pan about 3/4" thick or the size of your yule log you would like. Bake on 325°F for about 45 minutes or longer (mostly depending on actual thickness). Pull out of oven before sides start to brown.
- While warm-hot out of the oven, pull out cake and roll up into a tea towel like a sleeping bag to get the "swirl." You want to make sure to do this while it's warm or it will break when cool.
- Let cool and when cool, cut off ends. Add a layer of jam or yogurt that you want inside.
- Pour melted chocolate over the cake and after cooled, drag a fork around the glaze for a yule-log effect.