Baking my Buche (de Noel)

1. Buche de Noel

Unlike a certain Mr. Tyler Florence on a certain episode of Iron Chef America, MY Buche de Noel turned out swimmingly. My buche (a traditional French “yule log” cake) actually turned out really well and, I say, redeemed me from last week’s baking disaster. I slaved away on this puppy (please note, the cake contains no fluffy animals) all day, and really was afraid that it would completely fall apart. I also had no faith in the meringue mushrooms but the way they came together was uber-awesome. I am very proud of my yule log. Check it out:

 

2. Christmas Presents

Between one tissue paper, two wrapping papers, two bows, four tags, four gift bags, and five ribbons, I managed to not wrap any of my gifts exactly the same!