Here are some pictures of my "Yule Log". I decided to try to make it look as realistic as possible. I am tired of seeing goofy "buche de noels" that look like every other cake/ gateau. The majority of them are perfect chocolate cake cylinders with perfectly smooth chocolate glazes, tempered chocolate "curls", french macarons, and chocolate plaques that say Merry Christmas. I love the retro american yule logs that resemble actual logs and that are covered with meringue "mushrooms". I wanted to emphasize on the beauty of imperfection and the beauty of nature. The best, classic yule logs have imperfect frosting that resemble real logs so I thought, why not go even further. I like to forage for mushrooms in the spring and summer so I thought I could use that knowledge of mushroom types to my advantage. Instead of making generic button mushrooms, I made black trumpets, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, and even white truffles. All are made out of chocolate that is softened with some glucose syrup (except the oysters are meringues. I had to keep some of it classic). The cake itself is a gingerbread genoise that is very thin. The filling is a soft chocolate ganache and when the cake is rolled up it actually resembles the rings of a tree. We tried to keep it as realistic as possible but keeping in mind it has to taste great as well. The "moss" is a matcha green tea/ milk chocolate cake. The green tea goes very well with the chocolate and gives the cake a perfect "moss" color without the addition of food coloring. We had grooves in the cake that resemble the grooves of an actual log and kept that look by lightly spraying the cake with chocolate. We also cut the cake in such a way that it actually looked like the log "broke" and fell on the ground naturally. It actually came out looking quite nicely and really resembles a log sitting in the forest. Enjoy the pictures and Happy Holidays!
Chocolate "Black Trumpets"
Chocolate "Chanterelles"
White Chocolate " White Truffles"
This is one of my newest dishes... The main component is a Ricotta Mousse that is frozen and filled with a bergamot orange cream. I truly love using ricotta in desserts and whenever I do, the dessert always ends up with an italian theme...ha. The other components are a pine cone zabaglione, honey confit pine nuts, marjoram shortbread, honey paper (which is the disk) and bergamot sorbet. I was able to get my hands on some fresh bergamot and I think that they are an incredible fruit, such an amazing fragrance from a citrus. The zest is intensely aromatic and the juice is beautifully bitter. The zest can be found as one of the main flavorings of earl grey tea. The smell of the fresh zest can be potent... smelling somewhat like grandma's perfume so I utilize the juice mostly throughout the dish. The bergamot is complimented very well by the piney-citrusy herb, marjoram, which is one of my favorite herbs. I kept the italian theme by making a zabaglione for the dish that is flavored with marsala and pine cone syrup. This dish is currently on the menu but certain components may change here or there. The pine nuts are cooked in honey and then fried and the golden raisin rounds out the dish with a nice subtle sweetness. 
