protective glaze for buche de noel?

So I want to make another buche de noel for Christmas, and a friend recommended that I try glazing the cake with a thinned out jam, letting it cool, and then frosting it. But I'm worried that the jam will change the flavor of my cake... can I use melted chocolate instead? Or should I just hold my horses and wait out the next two days?

walkie74
  • Posted by: walkie74
  • December 22, 2016
  • 1588 views
  • 2 Comments

2 Comments

AntoniaJames December 22, 2016
If you use strained apricot jam, thinned slightly, it should not change the flavor too much. I am not much of a cake expert but I seem to remember -- perhaps on an early season of GBBO (?) -- that brushing a warm cake with a thin coating of jam or sugar syrup not only firms it up to reduce crumbs but also keeps the cake moist for longer. I think the latter benefit comes from doing it when the cake is just out of the oven. I would not put melted chocolate on. That will make it more difficult to cut smooth slices.
But others with expertise should chime in . . . . as I said, I'm shooting from the hip here. ;o)
 
Nancy December 22, 2016
You're absolutely right...putting a jam glaze on the cake for a buche de noel WILL change the flavor (though it is done in some tarts), and it may not preserve the cake's freshness, in case that's what you wanted it to do.
Better to make the cake closer to Christmas, if your schedule allows.
See also this recent thread on the the same issue.
https://food52.com/hotline/34400-how-long-does-a-buche-de-noel-yule-log-last
 
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