Logging on to La Bûche de Noel

 

If there is one certainty in France at Christmas, it is that most French families will celebrate their Christmas with a Bûche de Noel. This is the famous Yule Log, consisting of a Swiss roll, filled and covered with lashings of cream and chocolate and decorated with everything from holly leaves and marzipan mushrooms to silver and gold stars topped with a dusting of icing sugar. It makes a wonderfully festive dessert.

 

Origins of La Bûche de Noel

This popular Christmas bake has its origins in a pagan tradition, whereby the Celts were reputed to have placed a large log on the hearth to burn for as long as possible in order to protect the household from a variety of ailments and evil deeds. It also was thought to be an offering to thank the sun for coming back to earth as the days slowly began to lengthen after the midwinter solstice.

 

Over time, the tradition moved on to placing a smaller log on the table and decorating it with sweet gifts called ‘friandises’ and, at some point during the 19th century, it started to appear as a Christmas dessert which we now recognise as ‘La Bûche de Noel’.

 

Searching for a recipe

There is a recipe for ‘La Bûche de Noel’ in every family – simple, elaborate, exquisite or classic with a multitude of fillings from butter cream to whipped or double cream, chocolate ganache ladled with the spirit of your choice such as cognac or rum and often made with purée de marrons (chestnut purée).

I found a recipe in my go to French cookery book, Les Recettes Faciles’ by Françoise Bernard, which my colleagues at the Lycée Pierre de la Ramée, in St Quentin presented to me. They were keen that I set off on the right track with French cuisine! Françoise’s recipe has chestnut purée which thankfully is still available to buy in most groceries and supermarkets in the UK.

This is a shorter version of my piece for  Yorkshire Bylines which contains a translation of the French recipe from Les Recettes Faciles.

 

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas. ‘Joyeux Noel’ and ‘Meilleurs Voeux pour l’année 2025’!

Oh! the weather is damp and dreary but the cake is warm and cheery …

Damp Gingerbread

As the temperatures drop and storms bringing rain and snow make a path to our doors, I always reach out for Grandma’s traditional warming bakes which bring cheer and joy. These recipes often contain ginger, that fiery spice, which is reputed to have anti- inflammatory benefits for our health and well-being.

Elsie’s eclectic recipe collection

Some time ago, my friend Sue, in Halifax sent me a assortment of recipes which were in her late mother, Elsie’s cookbook. Sue’s Mum and Dad were close family friends and we have kept this flame of friendship alive over many years. Elsie’s recipes included an eclectic mixture of cakes but the one which caught my attention first was Damp Gingerbread. I’ve always been intrigued by names of cakes and even dared to suggest some cakes needed a rebrand . Grandma Abson had a similar recipe to Elsie’s.

Damp Gingerbread.

What you need

4 oz butter

8 oz treacle*

3 oz soft brown sugar

12 oz plain flour

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 ½ tsps baking powder

6oz sultanas

2 eggs (beaten)

A little warm milk (about 6-8 tbsps)

How to bake

Pre heat the oven to  180C (160C Fan), Gas Mark 4 Warm the butter, treacle* and sugar in a pan on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon and baking powder and sultanas. Add the liquid from the pan and the beaten eggs. Add a little milk to mix to a soft texture/batter. Pour into a well-greased and lined approx. 8 inch/20 cms tin – round, square or rectangle. Bake in a moderate oven for 45 minutes.

* Grandma used the term’ treacle’ for golden syrup or a mixture of golden syrup and black treacle so it could be a bit confusing! I used a mixture of golden syrup and black treacle to bake this recipe.

The Glasgow School of Cookery leads the way

I found a similar recipe for ‘Damp Gingerbread’ in my copy of ‘The Glasgow School of Cookery Book’ 1910.  The Glasgow School of Cookery was established in 1875. The aim was to educate young working-class women in cookery skills and, later, it promoted culinary education at board schools. 

The Glasgow School of Cookery recipe has the addition of 3oz (approx.. 85g) almonds – this could be ground almonds or flaked almonds. The recipe also suggests baking in moderate oven for about 2 hours which is not necessary in a modern oven!

So, nothing wrong with Damp Gingerbread - perhaps it has the right name after all. As the song nearly goes :

Oh, the weather is damp and dreary

But the cake is warm and cheery …

Enjoy and keep safe in the wintry weather.

This is a shorter version of my article for Yorkshire Bylines

Our French cousin … Le Pain d’ épices

 

It was a holiday in Alsace that I first came across Pain d’épices. This translates as ‘spiced bread’ but it has no yeast and doesn’t require kneading so perhaps we would call it a ‘spiced loaf’ rather than ‘bread’. It’s full of spices from ginger, nutmeg, cloves, star anise to cardamon or cinnamon with orange and lemon zest often added. The most important ingredient of all is honey which give the pain d’epice its characteristic taste and smell. It’s also made with rye flour, although some recipes suggest a mixture of rye and wholewheat flour.

I watched the baker making this Pain d’épices on a street in one of those pretty Alsace villages. The aroma in the street was drawing in the customers. I asked how it was made and, it was no surprise that his was a secret recipe. I did find our hotel owner happy to give me her own family recipe when we returned later in the day. She said that it was a tradition to eat a slice of ‘Pain d’épices’ in the cold weather after coming back from school with a mug of ‘chocolat chaud’.

What you need

250g honey

50g soft dark brown sugar

125g rye flour

125g wholewheat flour

20g baking powder

2 tbps mixture of  

ground ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, star anise

2 eggs

 170 ml milk to mix

How to bake

Preheat the oven 180C/Mark 4.

Heat the honey and sugar in a pan gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat.

Mix the flours, baking powder, and spices in a bowl, adding the honey mixture gradually to make a soft dough.

Beat the eggs and milk together until smooth and then add to the other mixture to make a batter.

Pour this into a lined 1 kg loaf tin and place in the oven. Bake for approximately 45 minutes until a cake skewer comes out clean. 

Meryl says : This is a very simple recipe to bake. There are versions of this across France from Dijon to Reims, each with a slightly different twist in the ingredients such as local types of honey or more of a particular spice - the Reims version has more cinnamon in the mixture.  In some ways, there are close links to our own Gingerbread, Parkin and Wheaten Bread recipes. It’s on my list of lovely warming bakes which are perfect for cool autumn days. 

Bon Appétit!

Parasols ou Parapluies at the Paralympics 2024

 

We Brits are always obsessed with the weather so the big question for me as I got ready to go back to Paris for my stint at the Paralympics was what to pack for the weather. As it turned out, both sun cream and rain protection were needed.

Formation and Familiarisation

I arrived in Paris just before the Training (Formation) day at Clichy Sous Bois for the Para Road Races and Time trials. This site was about 15 kms to the east of Paris, so it was Metro/RER E and Tram 4 to get there over the 6 days of competition.  Choosing this venue was part of a deliberate strategy by the Paris Olympic organisation to take the Paralympics out to the people wherever possible.

The Road Races (les Courses) and Time Trials (Contre la Montre) were based around the Complexe Sportif Henri Barbusse. Much is being done to regenerate the Cichy Sous Bois area, following the civil unrest in 2005 but the scars of deprivation were still visible in the yet to be demolished blocks of flats. There was a sense that the locals were pleased to see the Olympic bonanza come to their area, especially when they came to applaud the athletes.

There was much to digest on the training day, followed by the Familiarisation Day. This was when the teams arrived on site and we had to distinguish the different categories of athletes and types of bikes.

Services aux Athletes – the new team

It was good to see old hands as well as new faces amongst the Volontaires - I’d met Manon from Quebec and François from La Rochelle at the JO - and the same fantastic team of staff including Philippe, Jean Sebastian, Thierry, Zoe and Louise. Over 6 days, we rotated different roles around the site, guiding the athletes and coaches at key points to the race starts, helping athletes in the Athletes Lounge/Resto with meals, waiting at the finish line, taking medal winners to the Protocol and Medal Ceremonies and much more.

Le Grand Jour – our last day

On the last day, our mission was at the Parc Georges Valbon in La Courneuve, to the north of Paris. It was the venue for the 8.00 a.m. start of the Para Marathon, followed by a day of celebrations, Le Grand Jour, with a range of activities for children in the Seine-Saint Denis département featuring bike-ability courses, wall climbing, skateboarding. Our roles changed and I was on lunch duty helping pack up 300 lunch bags – first time as a dinner lady!

At 1.00 p.m. we moved to lead the French medal winners to the stage following their spectacular descent on the Skyliner to wild applause. A concert followed with popular hip-hop duo, Big Flo and Oli but not before we heard the strains of Italian singer Gala’s 1997 hit ‘Freed from desire’. What a blast to end our Paralympic mission!

So about the weather?

The French have definitely taken up our obsession with the weather from their Olympic and Paralympic experience. At Clichy Sous Bois, parasols had been ordered to shield the Para Cyclists from the sun but they turned into parapluies and came in handy to provide cover at the start line, during torrential downpours. The Volontaires got out the ponchos again.

Although the rain came to say goodbye at the Closing ceremony at the Stade de France, it didn’t stop the Olympic joie de vivre.  Popular singer, Santa’s version of Johnny Halliday’s ‘Vivre Pour le Meilleur’, the Garde Républicaine’s singalong version of Joe Dassin’s ‘Les Champs Elysees’, Dalida’s ‘Laissez-moi danser’ and much more, proved that ‘Paris est une fête’, whatever the weather.

Paris should be enormously proud of what was achieved over summer 2024 - crazy, mad, fou, ‘emotion’ but most of all it showcased an inclusive world with stunning athletes at its heart. I was very privileged to be part of it.

This is a shorter version of my piece for Yorkshire Bylines 

C'est top, Paris 2024!

 

Who would have thought that I could top my amazing Games Maker experience at the Aquatics Centre for London 2012? But I’ve just gone and done it with two weeks as a ‘volontaire’ at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

It was my volunteer experience at Le Tour de France, Grand Depart from Yorkshire in 2014 and fluent French which ticked the right boxes. Wow – what a privilege to be chosen as one of 45,000 volunteers. Tony Estanguet, president of Paris 2024 (and French three-times Olympic champion slalom canoeist), described us as “The face, soul, heart and smile of the Games”. As volunteers we don’t get accommodation but a full kit of uniform, sponsored by Decathlon, including the much sought-after ‘Bob hat’ (le Bob).

The success of the Paris bid for the games was very much based on using existing venues to display the sports against the backdrop of iconic Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides and Trocadero. What luck – these were my locations and our managers kept telling us these were the best.

I was allocated a small, brilliant team of volontaires to support the cyclists and their personnel in a wide variety of roles as ‘services aux athletes. Fundamentally, it’s about promoting a light-hearted, friendly and courteous approach to making athletes and spectators happy to be part of the whole event.

As for the weather, the heavy rain from the opening ceremony continued the next day for the Cycling contre la montre (time trials). The huge ponchos we were given came in very useful on the Pont Alexandre III, with no shelter from the torrential non-stop downpours! The next weekend, sun cream and that Bob hat were the order of the day for the road races at the Trocadero.

Paris has always vaunted its culture, creativity and innovation and these were certainly on show throughout this festive celebration of sport. On days off-duty, I was living the dream with visits to see my favourite Musée d’Orsay, marvel at the ‘En Jeu’ exhibition at the Musée Marmottan and explore the newly opened Musée Picasso. 

I managed to get close up to La Vasque, that mind blowing Olympic cauldron in the Jardin des Tuileries. And not forgetting the sports, I took in the incredible beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower and exhilarating athletic heats at Le Stade de France.

We couldn’t fail to be bowled over by Celine Dion’s interpretation of Piaf’s ‘L’Hymne a l’amour’, Lady Gaga’s version of ‘Mon truc en plumes’, that silver horse racing down the Seine and much more at the opening ceremony. The closing ceremony, with its science fiction interpretation of the history of the Olympics, the creation of the rings, Tom Cruise’s amazing entrance and journey to LA, showed how this Olympics was everything: sheer determination, dedication and most of all fun. Paris did it its way.

I can’t wait to complete my Olympic experience as a volontaire at the Paralympics in September and see the motto “Spirit in motion” in action. Here’s to the Olympic legacy. Let the spirit live on to inspire a new generation! C’est top!

This is a shorter version of my article for Yorkshire Bylines which you can find here.  

Un cake tout à fait différent!

 
Cake au Jambon et aux Olives

It was in 2018 , when I first tasted a very different sort at a Chambre d’hôte in northern France. Going by the name of ‘Cake au Jambon et aux Olives,’ it was offered as an accompaniment to a welcome apéritif after our long journey. Madame told me it was a family recipe and I quickly wrote it down. the other week, I remembered now much we had enjoyed it and decided to have a go at making it for a visit by some friends.

 Here’s what I originally jotted down and a translation into English.

Cake au Jambon et aux Olives

200g ham

75g olives (green and black)

3 eggs

150g plain flour

2 tsps baking powder

1 pinch of salt

2 pinches of pepper

100ml olive oil

125ml milk (slightly warmed)

100g grated gruyere

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cut the ham and olives into small pieces. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and mix in the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Then gradually add the olive oil and milk. Lastly mix in the ham and olives. Pour the mixture into a lined 1kg loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes.

Meryl says : You can vary the ingredients by adding pistachios, replacing the ham with lardons and half a leek which have been precooked in a frying pan.  

This is a delicious savoury recipe which is great for a picnic. It goes very well with that French apéritif too!  Bonne consommation!

Baking Music

 

I’ve been a member of our local Choral Society for 3 years now and love the wide range of music we sing at our concerts, usually 3 times a year. Our latest concert was a Jazz evening where we belted out Mass in Blue by Will Todd, Chilcott’s A Little Jazz Mass and Rutter’s Feel the Spirit, all accompanied by an amazing jazz band – drum kit, double bass and piano.  We have a fantastic musical director and a brilliant resident accompanist.

Yorkshire Brack

At our weekly rehearsals, we always have a break to catch up and revive ourselves with tea, coffee and cake. We volunteer on a rota to bake some tasty, homemade treats. This is one of things which I love doing as baking for others always brings me much joy. So far, I’ve introduced my fellow choir members  to Yorkshire Brack,  Marmalade Spice Cake , Madeleines and lots of other delights from Grandma Abson's repertoire.   

Marmalade Spice Cake 

I may have inherited my passion for singing from my Grandma. Grandma Abson was a keen singer and for a long time was a member and secretary of Mexborough Choral Society. I still have her copies of Messiah (which we performed when I first joined the Choral Society) with autographs from the renowned bass, Owen Brannigan and superb contralto, Constance Shacklock.

 

Last week, it was our AGM, a celebratory occasion to look back over the last year. I baked a couple of cakes – a gluten free Polenta Cake and a traditional Victoria Sandwich  to thank everyone for another wonderful year of singing. It’s such an uplifting experience and I am so privileged to be part of it all. 

Long may the happy times making music and baking music continue!

 

Click on the links to get Meryl’s Recipes and many more from Grandma Abson's repertoire

Spring into action and bake!

Orange Polenta Cake

There’s something about May which makes me want to bake – maybe it’s because the Bank Holidays are occasions for friends and families to get together - often in rainy weather as the early May Day one just gone - so baking a pudding or cake seems the natural thing to do? But did you know that the month of May is brimming with a flotilla of food related days such as ‘Eat what you want day’ on 11 May, whether you stick to healthy eating or not, as well as Europe Day on 9 May and European Neighbours’ Day on 27 May which are good reasons to indulge in such delights as Pastéis de nata, Madeleines or a slice of Gateau Basque.

What’s all this about World Baking Day …?

But wait … I’ve discovered that there’s a World Baking Day to add to these foodie days in May, which is celebrated on the third Sunday in May. 

 I’m going to try something I've never done before and bake a Polenta Cake. Valerie, a friend of mine is having her Diamond Wedding celebrations later in the year and she asked me to bake a cake for the occasion.  But since my friend is gluten intolerant, she has asked me to bake a Polenta Cake, which is a first for me. I want to try it out a few times to make sure it will going to be near perfect for their family event.

Orange Polenta Cake

What you need

140g ground almonds

100g polenta

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs (separated)

170ml rapeseed oil

170g golden caster sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

For the syrup

150ml orange juice

55g caster sugar

How to bake

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan) and grease a cake tin (20 cm x 8 cm). Mix together the ground almonds, polenta and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks, oil, 150g of the golden caster sugar and the grated zests of the orange and lemon. Fold in the dry ingredients gently. In another bowl, whisk the egg white and remaining golden caster sugar until there are stiff peaks. Then add this to the cake mixture in batches. Try not to stir too much so you keep the air in the mixture. Pour it all into the cake tin and bake in the oven for around 30-35 minutes until the cake is firm or a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin and make the syrup.

Add the orange juice and caster sugar to a small saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar over a low heat. Bring to the boil for 1 minute or so. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Pierce the cake all over with a skewer and then drizzle the syrup over the cake. Leave to cool for another 10 minutes or so before turning the cake out of the tin and allow to cool.

Valerie says she often used to make a decoration of mascarpone, icing sugar and whipped cream to spread on the top but she says that sifted icing sugar on the top is sufficient to make this cake a stunning centrepiece for any occasion. The choice is yours!

I was very pleased with this first attempt which had the thumbs up all round. Why not check out your local market to buy your ingredients. It’s Love Your Local Market week from 17 May to 1 June which is about encouraging everyone to support their local market and community. Whatever you bake and whoever you bake for, enjoy World Baking Day and spring into action – it’s going to be an annual event on my calendar!