Every year I make a Bûche de Noël for my almost-Christmas baby's birthday. This year, since we had a Star Wars theme going, I asked him if I should make it more of a snowy log...as if it were from the planet Hoth. He said, "Mom, just make it a log from Endor and put Ewoks on it!" Duh. Okay. That's so much easier than what I was envisioning. I ordered the Ewoks and Dylan was in charge of the marzipan. This bûche had marzipan mushrooms, plate fungus, holly leaves, fantasy ladybugs, and large red critter of some kind! Let's just say 'less is more' is not his motto. I use Nick Malgieri's recipe in Perfect Cakes as my starting point. You can also find his recipe on the FoodNetwork website. His chocolate genoise is, well, perfect. Actually his book is aptly named; there is not a recipe in there that I've made that hasn't turned out just divine. I usually make a marscarpone filling instead of the traditional coffee filling, but this y...
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