{ Red Velvet Bûche de Noël }

Let me start off by saying, this is not how this is supposed to look.

Long about September, I asked my friend Darla (of Bakingdom), if she'd ever made a Bûche de Noël (also know as a Yule Log Cake). She'd made plenty of roulades (cake rolls), but never an actual Yule Log.

She suggested that we both do one in December & link to each others recipes.

Guess what... it's December.

Now, I've known this was coming up for over 3 months now, but, did I do anything about it? No.

The day before this recipe was supposed to go live, I'm running frantically around my kitchen trying to make sense of myself.

You'll remember I posted yesterday that I am currently sick.

So, yeah. Sick. Frazzled. Procrastinator.

That's me.

The recipe I chose to follow was also a little more complicated than I planned on. I mean, it wasn't hard, but man, dirty dishes everywhere! It was a bowlaplooza in here.

I finally got everything made, mixed, and in the oven though.

I thought then that it seemed a very small amount of batter for my jelly roll pan, but what can ya do? I followed the directions.

After the roll came out, I noticed how unevenly it had baked. My fault for not smoothing it good enough, I guess. 

And man! Was it thin. Most roulades are thicker, but, I'd followed the directions sooo... 

But, it doesn't look like the photo on the site.

.....

.....

What can I do but proceed though? So, I added my cream filling and let chill.

Then I took it out and man, was it whimpy.

Onward!

So, I frosted it.

Meh. Looks ok.

Not right, but ok.

It seriously was not until 2 hours after I'd finished it that I realized what had happened.

I have a large sheet pan. That is what I used.

Doh! 

It's about 2 inches longer AND wider than the standard jelly roll pan.

Yeah, that explains it, folks.

So, your first step is using the correct pan. Your roulade will work out much better than mine.

However, here is what I did.

Red Velvet Cake Roll

I followed this recipe from Hershey's

My filling was this one, that I use ALL the time

And my icing was Cream Cheese, get that here. 

I wanted my log to look like Birch, so after I drug a fork through it to get the bark look, I added a bit of chocolate glaze ( or a bit melted from a can will do, you only need a teensy bit). I barely dipped the ends of the tines in, then I drug it through the icing.

My decorations are Marshmallow Fondant,

it is too, too, too much fun to play with. It's totally grown up, edible play doh.

(The Bean is obsessed with it (eating it, that is).

When he asked what it was made of, I said, "Well, marshmallows- so, sugar. Then you mix in sugar, then you knead in sugar, and for good measure, you dust it with sugar!"

Is there any wonder he loves it? Pure sugar, folks.)

Lastly, I dusted everything with powered sugar and pure cane sugar for a bit of sparkle.

You can definitely fill roulades with a multitude of different things. 

Or, you can fill it and not frost it.

Just make sure you use the right pan.

Here's the thing though. Still tasted good.

Still looked pretty.

That works for me.

Next time, I wanna make a Pink Velvet Roll though!

You know who DID use the right size pan though?

Darla! And you HAVE TO SEE her gorgeous PINK Bûche de Noël.

GOR.GEOUS. 

For assembly instructions for the Yule Logs, check out her Ghoul Log.

 
Now, I need to go nap. For like, 12 hours.

Happy Christmas!

Tina

P.S., I'm super glad the world didn't end today at 6:11am Eastern Time.

I just don't have time for that in my schedule!  

{ Crock Pot Candy & Bible Verse Ornament }

So, I'm sick.

Figures, right? Just a few days before Christmas, 68,123 things to do, and... I'm sick.

Ugh.

Generally speaking, I am not a napper. I nap when I'm sick and that's about it. 

Yesterday, I'd just laid down for a long winter's nap. 10 minutes later, I was quite rudely awakened by 2 little barking mutts.

What was it?? Is the UPS man here with a delivery? Does the mail lady have something too big for the box? Is it at least the meter reader? Were the Mayans off by 2 days and the end was nigh?

No.

Nothing.

They were barking at nothing.

I was not amused.

Miss Luna, after her barking spree, decided to climb up on the couch and lay with me.  You know, for a nap.

Being the mature person that I am, this ensued.

I wait until Luna falls asleep.

Then I yell, "BARK!  BARK!  BARK!  BARK!  BARK!  BARK!  BARK!  BARK! "

Luna wakes up and looks like this.

I'm sorry it's so blurry, but I was laughing so hard at the look she gave me, I couldn't hold the phone steady.

The laughing, of course, made me cough, so it made this almost not worth it.

Almost.

I'm hoping for a bark free nap today.

Anyway, in case you hadn't heard, it's dang near Christmas.

I want to share 2 things with you today, both easy! woo! That's the best kind of thing at Christmas.

1. Is an easy Christmas ornament

2. Is an easy Christmas candy

Yay easy!

The ornament starts off with the clear glass blubs.

The ideas for these things are limitless. The ideas for what I'm showing you today is pretty much limitless too!

I made a Luke 2 ornament. I simply printed the Bible verses, which I then cut into strips.

Wrap the strips around a pencil. That is the perfect size for inserting into the bulb.

Notice my clever use of a Halloween pencil for a Christmas craft. I'm classy like that.

Just roll them up and pop them, one at a time, into the blub. I put some in right side up and some upside down. After you add the slip, give the ornament a little shake.

You can add sparkly ribbon

or add some glitter

I then made a tie on with alphabet beads and hemp twine.

After adding your tie on, you are all done! Yay!

As I mentioned, this idea is pretty limitless, but here are some I came up with:

Lines from a favorite book (hello, Harry Potter!)

Wedding Vows with Wedding Date on tie on

Baby's Firsts with birth date tie on

Special Memories from this year with year tie on

Child's favorite things for the year, with age & date tie on

These are quick and easy & a lot of fun to make.

I'm planning to do the Harry Potter & Special Memories of 2012 for myself.

 *

So, how about some candy?

Ok.

I was watching Trisha Yearwood's show the other day when she was making Crock-pot Chocolate Candy. How easy did that sound? Pretty darn, that's how!

I, being myself though, had to tweak the recipe to my own liking. Here is what I came up with.

 

Put crock-pot on 'low'.

Pour peanuts in the bottom.

Then add chocolate chips, then Almond Bark

 Let cook for 1 hour.

Please note, Trisha said 3 hours for her's. Mine didn't take nearly that long.

My friend, Lori's crock-pot, set on low, BURNT Trisha's recipe in 30 minutes. Be sure to check your candy now and then, as crock-pot times can differ greatly.

After the hour, stir until all ingredients are combined.

Then add your mini mallows.

Stir again. These will get gooey and melted.

Is good.

Now, you are totally done. Just scoop into mini cupcake liners. You could also put into a greased baking dish and cut into squares.

So, there you have it. An easy craft. An easy candy. And two bad dogs.

Is it naptime yet?

No? No, because coming up for you tomorrow, I have a really exciting treat that I've always wanted to make! I've paired up with my friend Darla of Bakingdom for two times the fun!

Rocky Road Crock-pot Candy

Recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers, adapted from this recipe

1 - 12 oz can of salted peanuts

1-  12 oz package of semi sweet chocolate

12 oz  (6 squares) of almond bark

3 cups mini marshmallows

Let cook for 1 hour.

Be sure to check once in a while, as crockpot times can differ greatly.

After the hour, stir until all ingredients are combined.

Then add your mini mallows.

Stir again. These will get gooey and melted.

Scoop into mini cupcake liner or put into a greased baking dish and cut into squares.