croquembouche tower of cream puffs with spun sugar - featured image

Croquembouche Recipe (Profiterole Tower)

I was watching the fashion documentary Dior and I on Netflix, and I was reminded of my own time spent in the fashion industry. When I tell people that I used to work in fashion but now work with food, they’re often surprised. For me, however, the transition felt very natural and homogeneous. In my old job, I used to work with a design team to create various marketing visuals, including look books and digital content that could be shared via social media. Art and creativity were always the basis for my work.

french christmas cookies

French Christmas Cookies (Sablés)

When I visited La Grande Epicerie last year in Paris, I was pleasantly surprised by all the Christmas goodies that were there. The Grande Epicerie is a high-end grocery market in Paris, sort of like a glorified version of what Whole Foods and Williams-Sonoma would be if the two became one. There were all sorts of festive little treats, including hot chocolate sticks (basically sticks with chocolate that you could stir into hot milk to create instant hot cocoa), tissue-paper wrapped nougat (the French’s favorite confectionary), and the most beautifully decorated French Christmas cookies I had ever laid eyes on. 

buche de noel cake overhead shot of entire yule log cake

Bûche de Noël Recipe (Yule Log Cake)

One of my favorite cakes to make during the holiday season is this bûche de nöel. The cake is a holiday tradition for the French made during Christmas time. In America, we know the cake as a yule log cake, but the reason I love it so much is that it’s such an easy way to make an impressive, festive cake without any fancy cake decorating skills. I’ve seen tutorials for painted cakes with marzipan-crafted toppings that are beautiful but incredibly time-consuming and require extensive skill to actually execute. But not this cake! This chocolate bûche de nöel will make you look like a total cake boss in front of your family and friends.