Buche de Noel and How to Make Sugar Poinsettias

Last week I had the pleasure to meet the adorable Kathy Goldman from the blog Playin with my Food. Her blog is filled with delicious recipes, beautiful photos and she has the cutest Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, named Sofie. We had an amazing time baking a Buche de Noel and making some sugar poinsettias.

This Buche de Noel consists of chocolate cake filled with chestnut pastry cream and marzipan, covered with chocolate ganache. You can find the recipe here.

These sugar poinsettias are the same model from my last post Pink Poinsettias and Apple Cranberry Charlotte Cake and they are really easy to make.  This is how we made them:

Roll out red gum paste and cut out the petals using 2 ¼, 1 ¾, 1 ¼ and 1 inch poinsettia cutters.

Use a textured veiner to mark the bract.

Place the petal on a cel pad and gently smooth with a bone or ball tool to thin the edges, using gentle pressure as not to frill the paste.

Cut a 1 inch diameter circle from red gum paste. This will be the base for the petals.

Brush edible glue over the circle. Starting adding all the 2 ¼ inch petals one by one. Brush glue and repeat with the 1 ¾ inch petals. Repeat the process with the 1 ¼ and 1 inch petals.

To make the poinsettia stamens make tiny balls of gum paste. Leave to dry until hard. Brush edible glue over the tiny balls and add edible golden disco dust or luster dust.  Brush edible glue over the center of the flower and add the tiny balls.