The Old Field Tree

Happy Yuletide!

To celebrate the return of the sun this Yule, I originally wanted to bake a Bûche de Noël, or a Yule Log cake. Intimidated by the thought of rolling up a cake and making meringue mushrooms, I thought I’d opt for a King Arthur store bought mix instead and make a two tier vanilla cake with cranberry filling and homemade hazelnut buttercream. Still ambitious and delicious, but without the added elements for the Bûche de Noël.

In order to get the hazelnut buttercream, I needed some sort of hazelnut flavor. I opted to roast fresh hazelnuts and create a hazelnut paste because it feels very festive. But when trying to find a recipe for hazelnut paste, it was either a hazelnut praline spread, or a hazelnut paste made with a food processor, which I don’t own. So I thought I could make a paste by hand with my mortar and pestle, and it turned out wonderfully!

HAZELNUT PASTE

Ingredients & tools

• 1/2 bag of roasted hazelnuts, skin on
• Mortar and pestle

Instructions

1. Make sure hazelnuts are warm. Using freshly roasted hazelnuts is ideal, but you can microwave hazelnuts for one minute at half power and cover with warm cloth.
2. Starting with small batches, crush hazelnuts in mortar and pestle, for about 5-10 minutes until a paste consistency is reached and oils are released. The more you crush, the smoother the paste will be.

Recipe notes

• This recipe is intended to be gritty and have texture, both from the skins and the process of it being by hand. I find so much joy in the rawness of the paste and the added nutrition of the hazelnut skin. The end result looks like a crunchy peanut butter, but the hazelnut pieces will be a bit smaller.

Here’s the finished cake 🙂 🎂