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99 CARAMEL PATISSERIE 281 Essex St., Salem, caramelpatisserie.com French-born Dimitri Vallier, pastry chef and co-owner (with his sister, Sophie) of Caramel French Patisserie in Salem, has selected a traditional Gallic holiday treat. "When I was growing up, every Christmas my family would have bûche de Noël," he says; the French name translates to "log of Christmas." French families traditionally serve this rolled, buttercream-filled and frosted sponge cake to symbolize the burning of the Yule log. "My grandfather made it, since he was a pastry chef, as was my great grandfather," says Vallier, who's worked with such famous French chefs as Paul Bocuse, Gaston Lenôtre, and Daniel Boulud. "You can make it with vanilla or chocolate buttercream, but I am offering a chocolate because everybody loves chocolate!" To start, Vallier makes a vanilla sponge cake, which he moistens with simple syrup before thinly coating with chocolate buttercream. After rolling the cake into a cylinder, he frosts it with the rest of the buttercream and pulls a fork down through the frosting to mimic the look of bark. He then decorates the log with meringue mushrooms, chocolate curls and a little Santa. "When you bite into it it's soft, sugary, chocolatey and very light," he says, noting that it's a relatively simple dessert. "It's basi- cally just a big sponge cake with buttercream and lots of layers to it." At his bakery custom- ers can preorder a large Bûche de Noël or pick up mini, single-portion logs in chocolate or vanilla, which will be available every day from the beginning of December until Christ- mas day. Dimitri Vallier and his sister Sophie at Caramel in Salem.