I’ve always admired the Buche de Noel, though I’ve also always assumed it was too complicated to tackle. But, this Chocolate Peppermint Swirl Cake seems like a good way to get my feet wet, so to speak. It has everything you could want – chocolate cake, chocolate sauce, chocolate buttercream and peppermint buttercream – minus the complicated, but lovely, wood grain icing and meringue toadstools.