Spritz, schmitz. Nothing says "Christmas" like a buche de Noel.

My clunky version of Nigella Lawson's buche de Noel, with hers in the background.

The winning recipe of our seventh-annual holiday cookie contest, Almond Triangles, calls for a jellyroll pan, and if you don't own one, baking up a batch of these shortbread-based bar cookies is reason enough to run down to your nearest cookware store.

Here's another: An easy-to-make buche de Noel, the festive chocolate sponge cake holiday dessert. The recipe comes via Nigella Lawson. I've been making it every Christmas Eve since I interviewed her in 2004, when the British television personality came to Minneapolis during her "Feast" cookbook tour.

What I like about Lawson's work -- and yes, it feels strange not to use her first name, because viewers like me feel as if they know her and, frankly, Nigella is the kind of name that's dying to be spoken, often -- is that she's the anti-Martha Stewart. That's never more evident than with this recipe. There are no meringue mushrooms, no spun-glass decorative touches, no drive-yourself-insane levels of perfection. Lawson's chatty recipes give home cooks the permission to be as klutzy and as un-fussy as she is, a huge relief for someone like me, whose cake-decorating skills are pretty much limited to nervously guiding the tip from the Betty Crocker canned icing.

Obviously, my sad little yule log is even frumpier than the one in Lawson's book, but who cares? Call me self-deluded, but I find its schlumpiness somewhat endearing, and I hope that our Christmas Eve guests feel the same way. I'm also of the belief that if people know you went to an effort to bake for them -- anyone can order a goodie from a bakery, right? -- they are willing to cut all kinds of slack in the expectations department. We can't all be the Ace of Cakes, and that's OK.

Other reasons to love this recipe? It's delicious, an appealing mix of light (the sponge cake) and decadent (the smooth, buttery icing). It's a snap to prepare -- if you can separate eggs, whip egg whites to soft peaks and fold one ingredient into another, then you can make this dessert -- and even if you can't roll the cake with any kind of finesse -- I know I can't -- it doesn't matter, because the ultra-creamy icing covers a multitude of sins. If you're entertaining a crowd -- kids love this cake, by the way -- it's a recipe that doubles well, and who will know that there are two end-on-end logs underneath all that chocolatey icing? No one, that's who.

So go ahead, try it. Does it have to be perfect? Heck no. It's Christmas! It's chocolate!

Makes about 8 slices.

Note: From "Feast" by Nigella Lawson (Hyperion, $35)

For cake:

6 eggs, separated

3/4 cup superfine sugar, divided

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

For icing:

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate

2 c. powdered sugar, plus extra for decoration

1 c. (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

Directions

To prepare cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang at the ends and sides, and folding parchment into corners to help paper stay anchored. In a bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk egg whites until foamy and thick. Add 1/4 cup superfine sugar and continue mixing until egg whites hold peaks but are not dry. In large bowl, whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup superfine sugar until pale and thick. Using a rubber spatula, fold in vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Lighten mixture with a couple of dollops of egg whites, folding in gently, then adding remaining egg whites in thirds, folding carefully to avoid losing air. Pour cake mixture into prepared pan and bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cool for 5 minutes then turn cake out onto another piece of parchment paper.

To prepare icing: In a double boiler over gently simmering water, melt chocolate, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat, cool and reserve. Place powdered sugar in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse to remove any lumps. Add butter and process until smooth. Add cooled melted chocolate and vanilla extract and pulse to make smooth icing.