Raspberry Maria
From the 2000 KLO dinner — Surf-n-Turf
Note: This recipe(s) was taken from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, an absolutely fantastic book if you’re going to make magnificent desserts.
Two kinds of people will read this page:
- People who are interested, but will see what is involved and say, “WOW! No way! Too much work!”
- People who are insane and will want to make it.
Folks in Category #1 should buy a pre-made cake, a box mix, or get the Betty Crocker Red Book. I’m not being insulting or funny — Ms. Beranbaum’s dessert recipes are NOT for the faint of heart.
Folks in Category #2? Buy The Cake Bible. Ms. Beranbaum puts a lot of background, detail, and even science into her recipes. For serious bakers it’s worth reading her recipes and notes.
The Cake Bible is available on Amazon, and is described in detail on her web site.
Disclaimer: I don’t know Ms. Beranbaum and have no personal connection with her, other than loving her books.
Raspberry Maria
- 1 recipe Génoise au Chocolat, top & bottom crust removed & split horizontally
- 1 recipe Syrup flavored with Grand Marnier
- 1 recipe Strawberry Cloud Cream
- 1 Chocolate Lattice Band, 29″ long and 3″ high
- small strawberries dipped in quick-tempered chocolate
- Spread a little Strawberry Cloud Cream on a 9″ cardboard round to attach the cake.
- Sprinkle each side of the cake layers with 3 Tbsp Syrup.
- Sandwich the cake layers with 1-1/2 cups Strawberry Cloud Cream.
- Spread 1/2 cup Strawberry Cloud Cream evenly on the top, and 1/2 cup around the sides.
- Use a large number 6 star tube and the remaining cream to pipe rows of shells on the top of the cake. Start from a middle edge and reverse the direction of the shells for each row.
- Pipe the Chocolate Lattice Band and when if just begins to dull, wrap it around the cake, peeling back one end slightly to overlap the ends.
- Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until the chocolate is firm enough to allow easy removal of the wax paper.
- Refrigerate the cake 30 minutes to 3 hours before serving time. Garnish if desired with chocolate-dipped strawberries.
Génoise au Chocolat
- 3 Tbsp clarified beurre noisette, or clarified unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa, or 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp nonalkalized cocoa such as Hersey’s
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1 tsp vanilla extra
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup sifted cake flour
- Syrup:
- 1/4 cup + 1-1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp liqueur of your choice (for this recipe, use Grand Marnier)
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Prepare a 9″x2″ pan or 9″ springform pan by greasing the bottom, cutting a piece of parchment or wax paper to fit, greasing it again, and dusting with flour.
Warm the beurre noisette until almost hot (100º F to 120º F) and keep warm.
In a small bowl whisk together the cocoa and boiling water until the cocoa is completely dissolved. Stir in the vanilla and set aside, leaving whisk in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
In a large mixing bowl set over a pan of simmering water heat the eggs and sugar until just lukewarm, stirring constantly to prevent curdling. (The eggs may also be heated by placing them still in their shells in a large bowl in an oven with the pilot light for at least 3 hours. The weight of the unshelled eggs should be 10 oz.) Using the whisk beater, beat the mixture on high speed for 5 minutes or until triple in volume. (A hand beater may be used but it will be necessary to beat for at least 10 minutes.)
Remove 2 cups of the egg mixture and whisk it into the cocoa mixture until smooth.
Sift the four over the remaining egg mixture and fold it gently but rapidly with a slotted skimmer or large rubber spatula until the flour has disappeared. Fold in the cocoa mixture until almost incorporated. Fold in the beurre noissette in 2 batches with a large whisk or rubber spatula until just incorporated.
Pour immediately into the prepared pan (it will be about 3/4 full) and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until the cake starts to shrink from the sides of the pan. (No need for a cake tester. Once the sides shrink the cake is done.) Avoid opening the oven door before the minimum time or the cake could fall. Test toward the end of baking by opening the over door slightly and, if at a quick glance it does not appear to be done, close the door at once and check again in 5 minutes.
Loosen the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and unmold at once onto a lightly greased rack. Reinvert to cool. The firm upper crust prevents falling. Trim the bottom and top crusts when ready to complete the cake and sprinkle the syrup evenly on both sides.
Syrup: In a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lide bring the sugar and water to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Cover immediately, remove from heat, and allow to cool completely. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup and stir in the liqueur. If the syrup has evaporated slightly, add enough water to equal 3/4 cup syrup.
Raspberry Cloud Cream
- 2-1/2 tsp powdered gelatin
- 1 cup Raspberry Puree mixed with 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 7 Tbsp sugar
In a heatproof measuring cup place the gelatin and 1/4 cup fruit puree and allow to set for 5 minutes. Set the cup in a pan of simmering water for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until the gelatin is dissolved. (This can also be done in a few second in a microwave on High power, stirring once or twice.)
Remove the cup and stir the gelatin mixture into the remaining puree. The mixture should now be cool to the touch (not warm nor ice cold).
In a chilled mixing bowl beat the cream just until it mounds softly when dropped from a spoon. Add the sweetened puree and beat just until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised. Taste and fold in more sugar if you prefer a sweeter flavor. Use as soon as possible.
Raspberry Puree
- 2x 12 oz bag whole raspberries, frozen without sugar
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 cup sugar
In a colander suspended over a deep bowl thaw the raspberries completely. This will take several hours. Press them, if necessary, to force out the juice. There should be close to 1-1/4 cups juice.
In a small saucepan (or in a microwave on High power) boil the juice until reduced to 1/4 cup. Pour into a lightly oiled heatproof glass measure.
In a food processor puree the raspberries and sieve them with a food mill fitted with the fine disc.. You should have 1 full cup of puree. Stir in the strawberry syrup, lemon juice, and sugar. Note: The correct amount of sugar is 1/2 the volume of the puree. If there is less than 1-1/3 cups puree, add less sugar accordingly.
Chocolate Lattice Band
- 3 oz chocolate, tempered *
Cut a piece of wax paper 31″ long, and fold it so that it has a height 1″ taller than the cake.
The piping chocolate must be thickened slightly so that it will fall smoothly from the parchment cone like a spider’s web. Although a drop of water will cause the chocolate to seize or clump, a fraction of a drop will thicken it in a more controlled way. Glycerin is the ideal liquid to use because it contains a very minute proportion of liquid. Stock syrup will also work. (Bring an equal volume of water and sugar to a full rolling boil, cover, and cool.) Add only 1 drop glycerin or stock syrup at a time, stirring and testing thickness by allowing the chocolate to drop from a height of 4″. If it falls in a smooth string, the thickness is right.
If using real chocolate as opposed to compound chocolate, it should be quick-tempered before adding glycerin or syrup.
Create a cone of parchment, snipping off the end of the cone. If the line is too thin or the chocolate does not flow smoothly, snip the hole a tiny bit bigger.
Pipe a free-form filigree on the wax paper and allow to set until dull. Wrap around the cake, peeling back one end of wax paper to slightly overlap the ends. Chill until very firm and carefully peel off the paper.
* NOTE: See a good dessert book regarding tempering chocolate. The section in The Cake Bible is FAR to lengthy and complicated for me reproduce here. Plus I might be pushing copyright law. Or chalk it up to laziness!