| Level: | Advanced |
| Total: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 10 min |
| Yield: | 1 cake |
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup blanched almonds
- 4 eggs
- 1 2/3 cups powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 5 egg whites
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup pastry flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup red raspberry jam
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- Fresh raspberries, for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make almond flour by placing the almonds in a clean, dry, blender or food processor and chopping them until they become powder.
- Place the eggs, 1 1/4 cups of the powdered sugar, and the almond flour in a medium-size mixing bowl. Whip with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy and light, about 1 minute. Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Make a French meringue by adding the remaining powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and whipping to stiff but not dry peaks. Do not overwhip. Use a rubber spatula to fold the almond mixture into the French meringue in two additions, being careful not to deflate the batter. Gently fold in the melted butter, then the sifted flour, just until incorporated.
- Using an offset spatula, spread about two-thirds of the batter onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Spread the remaining batter onto half of another parchment lined sheet pan. Lightly rest the edge of the spatula on the batter and gently push the excess toward the edges of both baking sheets. Dust the tops of the cake layers with powdered sugar for a nicer crust.
- Bake until lightly and evenly browned on top, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the cake layers from the oven and immediately unmold onto a wire rack to keep the heat of the baking sheet from continuing to bake them. To unmold, invert your cooling rack and place it on top of the cake layer then flip it over. Remove the parchment paper when the layers are completely cool. Set aside until ready to use.
- For the Ganache: Pour the heavy cream into a 1-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges. Place the bittersweet chocolate into a medium-sized bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for about 30 seconds to disperse the heat and melt the chocolate. Gently whisk until smooth and homogenous. Set aside until ready to use. Do not refrigerate.
- To assemble the cake, cut the large layer in half. You should now have three equally sized pieces of cake. Place 1 layer on a parchment lined sheet pan. Over the top, spread half of the ganache to the edges in an even layer. Cover with another cake layer, then evenly spread the raspberry jam over the top all the way to the edges. Top with the third layer of cake and spread the remaining ganache evenly to the edges. It is very important for this layer to be even as it is the top of the cake. Place the assembled cake in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- To serve, decorate with fresh raspberries.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 625 |
| Total Fat | 35 g |
| Saturated Fat | 16 g |
| Carbohydrates | 72 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 59 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 151 mg |
| Sodium | 99 mg |
Reviews
Yes! I made this cake except I used my 8 round cake pans with parchment liners. Used 3 but I’m sure I could’ve used 4. It came out good except for someone like me who doesn’t consume sugar often, it was way too sweet. I may try again but with less powdered sugar and maybe a straight unsweetened baking chocolate instead of the Guittard 63% cacao baking chips. Also used more raspberry preserves than it called for. It wasn’t easy to spread. Otherwise will stick to round pans since it doesn’t state the size of baking sheets to use. Also, was concerned the cake would taste like an omelette lol because it smelled like eggs when I pulled out of the oven. Thankfully this wasn’t the case.
This recipe is a little involved, but not terribly difficult. My problem was the pastry flour. I’d never heard of it and certainly couldn’t find it at a local grocery store. My layers were probably a little thinner than they should have been because I used all purpose flour. They were also not uniform. The finished whole cake didn’t look that great so I cut it first and then served garnished with raspberries. It looked nice and tasted WONDERFUL!!!
I will definitely search for cake flour and try this one again.
I will definitely search for cake flour and try this one again.
This cake is a little hard to make, but it’s really worth all the effort. The first time i made it i actually burned it because i didn’t take it out of the oven fast enough, but when i made it again it turned out GREAT.
It really looks like it’s purchased from an expensive bakery…
It really looks like it’s purchased from an expensive bakery…