Chocolate Raspberry Genoise Cake
The best chocolate cake you ever had.
Servings Prep Time
12people 2hours
Cook Time Passive Time
40minutes 4hours
Servings Prep Time
12people 2hours
Cook Time Passive Time
40minutes 4hours
Ingredients
Cake
Syrup
Filling
Cake chocolate wrap
Instructions
Preliminary Work
  1. Position a rack in lower third of the oven and preheat at 177 °C (350 °F).
  2. Fit the bottom of 9″ baking pan with parchment paper.
The Cake
  1. Pour clarified butter into a small sauce pan and stir in 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, set aside.
  2. Sift flour and cocoa powder together three times. Set aside. You will sift it once again later when adding it to the mix.
  3. Add eggs and sugar to the medium size saucepan, whisk as you add the sugar to avoid forming lumps. Keep whisking and warm up the mixture over medium heat to about 37°C (100 °F).
  4. Pour the egg mixture into the mixing bowl and beat on high speed until the volume is about tripled. The egg mix should hold a ribbon when the whisk is lifted up.
  5. Sift in about 1/2 of flour/cocoa mix into the egg mixture and fold in gently with the biggest rubber spatula you have. Be careful not to deflate the mix.
  6. When color of the batter is fairly uniform, sift the rest of the flour/cocoa mix and fold in until fully incorporated.
  7. Transfer about 250 ml (1 cup) of batter into the bowl with hot clarified butter. Fold together until is well blended. This will put the butter in suspension and allow it to be easier incorporated to the rest of the batter. Transfer into the rest of the batter and fold in gently until fully blended.
  8. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake about 30 minutes, conventional oven. The cake is done when the top springs back when pressed lightly or when a toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
  10. When completely cool, run a plastic knife around the pan circumference to release and unmold the cake. Remove the parchment paper from the cake bottom and turn the cake right side up onto new parchment paper.
The Filling
  1. Add ~630 g of Creme Fraiche and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla to the mixing bowl and beat until soft peaks form.
  2. Add 30g sugar and beat until the mix thickens to form soft peaks. Taste and add more sugar if required. Cover the bowl and refrigerate.
The Syrup
  1. Bring water and sugar to boil in a small sauce pan and let it simmer for couple of minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
  2. Stir in white rum. Taste the syrup and adjust flavor if desired.
Assembling the Cake
  1. Cut cooled cake into 3 even layers.
  2. Place spring-form pan ring onto the cake serving plate. This ring will be used as a mold to assemble the cake.
  3. Fit one cake layer on the bottom of spring-form ring and brush with syrup, moistening the top of the layer.
  4. Put finely chopped chocolate into the bowl with 4 tbsp of boiling water and mix until is fully melted and smooth.
  5. Using rubber spatula fold in about 1/4 cup of Creme Fraiche to the chocolate, mix until unified, fold in another 2/3 cup of Creme Fraiche.
  6. Quickly spread evenly chocolate Creme Fraiche over the first cake layer in the mold. Work fast before the chocolate starts hardening up.
  7. Moisten the second layer of the cake with the syrup and place it in the mold, moist side down. Press lightly to level it.
  8. Moisten the top of the second layer with the syrup.
  9. Top it with the even layer of fresh raspberries.
  10. Beat the remaining 1.5-2 cups of chilled Creme Fraiche from soft to stiff peaks, spoon on top of the raspberries and carefully smooth the creme over and between the raspberries, pushing gently down.
  11. Moisten the third layer of the cake with the syrup and place it in the mold, moist side down. Press lightly to level it.
  12. Moisten the top of the third layer with the syrup. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2-3 hours, and the best is to leave it overnight.
  13. Run the plastic knife around the side of the spring form and remove the form.
  14. Using freezer paper or wax paper, cut a strip 28″ long and about 3/8″ wider than the top of the finished cake. It will be approximately 3″ wide. Place this strip on top of a larger piece of the same wax paper to keep the chocolate off of the counter.
  15. Melt finely chopped chocolate over a double boiler to approximately 46 °C (115 °F), until melted and smooth. Pour the chocolate over the center by entire length of the strip and spread it across the whole strip, with the offset spatula. Lift the strip, holding both ends and wrap it around the cake neatly, chocolate side against the cake. Press one end of strip against the cake side and the other strip end will end up overlapping it slightly, after strip is wrapped around the cake. Insert a small wax paper spacer at the overlap, keeping two strip ends separated. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until chocolate hardens.
  16. Beat remaining 320 ml of Creme Fraiche with 1 tsp of vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add 20 g sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
  17. Spread the Creme Fraiche over the top of the cake.
  18. Decorate the top of the cake with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings. Put the cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until firm.
  19. Carefully peel off the wax paper. At the chocolate wrap overlap, put a dollop of melted chocolate and join them together. You can touch up and correct any chocolate wrap imperfections. If the wax paper sticks, put the cake back in the refrigerator and after cooled off, try again.