Chocolate Chambord Cake (Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake)
Gourmet | February 1997
Chocolate and raspberry are a wonderful pairing. Chambord is a brand of raspberry liqueur. This cake infuses a dark chocolate sponge with raspberry liqueur and tops it with a bittersweet chocolate ganache icing—an excellent union of both flavors. This pull-out-all-the-stops cake for special occasions may be prepared in steps in advance and glazes on the day it is to be served.
This cake is made with a French Génoise style cake batter. This type of sponge cake is made with whole eggs rather than just egg whites, which gives it a richer flavor than angel food cake. The eggs are combined with sugar and gently heated over simmering water, then whipped (heating the eggs allows them to be whipped to a greater volume). Genoise lacks much assertive flavor of its own, but it is often used to construct layered or rolled cakes when a lighter texture than a butter cake is desired. To add flavor and moisture, genoise cake layers are always moistened with a flavored syrup, and they are often sliced into thin horizontal layers and stacked with rich fillings such as buttercream. These layer cakes, common in the coffeehouses of Europe, are called "European-style" to distinguish them from American-style butter layer cakes, which generally have fewer, thicker layers.
The picture to the right is of a Chocolate Chambord Cake made at a pastry shop. The instructions below do not tell you how to make your cake look like this one.
For génoise For syrup |
For ganache 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam Garnish: fresh raspberries |
Make génoise:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 9-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches deep) and line bottom with a round of parchment paper or foil.
In a small bowl whisk together cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, and baking soda.
In a metal bowl whisk together whole eggs, yolk, sugar, and salt until combined. Set mixture over a saucepan of simmering water and continue to whisk until lukewarm. Remove bowl from heat and with an electric mixer beat mixture at high speed until it has cooled and doubled in volume.
Sift one third cocoa mixture over egg mixture and fold in. Sift and fold in remaining cocoa mixture, half at a time, in same manner. Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Bake génoise in middle of oven for 30 minutes, or until it is firm to the touch and pulls away slightly from side of pan. Invert génoise onto a rack and immediately invert onto another rack to cool right side up. Génoise may be wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled 1 week or frozen 1 month. Thaw génoise before assembling cake.
Make syrup:
In a small saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Cool syrup and stir in liqueur. Syrup may be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.
Make ganache:
In a saucepan bring cream, butter, and corn syrup to a boil over moderate heat and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate, swirling pan to submerge chocolate in hot mixture, and let stand 3 minutes. Whisk ganache until smooth and transfer to a bowl. Chill ganache, covered, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
Assemble cake:
Let ganache stand at room temperature until slightly softened and pliable but still cool. With a whisk or electric mixer beat ganache just until light and fluffy.
Remove parchment paper from génoise and with a long serrated knife cut cake horizontally into 3 rounds.
Invert top layer of génoise onto a springform pan base or a 9-inch cardboard round and brush with one third syrup. Spread layer with half of jam and spread one third ganache over jam. Top ganache with middle layer of génoise and repeat layering of syrup, jam, and ganache. Top with third layer of génoise, smooth-side up, and brush with remaining syrup. Spread top and side of cake with remaining ganache. Chill cake until ganache is set, about 30 minutes. Cake may be assembled ahead, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled 5 days or frozen 1 month. Thaw cake before proceeding.
Make glaze:
In a saucepan bring cream to a boil and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate, swirling pan to submerge chocolate in hot cream, and let stand 2 minutes. Whisk glaze until smooth and pour through a sieve set over a bowl. Cool glaze to room temperature.
With cake on a rack set over a pan (to catch drips) pour glaze through sieve onto center of cake. Quickly spread glaze evenly over top and sides of cake with a long, narrow, metal spatula. Let cake stand until glaze is set, about 5 minutes.
Garnish cake with raspberries and keep at cool room temperature until ready to serve.
