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Layer Cake with Cranberry Puree, White Chocolate & Almonds

  • Preparation:
    90 minutes
  • Cooking:
    20 minutes
  • Servings:
    8
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Kevin Bouchard
Kevin Bouchard Pastry Chef, restaurant Le Richmond, Griffintown sector, Montréal

Ingredients

Layer Cake

  • 240 g egg whites (8 eggs)
  • 300 g brown sugar
  • 100 g unsalted melted butter
  • 50 g unsweetened cranberry juice
  • 100 g finely chopped almonds
  • 100 g flour

Cranberry Puree

  • 2 sheets of gelatin
  • Cold water as needed
  • 200 g pure unsweetened cranberry juice
  • 300 g fresh cranberries
  • 400 g of sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • The zest of 1 orange

Orange Ganache

  • 430 g whipping cream (35% m.f.)
  • 75 g orange juice
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 3 sheets gelatin
  • 150 g white chocolate

White chocolate decoration

  • 150 g slivered almonds
  • 100 g white chocolate
  • 200 g sweetened dried cranberries
  • 50 g maple sugar (optional, but gives chocolate a little crunch)

Preparation

Layer Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F) by placing the rack in the center of the oven.
  2. Mix egg whites and brown sugar, then blend with mixer for 15 minutes at medium speed.
  3. When the whites are well set, gently add the melted butter and cranberry juice, being careful to bring the mixture down.
  4. Mix the almonds and the flour and add the dry ingredients to the preparation, at low speed, and avoid overmixing.
  5. Pour entire mixture onto a baking sheet (20 x 30 cm or 8 x 12 inches) covered with parchment paper.
  6. Bake cake in the oven for about 15 minutes. At the same time, you can grill the almonds for the white chocolate preparation (see below).
  7. Put cake aside.

Cranberry Puree

  1. Swell the gelatin in cold water.
  2. Mix remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
  3. Cook for about 20 minutes then add the gelatin, previously wrung out with your hands, to the preparation.
  4. Mix and let cool.

Orange Ganache

  1. In a saucepan swell the gelatin in the cream, orange juice and zest.
  2. Once the gelatin is inflated, heat everything.
  3. Add the white chocolate and stir well so that it melts.
  4. Cool in a bowl for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.

White chocolate decoration

  1. Preheat oven to 175 °C (350 °F).
  2. Place the almonds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and grill them in the oven for about 6 minutes (you can put them in the oven at the same time as the cake). Let cool.
  3. Melt the chocolate gently and add the cranberries and maple sugar.
  4. Spread the melted chocolate mixture over the cooled almonds. Allow to set in the refrigerator.

Cake assembly

  1. Cut the cake into 3 equal pieces.
  2. Beat the ganache and place in a pastry bag with a fluted socket.
  3. On the first layer of cake, make ganache points all around the piece so as to surround the cranberry puree that you will spread inside the ganache points. Use half the cranberry puree for this first level.
  4. Carefully place the second piece of cake and repeat the previous 2 steps, then place the 3rd piece of cake on top.
  5. Use the rest of the ganache to make dots on top of the cake and decorate with broken pieces of white chocolate.