Ingredients
For the white chocolate mousse
For the white chocolate génoise
For the raspberry mousse
For the garnish
Make the white chocolate mousse:
Step 1
In a bowl whisk together well the yolks, the sugar, and a pinch of salt, add the cornstarch, sifted, and whisk the mixture until it is just combined. Add the milk, scalded, in a stream, whisking, transfer the mixture to a heavy saucepan, and boil it, whisking, for 1 minute, or until it is very thick and smooth. Strain the pastry cream through a fine sieve into a bowl, stir in vanilla and the butter, and chill the pastry cream, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until it is cooled completely. In a metal bowl set over barely simmering water melt the white chocolate, stirring occasionally, and let it cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl whisk together the white chocolate and 1 cup of the pastry cream, reserving the remaining pastry cream for the raspberry mousse, until the mixture is combined well. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the heavy cream until it holds soft peaks, whisk one fourth of it into the white chocolate mixture, and fold in the remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly.
Step 2
Line the sides of an oiled 9 1/2-inch springform pan as smoothly as possible with pieces of plastic wrap (the plastic wrap prevents the filling from discoloring and makes unmolding the cake easier), letting the excess hang over the side, and put an 8-inch cardboard round in the bottom of the pan. Invert the top layer of the génoise onto the round, brush the cake with some of the framboise, and spread it evenly with half the white chocolate mousse (about 2 cups). Invert the middle layer of the génoise onto the mousse, brush it with some of the remaining framboise, and chill the cake and the remaining white chocolate mousse while preparing the raspberry mousse.
Make the raspberry mousse:
Step 3
In a blender or food processor purée the raspberries with the reserved syrup and strain the purée through a fine sieve set over a metal bowl, pressing hard on the solids. In a small saucepan sprinkle the gelatin over the framboise and let it soften for 1 minute. Heat the mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, until the gelatin is dissolved and whisk it into the purée. Whisk the reserved pastry cream into the raspberry mixture, whisking until it is smooth, set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, and whisk the mixture until it is the consistency of raw egg white. Remove the bowl from the ice water and in a bowl with an electric mixer beat the heavy cream until it holds soft peaks. Whisk one fourth of the whipped cream into the raspberry mixture and fold in the remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly.
Step 4
Spread about 1 cup of the raspberry mousse evenly over the middle layer of génoise in the pan, arrange some of the raspberries neatly around the edge of the pan, and continue to arrange the raspberries in concentric circles until the surface of the mousse is covered. Spread the remaining raspberry mousse over the raspberries, invert the third layer of génoise onto the mouse, and brush it with the remaining framboise. Spread the remaining white chocolate mousse over the génoise (the pan will be completely full) and chill the cake, its surface covered with a sheet of wax paper, for at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove the side of the pan, peel the plastic wrap carefully from the side of the cake, and transfer the cake with a spatula to a serving plate.
Garnish the cake:
Step 5
Arrange some of the raspberries around the top edge of the cake, mound the white chocolate curls in the center, and garnish the bottom edge of the cake with the remaining raspberries and the mint sprigs.
Make the white chocolate génoise:
Step 6
Line the bottom of a greased 8 1/2-inch springform pan with wax paper, grease the paper, and dust the pan with flour, knocking out the excess. In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt the white chocolate with the butter, the vanilla, and 3 tablespoons water, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let the mixture cool. Into a bowl sift together the flour and the salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the eggs with the sugar on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is triple in volume and forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until the batter is just combined and fold in the white chocolate mixture gently but thoroughly. Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top, and bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack, run a sharp knife around the edge, and remove the side of the pan. Invert the cake onto another rack and remove the wax paper. Reinvert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely.
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Reviews (21)
Back to TopI've made this cake for Easter for several years but it's a challenge now; agree that the mousses do not set well and that the genoise is too thin. Easy to double the cake part but there is a serious problem with the raspberry mousse- 10 oz cartons of frozen raspberries in syrup (Birdseye still supposedly makes one) no longer available in Chicago. I now need to substiute another raspberry mousse recipe-
Anonymous
Chicago
4/21/2017
The other reviewers saying that the mousse is runny are correct. Mine didn't turn into a gloppy disaster, but it was definitely not as firm as I would have liked. Usually when I make a fruit mousse cake, I use two packets of gelatin. Maybe that will turn out better results for this one.
Xantar
5/25/2012
感谢所有你的评论我是成功的,except for the Genoise, but it was still beautiful and delicious. I wondered if anyone thinks you could make this with regular cake instead. Would it not have the strength to hold the mousses?
Summer2011
Califrornia
11/2/2011
ZERO FORKS! I mousses were good but the genoise was not. It had a rubber like texture. I used the completed mousses as another dessert. I will not make this genoise cake recipe again.
Anonymous
Chattanooga,TN
2/6/2010
Cake came out fine, despite a few setbacks. Didn't know where to find Framboise and didn't want to buy any Chambord just for this cake, so I bought some really high quality raspberry sorbet and melted a bit of it as a substitute. Second, my raspberry mousse never set up. It was like a previous reviewer mentioned, so to avoid a disaster, I just refrigerated the cake between servings. It made the mousse rather firm, but overall, it worked out fine.
cnreves
Madison, MS
1/6/2010
我爱这道菜!现在我已经做了两次,both were successes. This is not a quick recipe, it took half a day the first time. I did take advice on doubling the cake recipe, which worked out well. My kitchen doesn't have lots of pans, so when I bake the cake, I divided it between three 8 inch cake rounds that had the bottoms lined with wax paper. I also don't like cutting cakes apart. Now, because I used these cake pans, my springform pan wouldn't work for assembling this masterpiece. What I did instead was to use posterboard. I made an 8 inch round for the bottom, then I cut long strips about 6 inches wide. I tested the length before taping them together to make sure they would go around my bottom piece. Then I covered the sides with Saran wrap and attatched them to the bottom. I assembled the cake as per the directions then. I chilled the cake overnight in this set up, and when I went to garnish it, the sides came of beautifully. The posterboard bottom made an easy plate transfer, I just left it there until the cake was gone. It didn't last for another meal and got rave reviews. I also noticed some reviews saying their cakes turning out eggy. Another trick I learned from making other sponge cakes is to take the eggs and put them in a metal bowl. Then, put a pan of water on the stove. Bring the water to a boil first, then turn it down to a simmer and set the bowl in it. Keep it there until the eggs warm slightly, then remove them from the water and whip them with the mixer. It seems to help when I do it to make a fluffier mixture. I did enjoy making this cake, and it does make a lot of dishes. Good thing I have a daughter to help me clean!
draycos
Indian River, MI
1/5/2007
I have made this dessert many time and is a hit every time, not to sweet, it is labor intensive but well worth the effort, a few tips I good give is to use a 11/2 cups heavy cream for the white chocolate mousse it yelds a little extra, and when making the genoise beat it for 6 minutes minimum.
dinos656
rochester hills, mi
2/5/2006
This recipe is a good example of why some of us subscribe to Gourmet - because sometimes you just want to go all out and make a complicated, fancy and stunning dessert. Not for the faint-hearted or hurried, but worth the effort.
Anonymous
Newbury, MA
7/11/2005
This cake is heaven. I made this cake first when I came out in the magazine. I refered to another pastry book with more details to understand the trickiness of the component parts. It came out perfectly for me. Deceptively light. Not for the inexperienced, and it was quite a production to make.
Anonymous
SF, CA
2/3/2004
NOTICE TO ALL COOKS, NOVICE AND ADVANCED: Do NOT attempt this recipe. I spent approximately 6 hours trying to put this together. The recipe itself is confusing enough. The genoise was a thinner than a newspaper, so cutting it in three is impossible. Whoever wrote this recipe knows nothing of logic. The recipe itself contains "in another bowl" over a dozen times. I would need about 50 bowls to make this work efficiently. It was so disastrous my 3 year old niece with quite a sweet tooth told me she didn't like it after one small bite. I urge everyone looking at this recipe to turn back now before ruining your day. I
Anonymous
Washington D.C
4/7/2003
Ive made this several times and its always a big hit! I cut the sugar in half and its perfect... I never have a piece left by the end of the party!
Anonymous
toronto, Ont
6/2/2002
I agree with the cook from MA, the sponge cake turned out to be like rubber on the bottom (very distasteful), as for the raspberry mousse, the gelatin did not set quickly enough, it ran halfway through the cake making it look very unappealing. I am very disappointed in this recipe, it took a lot of work, the ingredients were costly and the result was terrible.
Anonymous
San Francisco
5/15/2002
The food editor back in late '89 or early '90 when this recipe was originally tested must have magic hands. The amount of cocoa butter in the type of white chocolate used in make the genoise batter has a great impact on the outcome of the sponge. If not done correctly (ratio of fats to egg foam AND temperature of the egg foam and fats at time of combination) the fats in the batter fall out of suspension with the egg foam and collect into a yellow layer of rubber at the bottom of the cake. That's only the first problem. An equally serious variable is the alcohol content of the framboise. If there's too much alcohol the gelatin will weaken. When it does work, this recipe makes for a stupendous creation, but forget about making it look like the picture! Follow the direction offered by one of the other critics; fold in the eggwhites separately--see a recipe by Jacques Pepin on white chocolate sponge.
Anonymous
Massachusetts
4/5/2002
这道菜是一场灾难!我复杂desserts before but never had one utterly fail, as this did. The genoise was so thin I could barely slice it into two layers, forget about three. Then the raspberry mousse didn't set up and turned to mush when I unmolded the cake; the raspberries that I had carefully placed came sliding out! It was so disappointing to spend the better part of a day making this cake only to have the final product be such a mess. The only positive was that the white chocolate mousse was delicious -- maybe I can come up with an alternate use for it.
Anonymous
Santa Rosa, CA
12/16/2001
I'm 13 years old and my sister and I made this dessert it didn't take as long as expected. It was fabulous, we found no need to double anyhthing it turned out beautifully. Everyone loved it. We would definatley make it again.
Anonymous
Kingston, Ontario
12/29/2000
