Sunday is Mother’s Day. It’s the perfect opportunity to offer you a delicious recipe that will make quite an impression, I’m sure of it: a raspberry and poppy layer cake. A delicious cake that will delight your mum. The recipe isn’t difficult and yet the result is so indulgent that you won’t be able to resist.
As a bit of background, I wanted to pair raspberry with geranium (which tastes of rose), which explains the rose petals on the table… but when it came to making the cream, I only had one drop of geranium essential oil left. With such a quantity of cream, that wasn’t enough. So I replaced the geranium with poppy. It’s really a combination I appreciate more and more (I had already made a raspberry and poppy entremets). The freshness and acidity of the raspberry pair perfectly with the delicacy of the poppy.
To make this recipe, I took inspiration from several layer cake recipes by Maxime (Empreinte sucrée). This raspberry and poppy layer cake is thus made up of an almond chiffon cake, a raspberry confit and a poppy whipped ganache.
How do you organise yourself to make a layer cake?
To make this cake without stress, I advise you to make it over 2 days. The day before, you make the chiffon cake, which keeps without any problem until the next day. Just wrap it in cling film and it will stay perfectly soft. You can also make the 2 discs of raspberry confit (especially if you only have one ring, you’ll have to repeat the operation twice, so you might as well get organised a little in advance). Finally, you’ll also need to make the whipped ganache.
The next day, all that’s left to do is cut the cake, whip the ganache and assemble the layer cake. For the decoration, let your imagination run free. I went for the simplest and quickest option by placing a few fresh raspberries on top, but you could very well add flowers or a few sugar paste elements (but be careful, if you choose a sugar paste decoration, you’ll need to add it at the last moment because it doesn’t like the humidity of the fridge and you risk getting a funny surprise when you take the cake out of the fridge).
Can I replace the poppy?
Of course, anything is possible! The cake has to please you, to be like you. If you’re the curious type, honestly, try the poppy. Personally, I bought my flavouring from Meilleur du chef. It’s soft, it’s delicate, it’s a lovely discovery. But if you’re a little hesitant about discovering a new flavour, you can replace the poppy with rose (if you like that flavour) or quite simply with vanilla. Vanilla is a safe bet and pairs perfectly with raspberry! But in that case, go for a nice vanilla pod.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mums, and a tender thought for all those who deeply wish to be one but for whom the road is longer and strewn with obstacles…
Ingredients & Method
4 components · Full recipe
Raspberry confit (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 320 g (11.3 oz) raspberry purée
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
- 7 g (0.2 oz) NH pectin
- 10 g (0.4 oz) lemon juice
Method
1
In a saucepan, heat the raspberry purée until it just comes to a first boil.
2
Add the sugar and NH pectin, which have been thoroughly mixed together beforehand. Bring to a boil again, whisking well, and allow to cook for a few minutes.
3
Off the heat, add the lemon juice.
4
Pour into 2 cake rings of 14 cm (5.5 in) in diameter that have been lined with plastic wrap, then place in the freezer. I used a tart ring and an entremet ring, both 14 cm (5.5 in) in diameter. If you only have one ring of this size, make the confit in two batches. Simply halve the quantities, prepare the recipe, and freeze the first insert. Once frozen, unmold the insert, reclaim the ring, and repeat.
Poppy whipped ganache (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 420 g (14.8 oz) whipping cream
- 310 g (10.9 oz) white chocolate
- 500 g (17.6 oz) mascarpone
- poppy flavouring, to taste
Method
1
Break the white chocolate into pieces in a bowl (you can melt it slightly in a bain-marie or in the microwave).
2
Heat the cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3
Pour the cream over the white chocolate in 3 additions, stirring with a spatula each time to create an emulsion, until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous.
4
Add the poppy flavouring and stir. Blend briefly with an immersion blender to bring the mixture together completely. Be careful with the poppy dosage — I recommend adding it gradually and tasting as you go.
5
Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate overnight. The mascarpone will be used at the assembly stage.
Almond chiffon cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 80 g (2.8 oz) + 30 g (1.1 oz) sugar
- 140 g (4.9 oz) plain flour
- 5 g (0.2 oz) baking powder
- 2 g (0.1 oz) salt
- 45 g (1.6 oz) grapeseed oil
- 70 g (2.5 oz) milk
- a few drops of bitter almond extract
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F.
2
Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
3
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, salt, and 80 g (2.8 oz) of sugar).
4
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the oil and milk, then add a few drops of bitter almond extract.
5
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry mixture. Stir with a spatula to combine, then set aside.
6
Meanwhile, whip the egg whites to soft peaks, gradually adding the 30 g (1.1 oz) of sugar. The whites should not be whipped too stiff, to avoid lumps forming in the batter.
7
Finally, fold the whipped egg whites into the batter using a spatula, working gently.
8
Pour the batter into an 18 cm (7.1 in) diameter ring or mould (at least 6 cm (2.4 in) in height to avoid any overflow) and bake for approximately 1 hour.
9
Allow to cool, then run a small knife around the edge of the ring to unmold. Do not grease your ring! The chiffon cake needs to cling to the sides of the pan so it does not collapse after baking.
Assembly
Ingredients
- Aucun
Method
1
Whip the poppy ganache with an electric mixer, and once it begins to thicken, add half the mascarpone and continue whipping.
2
Finally, add the remaining mascarpone and whip until the cream is firm and holds its shape well (be careful not to over-whip — it should hold on the whisk but remain supple).
3
Cut the cake horizontally into 3 even layers using a serrated knife. Use the bottom of the cake as the top of the layer cake so the finished cake is perfectly flat on top.
4
Place a cardboard base on a turntable, then set down the first cake layer.
5
Pipe the whipped ganache in a spiral starting from the centre, then spread roughly with a small offset spatula. Place a frozen raspberry confit disc on top, then add a little more whipped ganache. Smooth again before laying down the second cake layer. Press down lightly.
6
Repeat the process (whipped ganache, raspberry jam disc, whipped ganache and sponge). The smoothest side of the cake ends up on top.
7
Apply a thin layer of whipped ganache all over the cake using a spatula (this layer is called the crumb coat — it traps the crumbs; no need to be too precise at this stage). Refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can stop here if you prefer a naked cake effect.
8
Then apply a second, thicker layer of whipped ganache, this time smoothing it perfectly with a spatula.
9
Refrigerate so the whipped ganache firms up (allow at least 2–3 hours for the raspberry confit to thaw through).
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