The Friday Baking Project

Celebration Ivoire

Yield: 1 cake

# of Servings: 12

Ingredients:

White Chocolate Mousse Base

12 oz (340 g) 35% white chocolate, such as Valrhona Ivoire
1 cup + 2 tbl (9 fl oz) heavy cream

Chocolate Souffl© Sheet

8 oz (227 g) chocolate, 55% to 61%, wafers or broken up
3 tbl (1.5 fl oz) water

8 egg yolks
5 tbl (2.4 oz / 68 g) sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

8 egg whites
â…› tsp salt
½ cup + 3 tbl (4.8 oz / 136 g) sugar

White Chocolate Mousse

1 cup + 2 tbl (9 fl oz) heavy cream
White Chocolate Mousse base (from above)

1 recipe Ladyfingers, 2 ¼â€œ long

Four half-pint containers fresh raspberries

Red ribbon, as needed

Special tools and equipment needed

• One 17.8†by 12.8†half sheet pan
• 8†by 2†stainless cake ring
• 8†and 9†or 10†cardboard cake circles
• Counter top or hand-held mixer
• 21†pastry bag and a .6†round tip (Ateco 808)
• Small butane torch

Pre-recipe preparations:

• Make white chocolate mousse base at least 1 day prior.
• Day of assembly, gently pour raspberries out on sheet pan, separating the nicest ones for the top.
• Make ladyfingers
• Chill bowl and whip for white chocolate mousse

Directions:

White Chocolate Mousse Base:

1. Bring heavy cream to the simmer, remove from the heat.
2. Add white chocolate, and cover for 3 minutes.
3. Whisk just until smooth and chocolate is totally melted.
4. Stain into clean container. Place a piece of plastic film directly against the top, poke a few air holes with a paring knife, and refrigerate overnight. 

Chocolate Souffl© Sheet:

1. Melt chocolate and water in large metal mixing bowl over a double boiler. Set aside.
2. In machine bowl with whisk attachment on medium high speed (8 on a KitchenAid), or in mixing bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until thick and light colored, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
3. Add yolk mixture into chocolate, stir to combine with plastic spatula. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the chocolate.
4. In clean mixing bowl, with a clean whisk attachment beat whites on medium high speed (7 on a KitchenAid) with salt until soft peak stage. Slowly add the sugar and beat just until firm peaks. Do not overbeat.
5. Add ¼ of the whites to chocolate mixture and stir to lighten. Fold in remaining whites just until the batter is homogenous and no white streaks appear.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly with an offset spatula. 
7. Bake for approximately 12 minutes, just until the sheet is firm to the touch, and cake tester comes out clean. 
8. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool for 20 minutes.
9. Dust the top with cocoa powder and invert onto a cutting board.
10. Using the cake ring, cut two 8†cake circles. Dust two 8†cardboard circles with cocoa powder and slide under the cake circles.  Cut small circles out of remainder for future individual desserts and freeze or save for nibbling.
11. Place the cake ring over one cake circle, and place on top of a larger (9†or 10â€) cardboard circle.

White Chocolate Mousse: 

1. In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream until it starts to thicken. 
2. Add the white chocolate mousse base, and continue whipping until very thick. Do not overwhip or it will turn during assembly. 

Assembly: 

1. Fill the pastry bag and pipe mousse in circle to fill one half of the ring.
2. Distribute raspberries evenly around the mousse.
3. Pipe or spread a thin layer of mousse over the raspberries, and carefully slide the second cake layer on top. There should be about a ¼â€ of space left on to the top of the ring. 
4. Spoon mousse on top and level with an icing or offset spatula.
5. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Finishing:

1. Remove from the refrigerator and place cake on the counter or a cake turntable.
2. Warm the sides with a propane torch or a wet, very hot dish towel. 
3. Lift the cake ring off the cake.
4. Place ladyfingers around the sides of the cake.
5. Place raspberries completely over the top. 
6. Tie with a red ribbon.  Keep refrigerated.