White Chocolate Patty Cake with a Raspberry Crush Filling

This white chocolate patty cake has a bit of an identity crisis. It is kind of a cross between elegant and rustic.

The cake is called a patty cake because you press down on the edges to make it even. Rustic.
The cake contains 12 ounces of luxurious white chocolate. Elegant.
The edges of the cake sort of peel and and flake. Rustic.
The cake is filled and topped with about a pound and a half of raspberries. Elegant.
Making the cake involves whipping egg yolks and egg whites simultaneously in separate mixers. Elegant.
The cake layers are sort of a cross between a genoise and a chiffon. Elegant.

What do you think? Elegant or rustic?

The cake layers contain only 1/2 cup of flour, total, and no leavening. They get all of their airiness from whipped egg whites folded into the whipped egg yolks... plus 3/4 pounds of melted white chocolate and butter.

While the cake seems kind of complicated, you can do it in stages. I baked the layers on one day, wrapped them, and then refrigerated them. The next day I made the frozen raspberry puree and spread it on the layers. When I was ready to serve the cake, I topped it with the fresh raspberries.

The cake layers rise nicely in the oven, but then they collapse a bit when they cool. Don't freak out. It all works out.

Make sure that the white chocolate you use contains cocoa butter. It will look a bit gloppy when you are melting it, but that's okay. Just be sure to not over cook it, as it burns easily.

The original recipe calls for straining the seeds out of the sauce prior to spreading it on the cake layers. I skipped that step, and was still very happy with the sauce. I also added some raspberry jelly to the sauce to help it set.

This cake is this week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick, and was originally featured on Julia Child's PBS show, Baking with Julia. The contributing baker was Marcel Desaulniers. Watching him with Julia is such a treat.

White Chocolate Patty Cake with a Raspberry Crush Filling

Adapted from Baking with Julia: Savor the Joys of Baking with America's Best Bakers.

Ingredients

12 ounces coarsely chopped white chocolate

2 ounces unsalted butter

2 tbsp water

10 large room temperature egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

6 large room temperature egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cake flour, sifted

16 ounces frozen raspberries

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp raspberry jelly (in a pinch, use strawberry)

1 pint fresh raspberries

Instructions

1. With a rack in the middle, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Spray two 9 inch cake pans with a good nonstick spray or rub with butter. Line the bottoms with parchment, and oil/butter the parchment. 
3. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate, butter, and water, whisking constantly. When it is just melted, remove it from the heat and set aside.
4. Beat the egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer with 1/2 cup of sugar on high with the paddle attachment until pale yellow, about 4 minutes. 
5. Turn the speed to low and continue to stir the egg yolks with the mixer while you whip the egg whites.
6. In the bowl of another stand mixer (using the whisk attachment), or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until you have soft peaks, about 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add the 1/4 cup sugar and continue whisking until the whites are stiff but not dry, about 2 to 3 minutes more. If you are using a second stand mixer, it will take less time. 
7. Add the white chocolate mixture to the egg yolk mixture and mix on medium for about 30 seconds. 
8. Fold in the flour until blended. Add 1/3 of the egg yolks and fold until blended. Fold in the rest of the egg whites. 
9. Divide the batter between the two cake pans and smooth the tops.
10. Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 
11. Cook in the pans on a rack for 20 minutes. 
12. Invert the cakes over cardboard cake rounds or plates. When the cakes are completely cool, remove the parchment. Gently pat the layers with your hands to make them even. At this point, you can wrap the layers in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. 
13. To make the raspberry crush, blend the frozen raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and jelly in a food processor. Spread half on one layer, place the second layer on top, and cover with the rest of the crush. At this point, you can rewrap the cake and refrigerate for about 8 to 12 hours. 
14. When ready to serve, top the cake with fresh raspberries. 
15. Slice and serve! Refrigerated leftovers are good too.