Raspberry Charlotte Cake

It is extremely rare that I will ever make the same dessert twice. I have so many dessert recipes that I want to try, I feel like I have to keep making new desserts.

This dessert was an exception to that. It may have taken me almost a year to remake it, but I finally did. I make the changes I wanted to make and it turned out perfect, just like I hoped it would.

When I made this the first time, the sponge cake part was so thin. So thin, that I barley tasted it, but what I did tasted was good. I loved the raspberry mousse, really loved it, but wanted a little more balance between the sponge cake and the raspberry mousse. So I remade it, making the sponge cake a little bit thicker. 

The sweet and tart mousse paired perfectly with the soft sponge cake and the ratio was spot on. The delicious lady finger edge just makes this the perfect light summer dessert.

Raspberry Charlotte Cake

Ingredients:

Simple Syrup

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Raspberry Mousse

• 10 ounces frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons powdered sugar

Sponge Cake

• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup cake flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 tablespoons raspberry preserves or jam

Directions:

Simple Syrup

1. In a small bowl stir together the warm water, lemon juice and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

Raspberry Mousse

1. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat stir together the frozen raspberries and sugar. Cook stirring occasionally until the raspberries have broken down and the mixture is the consistency of jam.
2. Meanwhile, place a mesh sieve over a glass measuring cup.
3. Transfer the raspberries to the mesh sieve and press down with the back of a spoon to remove as much raspberry syrup as possible. You need 2/3 cup. Discard the seeds left in the sieve.
4. To the raspberry syrup, stir in the lemon juice and gelatin.
5. Pour the syrup back into the saucepan and heat over medium heat, while whisking constantly until the gelatin is dissolved. Do not allow the mixture to come to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Don't let it cool too long or it will thicken too much and be difficult to blend into the whipped cream.

Sponge Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixture, with the whisk attachment, add the eggs and beat on high speed for 1 minute. With the mixer on high, gradually add in the sugar and continue to beat on high for 7 minutes or until the mixture is thick and has increased 3 to 4 times in volume.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the cake flour and baking powder. Sift half of the flour into the egg mixture and gently fold to incorporate, do not over mix. Repeat with the remaining flour. Make sure to scrape from the bottom of the bowl to catch and hidden pockets of flour, but do not over mix, this cake relies on the volume from the eggs to rise properly in the oven.
4. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly poked.
5. Gently slide a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature.
6. Slice the cake in half horizontally, creating 2 cake layers.

Assembly

1. Cover the sides of the springform pan with plastic wrap. Trim off 1/2 inch around both cake layers. Place one cake layer into the bottom of the springform pan. 
2. Trim off about 1/2 inch form one end of each lady finger. Place the lady fingers, cut side down, around the cake.
3. Brush the cake and the back of the lady finger with some simple syrup. 
4. Spread 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of raspberry preserves over the cake. 
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat 3 cups of heavy cream with 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Place 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream to a piping bag with desired pipping tip attached. Refrigerate until ready to use.
6. Once the raspberry syrup has cooled to room temperature, gently fold it into the whipped cream adding 1/4 of the syrup at a time gently folding in between each addition.
7. Spread 1/2 of the mousse over the cake layer in the springform pan. Place the other cake layer onto of the mousse and brush with simple syrup. Spread the cake with 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of raspberry preserves and then spread on the remaining mousse. Pipe the reserved whipping cream onto of the cake. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mousse is set, at least 3 hours to overnight. 

Enjoy!!!

Notes:

The original recipe called for using 1/3 of the syrup on each cake layer an 1/3 on the lady fingers. I felt this too much, so I brushed on a what I felt was a good amount.

*Adapted from Natasha's Kitchen.