Framboisier

About a year ago, my cousin offered me an amazing book on Patisserie, by French patissier Christophe Felder. His recipes are full of butter, eggs and sugar, therefore they all boil down to a direct injection of calories but also to utter bliss. Here is one of his decadent and utterly delicious creations:

Ingredients for the "Framboisier":

Ingredients for the almond hazelnut dacquoise (ca 30cm x 20cm):

230 g   ground almonds

70 g     ground hazelnuts
300 g   egg whites (ca. 10 medium size eggs)
280 g   caster sugar

Ingredients for the pistachio paste:

20 g         pistachios
1/2 tbsp   almond syrup

Ingredients for the buttercream:

Italian Meringue
40 g      water
125 g    caster sugar
70 g      egg whites (ca. 2 eggs)

Egg Yolk Buttercream
5           egg yolks
240 g    caster sugar
100 ml  water
360 g    butter (softened)

Additional ingredients:

400 g    fresh raspberries
some     raspberry jam
              icing sugar

Recipe:

Dacquoise:

• Preheat oven to 80°C. 
• Line two 20cm x 30cm b aking trays with baking paper.
• Separate the eggs. Makre sure to set aside 5 egg yolks for the butter cream.
• Using a food processor, grind the almonds and hazelnuts (if bought in whole). Mix well.
• Beat the egg whites at medium speed with two tablespoons of sugar until they hold soft peaks.
• Add the remaining sugar and whip the egg whites until they firm and glossy.
• Using a spatula, gently fold in the nut mixture.
• Thinly spread the daquoise batter onto the two baking trays.
• Bake for 15-30 min, until lightly brown, springy to the touch and not too sticky anymore.
• Let the dacquoise cool before peeling off the baking paper.

Pistachio buttercream:

Pistachio paste:

• Grind the pistachios finely using a food processor.
• Add the almond syrup and process until a thick paste forms.

Italian meringue:

• In a small, heavy saucepan, bring the water and 100g of the sugar to a boil 
• Using a sugar thermometer, cook the sugar syrup until the thermometer registers 118°C. 
• In the meantime, beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar at medium speed until they hold a soft peak
• Pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the egg whites. 
• Beat another 10 minutes (ca), until the mixture has cooled to room temperature. 

Egg yolk buttercream:

• Whip the 5 egg yolks at low speed.
• Meanwhile, in a small, heavy saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and simmer until the mixture has reached 118°C. 
• Pour the sugar syrup into the egg yolks mixture. Beat the mixture at high speed until pale yellow and forming a ribbon.

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the soft butter until smooth. Add the yolks mixture to the butter, and beat on low speed. 
• Finally add the Italian meringue and continue beating very slowly not to destroy the airy nature of the mixture.
• Add the pistachio paste and whip at low speed until very smooth.

Assembling the Framboisier:

• Cover one layer of the dacquoise evenly with the 2/3 of the pistachio buttercream.
• Arrange the raspberries on the cream 
• Cover with the remaining cream.
• Top with the other dacquoise layer. Press gently.
• Cover the dacquoise with some raspberry jam (optional) and refrigerate at least one hour.
  
• Remove the cake from the fridge about half an hour before being served. 
• Just before serving, decorate with icing sugar.

Recipe: Christophe Felder, "Patisserie"