Baking Recipe: LadyBug Cake

I don't think there's a LadyBug cake out there. Or is there? Have you come across any?  I must say, this cake is a random cake recipe whereby I mesh a couple of flavours together; which in my opinion works out quite well. There were a couple of cake recipe I learnt by browsing through recipe books or other foodie blogs. So I thought why not I challenge myself to bake a cake with my own mesh up of recipe, lol..

In a nutshell, this cake resembles a slight base of an Opera Cake. The cake is an almond sponge cake (joconde) but instead of coffee cream, it has been replaced with vanilla bean cream and in between is sandwich with a decadent raspberry-strawberry jelly between layers. This adds a pop of colour to the cake.
Try it out when you have got lots of time in your hands and tell me what you think. Enjoy~

Recipe:

For the almond sponge cake
adapted from Chef Jean Francois Arnaud

100g finely ground almond
55g icing sugar
30g all purpose flour/ cake flour
3 egg whites (keep the yolks)
65g caster sugar
3 whole eggs
20g butter, melted
1/2 -1 tsp vanilla extract

To prepare almond sponge:

1. Preheat oven to 220 Celsius. Line an 8 inches round baking dish with parchment paper and coat the sides with Wilton cake release or butter.

2. Sift together ground almond, icing sugar and flour.

3. Whisk the egg whites in the stand mixer until it sets in foamy soft peaks.

4. Add caster sugar a spoon at a time and continue to whisk for a few more seconds.

5. Next, add whole eggs and mix them well.

6. Fold in the almond and flour mixture into the egg mixture. To that add in the melted butter and mix until mixture is smooth. Pour onto the baking dish and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Transfer cake to a wire rack and let it cool completely before refrigerating the cake.

For the raspberry-strawberry layers:
adapted from Tartelette Blog

2 tbsp powdered gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
2 cups frozen raspberries
2 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar

To prepare raspberry-strawberry layers:

1. Line a shallow round dish, about (7-8 inches) with parchment paper.

2.Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and reserve.

3. In a large saucepan set over medium low heat, bring the raspberries, strawberries and sugar to a simmer and cook until the berries are completely thawed and reduced to a puree (smash them down with a spoon if necessary) and the sugar is dissolved.

4.Remove from the heat and add the gelatin, stirring until it completely dissolved in the raspberries. Pour over the prepared shallow dish. Let cool to room temperature and then freeze until firm.

For the vanilla bean cream:

250ml/ 1 cup whole milk
1 vanilla pod
6 egg yolks (used 3 from the remaining egg whites)
180g/ 3/4 cups caster sugar
350g butter/ approx. 11/4 cup, softened

To prepare vanilla bean cream:

1. Combine milk and vanilla pod in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale.

3. Strain the vanilla milk mixture and gently pour into the yolk mixture while whisking. Make sure to not pour directly over the whisk, and pour down the sides of mixing bowl,  to avoid having scramble eggs. Mix well and pour the mixture back into a saucepan.

4. Cook under medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens. A tip, you could actually feel the spatula getting slightly heavier.

5. Strain immediately into a flat tray and allow to cool to room temperature.

6. With a paddle attachment, pour the mixture into a stand mixer and at medium speed, beat in the butter, 1 cube at a time. At first the mixture will still be diluted, however, don't worry, continue to add in the butter and you will notice the mixture will slowly turn into cream consistency. Once thicken, whisk it as high speed for a couple of seconds and now your cream is ready. It should be smooth, thick and light with no lumps.

For chocolate glaze:
adapted from Chef Jean Francois Arnaud

100g dark chocolate, melted
120g UHT cream
180g caster sugar
145ml water
60g cocoa powder
11g gelatin powder, softened in 50ml water

To prepare chocolate glaze:

1. Soak gelatin in room temperature water/ cold water is fine.

2. Boil the cream, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Add in the cocoa powder. Whisk for 2 mins on the heat and add the soaked gelatin; stir until dissolve. Remove from heat, cooling it at room temperature, and then transfer to the refrigerator.

To assemble cake:

1. Remove almond sponge from the refrigerator. Peel off parchment paper and with a serrated knife, slice the cake carefully and thinly into 3 layers.

2. Spread the bottom sponge layer with vanilla bean cream and then top with second layer of sponge, and spread another layer of vanilla bean cream.

3. Meanwhile, remove the raspberry-strawberry jelly and place it over the vanilla bean cream which was spread on second layer of sponge. Top with the third sponge layer and spread cover the whole cake with vanilla bean cream.

4. Melt the chocolate glaze in microwave oven on defrost setting  for just a couple of minutes (approx 2-3mins, be careful not to let chocolate burn)  and pour over the cake. Chill in the refrigerator to let glaze set and thaw before serving.

xx