A classic creamy Italian layer cake: The recipe will take an hour to prepare and 4 to chill, and it helps if you are good at working with whipped cream. It's also an excellent base for making a rum or brandy cake. You'll need:
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 1 commercially prepared round genoise or pound cake, 8 inches in diameter (or see links below)
- 1 ounce (25 g) powdered cocoa
- 1 pound (450 g) whipped cream
- 2 yolks
- 20 blanched peeled almonds, shredded
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons sweet Marsala (a white dessert wine from Sicily)
- 1 cup (100 g) confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 of a small glass of rum, brandy, Gran Marnier, or the liqueur of choice
Preparation:
Begin by cutting your genoise horizontally twice, so as to obtain three disks. Next, put 3/4 of the whipped cream in a bowl and beat the confectioner's sugar into it. Divide the mixture into two parts, and work the cocoa powder into one.
Put the first disk of cake on your work surface, lightly sprinkle it with the brandy, and spread the chocolate whipped cream over it.
Sprinkle the second disk with brandy too and lay it over the chocolate cream. Then spread the sweet cream over it. Cover everything with the third disk, pressing gently so it sticks, and sprinkle it with the remaining brandy. Chill the cake in the refrigerator (not the freezer) for 4 hours.
In the mean time, make some zabaione by beating the yolks with the powdered sugar in a small pot until the mixture becomes white. Beat in the Marsala and cook the mixture over a double boiler, over low heat. Stir gently, without letting it come to a boil, until it has become thick and creamy. Remove the zabaione from the fire and let it cool, still stirring gently.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and use a pastry bag to lay down a ring of whipped cream around the cake's outer edge. Sprinkle the ring and the top of the cake with the slivered almonds, pour the zabaione over the top of the cake (the ring of whipped cream will keep it from flowing down the sides of the cake) and serve at once.
Put the first disk of cake on your work surface, lightly sprinkle it with the brandy, and spread the chocolate whipped cream over it.
Sprinkle the second disk with brandy too and lay it over the chocolate cream. Then spread the sweet cream over it. Cover everything with the third disk, pressing gently so it sticks, and sprinkle it with the remaining brandy. Chill the cake in the refrigerator (not the freezer) for 4 hours.
In the mean time, make some zabaione by beating the yolks with the powdered sugar in a small pot until the mixture becomes white. Beat in the Marsala and cook the mixture over a double boiler, over low heat. Stir gently, without letting it come to a boil, until it has become thick and creamy. Remove the zabaione from the fire and let it cool, still stirring gently.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and use a pastry bag to lay down a ring of whipped cream around the cake's outer edge. Sprinkle the ring and the top of the cake with the slivered almonds, pour the zabaione over the top of the cake (the ring of whipped cream will keep it from flowing down the sides of the cake) and serve at once.
