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Monday, May 30, 2011

HCB: Chocolate Raspberry Trifle

Moist Chocolate Genoise used to be my favorite chocolate cake. It has since been replaced by Miette Tomboy. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to this trifle. What's not to love? Chocolate genoise + chambord infused sugar syrup + creme anglaise + fresh raspberries = yummyness (this is a new word I made up.) And just when you think it could not possibly get any better, add raspberry flavored whipped cream to it = heavenly yummyness.

This trifle - like the Saint Honore Trifle, feeds 16-20 people. I don't have that many people to feed, so naturally I want to halve the recipe. But there's still the question of what to use as a serving dish. When I made the Saint Honore Trifle, I baked the cake in a cupcake pan and used wine glasses. It worked pretty well. But we have since then broken almost all our wine glasses, except for one. So I went to Walmart over the weekend to get more wine glasses. I found a set of 4 goblets for $5. As I walked away from the aisle, I saw some small plates and stuff that caught my attention. I stopped to check them out, and then I saw these cute mini trifle dish for less than $2. SCORE! I grabbed two of them and abandoned the goblets.

Back to the trifle. I decided that I should start with the creme anglaise. First order of business, measure the eggs. 1/2 recipe should mean 6 eggs but yolks are so small that I had to use 7.


Next, the yolks are whisked with a bit of the milk and cornstarch.


Then heat up the remainder milk and cream until it almost come to a boil.


Add in the yolk and heat again until it coats the back of the spatula.


Strain the creme anglaise.


When the creme anglaise is done, I was shocked to see the amount. It's a lot of creme anglaise. Looking at the recipe again, it's supposed to feed 16-20, so half would be for 8-10. There's two of us in the house. Okay... let's make only 1/3 recipe of the genoise then.

First order of business in the chocolate genoise-making, melt chocolate with water.


Once chocolate has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, set it aside to cool.


I cheat and place the chocolate in the fridge until it's cooled. In the book, Rose said to use an ice bath but we ran out of ice. I did check on it and mix it several times - basically hovering over it like a mama hen.

Once the chocolate almost cooled, I measured out the eggs. I know it sounded weird to split recipe into 3rds, but since egg yolks are on the smaller side anyway, it works out. If I'm over a few grams in yolks, then I just reduce the whites to get to the required weight.


And this is where the step-by-step picture ended. Not because of battery. Because I forgot to take pictures!!! Seriously! One of these days I will get the step-by-step pictures down. But for one, you'll have to forgive me and settle for some narrative :).

After the egg was whipped, I continued with the recipe and try to do everything fast that by the time I remembered to take photos, it was for the baked cakes.

Ain't they cute?


1/3 recipe is enough to fill the mini heart-shaped cakelets (38 grams each) and 2 ramekins (70 grams each). The ramekins are almost perfect for the mini trifle dish. I only had to trim a bit of the bottom portion.


Composing the trifle.



The whipped cream is flavored with strained raspberry puree. I let the raspberries thaw overnight in a colander over a bowl. Then I boil the liquid until it's reduced by half, and strained the raspberries over it. A bit more work than straining raspberry jam or buying seedless raspberry preserve but it's worth it. It taste more potent and tart, which I like. And I can adjust the sugar as I want it.

Tasting impressions:
This is so good!!!! We had some today, on the day it's composed, and didn't wait until the next day per Rose's instruction. We couldn't wait. Plus I have to know how it taste so I can write this post hehe *grin*. Hubby rolled his eyes when he took a bite. And not in a way of frustration or annoyance that he rolled his eyes. It's in "oh my gosh this is so good and heavenly." It made me laugh as he's never done that before, though I think it's because he's not a big fan of chocolate cake, and this one exceeded his expectations. That's how good this is. Tomorrow the taste will probably improve, as the cake will absorb the chambord syrup more. Something to look forward to for tomorrow :).

15 comments:

  1. Nice. Mine was not nearly so pretty, but it was hailed happily at the picnic to which I dragged it. Post up as soon as I can convince fellow picnickers to give up the photos.

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  2. Looks great and sounds delicious! Love the part about hubby rolling his eyes :)

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  3. Beautiful trifle, Jenn. The different layers look very pretty. I'm assuming you were able to find some tasty raspberries :o) Hubby is not a fan of "custardy" desserts so I passed on this. Since I had already made the wonderful moist chocolate genoise before, I didn't feel too bad about skipping this. Initially! Now reading ur hubby's comment, I'm thinking I should have made one for myself, ha ha. I did bake over the weekend but I made Rose's Choc Chiffon Cake from The Cake Bible instead. It was very good. I'll post that soon!

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  4. Ohhh prettttyyyy.. (actually, I LOVE your picture!) and I'm loving the mini trifle serving dish (I see a walmart trip in my future) I been looking for individual one for as long as I remember.

    Sadly I had way to much going on and this one got pushed back, but I know I owe it to Tom to make it, so it's going to find it's way to a FREE CHOICE week.

    And also, I'm in love with the spoons as well.

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  5. Katya, trifle at a picnic sounds lovely! I'm looking forward to your post.

    Julie, we like St. Honore Trifle more, but this one is really good.

    Hanaa, I did find tasty raspberries. It's organic and cost $5 for a pint! Ouch! I only bought 1 pint though (would have cried if I had to buy 3 per the recipe).

    Chica!!! Pier 1 also has the mini trifle dish (I think it's exactly the same as walmart), but walmart is cheaper. The spoons are from crate & barrel (they have different colors!). So, this means I know what you'll make for the Jun 13th FREE CHOICE? *wink*

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  6. ב''ה

    Wow. They look fantastic. Thanks for the step by step. Cool how you reduced the raspberry liquid!

    I've got the raspberries, now I just need the time and kitchen space. :)

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  7. So cute! I was wondering if you'd make the whole thing or if you'd figure out a way to make it smaller. Nice to know that you haven't lost your dividing ingenuity, with a little help from Wal-Mart.

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  8. Go go go Mendy! The raspberry liquid is tastier! I hope you try it and let me know how you'd like it.

    Marie, there's always a way to divide things ^_^. It's more fun too!

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  9. i love your little mini trifles! i couldn't get it together last weekend, and i'm out of town for the next week...so i'll catch you guys on free choice week!

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  10. Beautiful trifle!! Looks delicious. Now I'll have o catch up on a free choice week too!

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  11. Your mini trifles are the cutest little things!

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  12. Gorgeous mini trifles. I love the pink - they look so appealing. Like you, we ate the trifle straight away. I didn't actually notice Rose's instruction to leave it in the fridge for a day until I was all finished decorating it. By that stage, there was no way we could just leave it. I love that your husband rolled his eyes (in appreciation).

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  13. So cute!!! I'm definitely inspired.

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