Cherry & raspberry cake

Let’s give the floor to the pastry chef: |As a child, I really loved when my grandmother cooked the compote with cherries and raspberries. This cake is inspired by childhood memories. It contains a lot of cherries wrapped with a raspberry cloud and, of course, the cherry cheesecake. The cake is very easy to cook, very tasty and very summer-like!”

For the sponge biscuit (two 16 cm | 6.3 inch ring molds):

• 210 g flour | 7.40 oz
• 30 g poppy seeds | 1.05 oz
• 171 g eggs | 6.05 oz
• 10 g baking powder | 0.35 oz
• 185 g sugar | 6.55 oz
• 76 g butter 82.5% | 2.70 oz
• 63 g vegetable oil | 2.20 oz
• 2 g salt | 0.05 oz

Sift the flour with the baking powder; add the poppy seeds and salt, and mix well with a whisk. Combine the butter with the vegetable oil, and heat in the microwave until the butter melts. Cool to the room temperature. Whip the eggs with the sugar, and add the dry ingredients in three passes. Mix them in with a silicone spatula. Add two tablespoons of the mass to the butter-oil mix; combine and add it to the dough. Knead the dough from the middle to the edge, using a silicone spatula.

Pour it into two ring molds, prepared in advance. Bake the biscuit in the oven, preheated to 170C for 35 to 40 minutes until a dry skewer (the exact time depends on the oven). Cool the finished biscuit on a wire rack; wrap it with the cling film, and put it in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours (better overnight). Cut each biscuit into two layers.

For the cherry cheesecake (14 cm | 5.5 inch):

• 100 g cherry (halves) | 3.55 oz
• 250 g cream cheese | 8.80 oz
• 42 g eggs | 1.50 oz
• 60 g powdered sugar | 2.10 oz
• 55 g cream (with at least 33% fat content) | 1.95 oz
• 1 g salt | 0.05 oz

Mix the cheese (room temperatured) with the powdered sugar with a silicone spatula, and then add the egg. Stir until smooth, and add the cream; combine. Place half of the cheese mass in a prepared ring, and spread the cherries on top. Pour the second half of the mass. Bake the cheesecake in a water bath in the oven, preheated to 120C (248F) for 60 minutes. The edges of the cheesecake should grab, and the middle it should shake. Let it cool for 2 hours in a slightly open oven, and then put it in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours.

For the raspberry confit:

• 120 g raspberries | 4.25 oz
• 35 g sugar | 1.25 oz
• 4 g cornstarch | 0.15 oz

Combine the sugar with the starch. Heat the raspberries in a stewpan with a thick bottom; add the sugar and the starch, and bring the mix to a boil; boil for another two minutes. Place the confit in a container; cover it with foil in contact, and cool. Place the confit in the fridge.

For the cake assembling crème:

• 500 g cream cheese | 17.65 oz
• 80 g powdered sugar | 2.80 oz
• 80 g cream (with at least 33% fat content) | 2.80 oz
• 40 g cherry puree | 1.40 oz

Combine the cream cheese with the powdered sugar at a low mixer speed; add the cream and the cherry puree. Combine again. That's it, the crème is ready!

For the covering crème:

• 600 g cream cheese | 21.15 oz
• 100 g powdered sugar | 3.55 oz
• 40 g cream (with at least 33% fat content) | 1.40 oz
• 60 g raspberry puree | 210 oz

Combine the cheese with the powdered sugar at the lowest speed of the mixer. Set 160 g (5.65 oz) aside, and add 40 g (1.40 oz) of cream; combine. Put it in a pastry bag. You will need white crème for cake decoration. Add 60 g (2.10 oz) of raspberry puree to the remaining mass, and combine; place it in pastry bag. The delicate pink crème for covering is ready!

Assemble the cake, following the next order:

a sponge biscuit layer / crème rim / raspberry confit / crème / a sponge biscuit layer / crème / cheesecake / crème / a sponge biscuit layer / crème / crème rim / raspberry confit / a sponge biscuit layer.

Bon Appetit!