Exquisite cake with cotton cheesecake layer, raspberry & almonds

This cake is light, airy and not sugary at all: wet almond biscuits, cotton cheesecake, delicate creamy mousse with white chocolate and mascarpone. All this harmony is perfectly complemented by a raspberry coulis, which has already become my favorite for the sponge biscuit cakes, since it has the taste and the color of fresh berries; but at the same time it keeps the shape perfectly and has a natural viscosity, doesn’t blur in the cake, although contains no gelatin or agar.

The calculation is for an 18 cm (7 inch) mold.

1. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until fluffy; gradually add sugar, and whip until moderately dense peaks. Add the yolks and vanilla (pre-mixed until homogeneous), carefully stirring the mass with a silicone spatula from the top to the bottom. Finally, add the flour in several passes (mix the wheat and the almond flour), stirring in the same way, but not for long (the egg whites should keep the fluffiness).
2. The almond flour can be made on your own by peeling and drying the almonds (you can soak it with the boiling water for 15 minutes, and peel).
3. Pour the dough into two 18 cm (7 inch) molds, and bake it in the oven preheated to 180C (356F) for 30 to 35 minutes until tender. Check the readiness with a dry toothpick.
4. Cool the sponge biscuits on a wire rack, and cut off the tops before assembling. This sponge cake doesn’t have to stand in the fridge overnight.
5. Before assembling, soak it with some hot sweetened milk or coconut milk. This biscuit must be soaked!

Heat the raspberries to 35-38C (95 to 100F). Mix the pectin with sugar, and pour it into the raspberries; bring the mix to a boil, and cook for 4-5 minutes until thickened (stirring all the time). Cool the mass down. The consistency should be fairly viscous.

1. Before cooking the cheesecake, put a baking sheet on the lower oven tier (this is important for the cheesecake not to burn!), and pour the water into it. Turn on the oven at 160C (320F), and prepare the molds (lay out the parchment on the bottom and the sides; wrap the mold tightly with 3 layers of foil or cling film! The water shouldn’t get into the dough, otherwise the dough will be irretrievably spoiled.
2. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt to dense peaks of the “tail” state. It means that the “tail” hangs from the corolla, and you can wave it. If the “tail” runs off, then the egg whites are underwhipped. But you shouldn’t overwhip it as well. The egg whites will raise the cheesecake to such a magnificent height.
3. Whip the room temperatured cream cheese in a different bowl at a low speed until creamy. Add the soft butter, and whip again until smooth.
4. Whisk the egg yolks, the powdered sugar and vanilla separately. Add the yolks gradually to the cheese mass, and whip at a low speed until smooth. Finally, add the lemon juice and one half of the milk; turn off the mixer.
5. Carefully add the flour sifted with the starch; pour in the second half of the milk, and mix at a low speed (don’t stir for too long!). Finally, add the whipped egg whites in three passes; mix the mass carefully with a silicone spatula. 
6. Pour the finished mixture into an 18 cm (7 inch) mold, greased with butter; place it in the preheated oven right on a baking sheet with water. Bake the cheesecake at 160C (320F) for about 30 minutes. It will rise a lot, and the top will be slightly browned.
7. If the top gets cracked, it means the oven is too hot or you have put the cake too high. The cracks don’t affect the taste.
8. After 30 minutes have passed, turn off the oven, and leave the cheesecake in it for at least another hour without opening the door. Then, take the cheesecake out, and place it in the cold for at least 4 hours to stabilize. Remove it from the mold (it will be still warm), and refrigerate for 4 hours. Before assembling, cut off the top with a sharp knife or a thread for evenness of the finished cake.

It should be cooked right before assembling!

1. Pour the water into a saucepan, and add the sugar; boil the syrup to 121C (250F). Whisk the yolks, and pour in a thin stream of syrup; keep whisking until the mixture cools. Pre-soak the gelatin in the ice water. Add the chocolate, the gelatin and 50 g (1.75 oz) of hot cream to the hot mixture. Mix again.
2. Rub the room temperatured mascarpone with a spatula, not with a whisk, otherwise it may exfoliate. Mix it gently with a warm egg mixture (40-45C | 104 to 113F).
3. Whip the cream until soft peaks. First, add a half of the cream to the mixture, and stir; and then, add the remaining half.

Assemble the cake, following the next order:

a sponge cake layer – 1/4 mousse – coulis in the middle of the mousse – 1/4 mousse – wait for 10 minutes until the mousse starts to set – cheesecake – ¼ mousse – coulis – 1/4 mousse – wait until the mousse starts to set – a sponge cake layer.

Place the cake in the cold overnight, and cover it with the coating crème in the morning.

Bon Appetit!