I tweaked an old recipe I'd found in one of my mom's Bon Appetit magazines (saved over the last thirty years). The original recipe came from Alice Medrich, who founded Cocolat Chocolate Company in Berkeley, CA in 1976. My husband and I had fond memories of frequenting one of her shops back in the eighties; what a treat to find Alice had shared many of her recipes in the magazine I was looking at twenty-some years later! I've shared one of them here, with a few adaptations of my own. It might seem involved, but it doesn't take that much work. You just do the steps ahead of time, and the cream cultures into Creme Fraiche on its own, and the cranberries get candied as they soak... Makes 10-12 servings.
Creme Fraiche
This will be used in the frosting, to be whipped. Fresh cream (instead of Creme Fraiche) could be substituted, if you haven't done this step.
Two or so days earlier, heat in small saucepan, to lukewarm (85 degrees): > 4 c. whipping cream
Remove from heat and mix in: > ¼ c. buttermilk
Cover and let stand in warm, draft-free area until slightly thickened, 24-48 hours. Cover and refrigerate until using.
Candied Cranberries
Place in bowl: > 12 oz. bag (3 c.) cranberries
Cook in small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves: > 1 ¼ c. sugar > ¾ c. water
Increase heat, bringing sugar/water mix to a boil. Pour boiling syrup over berries. Weight berries with a plate. Steam the berries, having bowl sit on a steamer rack, covering and steaming for 45 min. I used my crock pot, setting the bowl of cranberries in the crock pot, which I'd filled with 2" or so of water. Basically, you're trying to cook the berries in the sugar syrup without having them burst open; the steaming process assures that they won't cook at too high a heat and turn to mush. Also, they tend to float, hence the plate is used to weight them down.
After steaming, let stand at room temperature for 2-4 days without stirring.
Chocolate "Genoise" Cake
Prehat oven to 350°. Grease 8x2" round cake pan; dust with flour. In warm area (like on top of stove), heat until lukewarm, stirring occasionally: > 4 eggs > ⅔ c. sugar
In separate cup, melt mixture of: > 3 TBS. butter > 1 tsp. vanilla
Mix dry ingredients together separately: > scant ½ c. flour > scant ½ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
Beat egg/sugar mix until tripled in volume. Sift one third of flour mixture over eggs and fold in. Repeat two more times. Fold in melted butter/vanilla last. Put into prepared pan and bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and is springy, about 30 min. Let cool.
Drain cranberries, reserving syrup. Mix together and set aside: > ¼ c. syrup > 2 TBS. frozen orange juice concentrate
Split the sponge cake into three layers using serrated knife. Put first layer (cut-side up) onto cake plate (or onto an 8" cardboard round). Brush the cut side of all three layers with the cranberry/orange mixture.
Chocolate Mousse, and White Frosting
Microwave 30 seconds or so, and stir until melted: > Scant 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips > 3 TBS. water
Set the melted chocolate mixture aside and let cool off some. Meanwhile, whip just until soft peaks form: > 4 ¼ c. chilled Creme Fraiche (or substitute straight whipping cream)
To prepare the Chocolate Mousse, fold into the cooled chocolate mixture: > 1 c. of the above whipped Creme Fraiche
Set aside. Meanwhile, to the rest of the whipped Creme Fraiche add: > 1 c. Confectioner's sugar > 1 TBS. vanilla
To finish assembling cake, add to first cake layer on the cake plate: > Half the candied cranberries > Half the Chocolate Mousse mixture
Add the middle layer of the cake next, also topping with: > Almost Half the candied cranberries (save some for garnishing) > The other Half the Chocolate Mousse mixture
Finally, add top layer of cake (cut-side down), and frost entire cake with the White Frosting. Top with some cranberry garnishes, and perhaps some shavings of dark chocolate along the sides.
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