Raffaello cake by Juli

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 500 ml milk
• 100 g sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 45 g cornstarch
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla pod(s) or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, size M
• 100 g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar or tonka bean zest
• 120 g flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 250 g mascarpone
• 4 tbsp almond butter, white
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 22 Confectionery (Raffaello)
• 400 g whipped cream
• flavoring, coconut or bitter almond flavoring
• 6 sheets of gelatin
• 3 tbsp coconut milk
• 200 g whipped cream
• 1 pack of cream stiffener
• Desiccated coconut
• 6 sweets (Raffaelo) or more

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 day 4 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 5 hours 55 minutes

for a 24cm springform pan

Make a vanilla pudding for the filling. Either from a packet or make it yourself. My recipe for this was to boil 450 ml of milk with a vanilla pod or vanilla extract. Mix the sugar with salt and cornstarch. Then add 50 ml of cold milk to the cornstarch and add the 2 egg yolks. When the milk boils, remove it from the heat and add the egg yolk mixture to the hot milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Then bring the mixture back to the boil on the stovetop, stirring constantly, and cook for about 1 minute, until a firm pudding forms. Place cling film directly over the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate overnight to cool completely. For the sponge cake: Preheat the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat). Grease the bottom of a 24 cm springform pan or line it with baking paper. Do not grease the sides. Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar in a bowl for about 10 minutes until frothy. Mix the flour and salt and carefully fold in. Pour the sponge cake mixture into the prepared tin. Bake immediately for 20-25 minutes on the middle rack. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes before removing it from the tin. Cool completely on a wire rack. Then cut into two layers and fill. For the filling: Whip the prepared, cooled vanilla pudding with a hand mixer and add the flavoring drop by drop. Then stir in the mascarpone. Now add the vanilla sugar and almond butter. Crush the 22 Raffaello in a bag or chop briefly in a mixer. Do not over-whip the Raffaello, as this will lose the crunch. Add the Raffaello to the filling and mix. Soften the gelatine in a bowl of cold water and then squeeze out the excess crunch. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Dissolve the gelatine in a small saucepan, then add a ladleful of the whipped cream to the gelatine and let it dissolve well. Carefully fold the remaining whipped cream into the heavy mascarpone mixture to create a fluffy cream. Then fold the gelatine into the filling. Place the bottom layer of sponge cake on a cake plate, soak it in, and place a cake ring around it. Now quickly spread half of the filling on the sponge cake base, smooth it out, cover with the second layer of sponge cake, then add the remaining filling and smooth it out. Leave the cake to cool in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight if possible, to set. On the day you want to make the cake, whip the cream using a sachet of cream stiffener, spread it all over the cake, press the desiccated coconut onto the edge of the cake, and decorate with dots of cream. Press the remaining Raffaello onto the dots. Refrigerate until ready to serve.