Gateau Royale for Jessica

Ingredients

• 5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into pieces
• 2 oz. sweet butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. (3 oz.) sifted cake flour
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 c. raspberry preserves
• 4-5 oz. almond paste
  

Bittersweet Chocolate Glaze

• 6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into pieces
• 4 oz. (1 stick) sweet butter, cut into pieces
• 1 tbsp. light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom of 9x2-inch round cake pan with a circle of parchment or wax paper.

Melt together chocolate, butter, and 3 tbsp water in a barely simmering water bath over low eat, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir until completely smooth. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar together until pale and thick. Stir in warm chocolate mixture; stir in flour. Set aside.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in a clean, dry mixing bowl at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beating at high speed until stiff but not dry. Fold on-fourth of whites gently into chocolate batter to lighten it. Fold in remaining whites. Turn batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick or wooden skewer plunged into the center comes out just dry. Do not over bake.

Cool cake for 10 minutes in pan on a rack. Run a small knife or spatula around the edge and invert onto cake circle.Peel off parchment. Invert once more onto a rack so that the cake is right side up. Save the cake circle. Cool cake completely on the rack before using. Cake may be prepared to this point, wrapped well, and kept at room temperature up to 2 days in advance, or frozen up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature before glazing or serving.

To Assemble the Cake: Place cooled cake right side up on cake circle. With a serrated bread knife, split cake horizontally into 2 thin layers. Set upper layer aside. Spread bottom layer evenly with half of preserves. Place top layer on preserves and spread with remaining preserves.

Roll almond paste between 2 sheets of plastic wrap until about 1/8 inch thick and at least 8 inches in diameter. Cut almond paste into a neat 8-inch round; save the scraps for another use. Center almond paste round on top of cake.

Glaze cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Glaze. Once glazed, do not refrigerate the cake.

Bittersweet Chocolate glaze: Place chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a small bowl. Melt gently in a water bath over low hear, stirring frequently until almost completely melted. Do not overheat the glaze; there is no need to warm it above 120 degrees F. Remove glaze from water bath and set aside to finish melting, stirring once or twice until glaze is perfectly smooth; do not whisk or beat. Use glaze at 90-92 degrees F. Pour evenly over cake and gently spread it evenly with a spatula. Leave torte at room temperature after glazing.

(From Alice Medrich's Cocolat)