Oh — and while we’re on the subject of the berries, let me just point out my own little food styling misjudgment: In the photo (if you look closely… really closely… zoom in if you have to) you can see that I dusted the berries with a bit of powdered sugar.  But… you know what?  I don’t really like that idea.  Fresh berries are beautiful just as they are.  I say, resist the temptation to dust them or drizzle them or do whatever it is you are thinking of doing to them.  Just leave them be.

Before you begin, you might want to read about making the chocolate band enclosure in “Valentine’s Chocolate Ruffle Cake.”  It’s messy but fun!  And I’m telling you, once you learn how to do this you will want to wrap everything in chocolate.

Make the Cake Layers:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons freshly brewed coffee

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Butter two eight-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fully whipped and light in color.  (This will take 3-5 minutes.)  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the butter mixture in alternating 1/3 batches, starting with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix the batter until fully blended.

Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.  Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the centers spring back when pressed lightly.  Cool for 10 minutes on a rack, then remove from pans and allow to finish cooling.

Make the Buttercream:

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound unsalted butter, cool room temperature
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)

Chop the chocolates and melt in a bowl over simmering water until smooth.  Allow to cool.

Mix the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk.  Heat the egg whites in the bowl over simmering water until they are warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.  Whisk on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the meringue is cool and holds a stiff peak.

Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, while beating on medium speed.  Scrape down the bowl, add the chocolate, vanilla, espresso, and rum and mix for 1 minute or until the chocolate is completely blended in.  If the buttercream seems very soft, allow it to cool and beat it again.

Assemble the Cake:

Divide each cake into two layers horizontally using a sharp serrated knife.  Attach the bottom layer to an 8-inch cardboard round with a dollop of buttercream.  Spread more buttercream over the top of the base layer, then top with another cake layer.  Continue until all four cake layers are stacked evenly. Spread buttercream over the top and sides of the cake.

To wrap the cake in a chocolate band (as pictured) follow the directions here for “Valentine’s Chocolate Ruffle Cake.”  Be sure your chocolate band is at least 1/4 inch taller than the height of the finished cake.

Finish the cake with a layer of fresh raspberries, arranging the berries in concentric circles starting at the outside edge of the cake.

Note, you may also wish to use raspberries between the cake layers, but only if you are serving the cake on the same day.  Otherwise, the berries may break down and become soggy inside the cake.  Raspberries are very fragile!

I taught a class last weekend on how to make this cake and it was a blast.  Each participant made her own chocolate ruffle cake and this one pictured here is, in fact, the work of one of my students, Amna.  Do you know how proud a teacher is when the work of her student is better than her own?  Amna’s success really made my day.  I had made a cake during the demonstration portion of the class and had stashed it in the refrigerator to photograph later. But when Amna finished hers, I knew mine wasn’t worthy of the lens.  Amna’s was spectacular.

This edible masterpiece did not come into being without a healthy dose of patience and perseverance.  Toward the end of the class when everyone was making their ruffles, we had a bit of an atmospheric disaster: The temperature and humidity of the kitchen got too high and the chocolate would not cooperate.  Ruffles were falling flat and melted, gooey chocolate was beginning to coat every surface.  Frustration was mounting and some students had no choice but to take their cakes home only half-ruffled.

But Amna stayed to the end.  We returned the chocolate-coated sheet pans to the refrigerator, opened the windows and waited.. and waited… for the kitchen to cool.  Finally, the stars aligned and things started to go our way.  We not only got some great ruffles, but some curls and dramatic spikes, too.

I think all my students would agree that the greatest lesson of the day was this:  Sometimes in baking, and in love, the unexpected happens.  All you can do is take a deep breath, exercise a little patience and understanding, and keep going.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Chocolate Ruffle Cake Assembly and Instructions:

1 eight-inch chocolate cake, baked and divided into three even layers (Genoise has a nice, light texture, but any chocolate cake will do.  You can’t really go wrong, so just use your favorite recipe.)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) or other liqueur of your choice

2 cups creme fraiche (cold)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pints fresh raspberries
1 pound good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1-inch pieces.

Materials:

Pastry brush
One 6-inch cardboard round
One sheet of .005 Mylar (available at art supply stores.)
One 18-by-13-inch jelly roll pan, washed and dried.  Do not use nonstick.

Make the simple syrup: Combine the sugar and water in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer, stirring just until the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the liqueur, remove from the heat, and set aside.

Prepare the creme fraiche filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the creme fraiche, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed until the creme fraiche is stiff.

Assemble the cake: Brush the bottom of the bottom layer of cake with simple syrup, using a pastry brush.  Set the cake layer onto the cardboard round, syrup-side down.  Brush the top of the same layer with more simple syrup, then spread about 1/2 cup of the whipped creme fraiche over the top.  Arrange 8-10 raspberries over the layer, then push them down gently into the creme fraiche.  Spread another 1/4 cup of whipped creme fraiche over the tops of the berries.  Repeat with the remaining cake layers, filling, and raspberries, ending with a layer of creme fraiche over the top cake layer. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before proceeding.

Make the chocolate band: Trim a band of Mylar to the exact circumference and about 1/2 inch higher than the assembled cake.  Melt 1/4  of the chocolate in a bowl suspended over an inch of simmering water (or in the microwave in 10-second intervals on high) until the chocolate is smooth and spreadable.  It should feel warm to the touch, but not hot, so be sure to remove it from the heat just as soon as the last bit of chocolate is melted.  Lay the Mylar strip flat on a piece of wax paper and then, working with an offset spatula in one hand and the bowl of melted chocolate in the other, pour and spread the chocolate over the Mylar band, covering it completely and spreading the chocolate all the way over the edges.  The layer of melted chocolate should be about 1/8 of an inch thick.  Allow it to stiffen ever so slightly while you remove the cake from the refrigerator.  Slip your fingers under the band, grip it at either end, and then affix the band to the cake by pressing the chocolate-coated side against the cake all the way around.  Transfer the cake to the refrigerator (leaving the Mylar strip intact) once again and refrigerate for another 30 minutes while you make the ruffles.

Make the ruffles: Melt the remaining chocolate in the same fashion (using a bowl suspended over an inch of simmering water or in the microwave) and pour it over the back of the jelly roll pan, spreading with an offset spatula to a thickness of about 1/16 inch thick.  Transfer the jelly roll pan to the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.  Remove the pan from the refrigerator and slowly bring the chocolate back to room temperature.  (The room should be cool and dry, about 68F is ideal.)  At the point where the chocolate is malleable but not too soft, fashion ruffles with an offset spatula.  Holding the spatula by the handle with one hand and gripping the tip in the other, push the edge of the spatula against the pan, starting at one edge and moving the spatula in an arcing motion.  Transfer finished ruffles to a chilled plate or pan, moving them to the refrigerator in batches so they hold their shape.

Create the ruffle top:Remove the cake from the refrigerator and carefully peel away the Mylar strip.  You should have a glossy, solid band of chocolate encasing the entire cake.  Arrange the ruffles in concentric circles over the top of the cake starting at the outside edge, setting them into the creme fraiche at a slight angle so they are sticking up and jutting out in all directions.  Finish the cake with one perfect raspberry in the center of the ruffles.

Final step (and this is essential): Eat it with someone you love.

Figs and raspberries are still on the shelves here in Northern California (not at their cheapest) but I realize they’re already gone in most of the rest of the country.  So bookmark this recipe for next fall.  You’ll love it.

Make the Poppy Seed Crust

2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unblanched almonds, lightly toasted and cooled
1/4 cup poppy seeds, lightly toasted and cooled
1/2 cup granulated sugar (divided)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of finely grated lemon zest
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Whisk the eggs together with the vanilla in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Put the almonds, poppy seeds, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Pulse until the almonds are very finely chopped, but not oily.  Transfer the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and add the remaining sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest.  Mix on low for 10 seconds, just to combine.

Keeping the mixer on low, add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add the eggs and vanilla mixture, mixing just until incorporated.

Turn the dough onto a smooth work surface dusted with flour and knead gently two or three times until it holds together.  Separate into two slightly uneven halves, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to allow the dough to rest.

Make the Fig-Raspberry Filling

3/4 cup fresh figs, quartered
3/4 lb fresh raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
fresh lemon juice to taste

Place half of the figs and half of the raspberries in a medium saucepan and stir in the sugars, flour, zest, and butter.  Bring the mixture to a soft boil over medium heat, stirring often to prevent the fruit from burning.  Once the mixture is thickened (about 8 minutes), transfer the cooked fruit to a large bowl and stir in the uncooked fruit.  Add more lemon juice to taste, if needed.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

Remove the dough rounds from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.  Roll the smaller half into an 11-inch round and press into the bottom of a 9-inch fluted tart pan.  Don’t fret if the dough breaks; you can patch it with scraps and no one will ever know the difference.  Pinch the excess dough up around the edge of the tart pan, as you’ll have a bit of shrinkage during baking.

Pour the cooled fruit filling into the dough-lined tart pan.  Refrigerate while you roll out the larger dough round.

Roll out the remaining dough into a 10-inch circle.  Using a fluted pastry wheel, slice the round into strips.  Remove the chilled tart from the refrigerator and arrange the strips over the top of the fruit in a lattice pattern.  For a “quick” lattice: Place one strip vertically along the edge of the tart, then another across the top, farthest away from you.  Brush the strips with egg wash (1 yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon water) and repeat, laying strips vertically and horizontally in an alternating pattern and brushing them with egg wash after each strip until the tart is covered.  Refrigerate the entire tart for at least 30 minutes, covered loosely in plastic wrap.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Remove tart from the refrigerator and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  Place on the middle rack, setting a greased cookie sheet underneath to catch fruit drippings.  Bake for 45 minutes until the fruit is thick and bubbling and the crust is golden brown.  Cool until slightly warmer than room temperature.

Serve with good-quality ginger or vanilla ice cream.