Tuesdays With Dorie – Baking with Julia: White Chocolate Patty Cake

This week I made a delectable cake full of luscious white chocolate and raspberry flavor. Contributing baker, Marcel Desaulniers, attributes the whimsical name of this cake to the action of patting down the edges of the cake to level it in preparation for the raspberry purée that is spread atop each layer.  To make this cake, white chocolate is melted in a double boiler with butter before being mixed into a batter of whipped egg yolks and sugar. Sifted cake flour is folded in followed by a mountain of whipped egg whites.  Raspberries are puréed with lemon juice and sugar and pressed through a sieve to remove the seeds.  The purée is spread, and the top is garnished with tons of fresh raspberries.

The cakes sink after cooling (pictured here) hence the need for “pattycaking” to level the layers.  The tops are golden, crumbly, and taste like meringue.

This has to be one of my favorite recipes that I’ve made for Baking with Julia (because white chocolate, hello!) I love the way it turned out! The white chocolate, butter, and egg-filled batter create a dense, rich cake that is complimented and balanced by the sweet, tart, and acidic raspberry purée.  I may or may not have eaten most of the cake by myself.  This would also be yummy served with a little whipped cream and lemon zest.

Here is a video from the series detailing the whole process,

you can find out who else made this recipe and what they thought here!