Raffaello coconut cake

Name: Raffaello coconut cake
Ingredients: 6 eggs; 1 vial vanilla essence or 1 sachet vanilla sugar; 200 g sugar; 150 g flour; 50 g starch; 1/8 teaspoon fine salt; 450 ml heavy cream; 250 g mascarpone; 150 g powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla essence; 100 g coconut; 300 ml coconut milk; 50 g butter; 30 g powdered sugar; 30 g milk powder; 30 g coconut; 10 sweet almonds; 200 ml heavy cream; 100 g coconut

Dessert - Raffaello coconut cake by Nadia N. - Recipia

Raffaello coconut cake with an airy sponge, mascarpone and coconut cream, covered in whipped cream and almond candies. Coconut is one of my favorite flavors, and I serve this cake cold, in thin slices, with unsweetened tea; I love when each slice keeps a clear layer of cream and sponge. Preparation: 75 minutes. Cooking: 30 minutes. Resting: 8 hours and 30 minutes. Total time: 10 hours and 15 minutes. Servings: 12. Approximately 700 kcal and 10 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

For the sponge

6 eggs
1 vial vanilla essence or 1 sachet vanilla sugar
200 g sugar
150 g flour
50 g starch
1/8 teaspoon fine salt

For the cream

450 ml heavy cream
250 g mascarpone
150 g powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
100 g coconut

For the syrup

300 ml coconut milk

For the candies

50 g butter
30 g powdered sugar
30 g milk powder
30 g coconut
10 sweet almonds

For decoration

200 ml heavy cream
100 g coconut

Preparation

1. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with the salt until foamy, then gradually add the sugar, mixing until it dissolves. Mix the egg yolks with the vanilla essence or vanilla sugar. 2. Gently fold the yolks into the foam. Sift the flour and starch, then gradually fold them in. 3. Pour the mixture into a 24 cm round pan lined with baking paper. Bake at 170°C for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave the sponge to cool completely, about 2 hours. 4. Beat 450 ml of heavy cream with the mascarpone, powdered sugar and vanilla essence. Fold in 100 g of coconut and chill the cream for 30 minutes. 5. Mix the softened butter with the powdered sugar, then fold in the milk powder and 30 g of coconut. Shape into 10 balls, placing an almond in the middle of each one. 6. Cut the cooled sponge into 3 layers. Place the first layer on a serving plate, soak it with some of the 300 ml of coconut milk, then spread over some cream. Add the second layer, soak it and add cream. Place the last layer on top and cover the cake with a thin layer of the remaining cream. 7. Chill the cake for 30 minutes. 8. Beat 200 ml of heavy cream until it holds its shape. Set aside a few spoonfuls for piping, then cover the cake with a thin layer of whipped cream. Sprinkle with 100 g of coconut, pipe on the reserved cream and place the candies on top. Chill the cake for 4 hours before serving.

Notes

A slice goes well with unsweetened black tea, which lets the coconut stay front and center. You can bake the sponge a day ahead and keep it covered at room temperature, so there’s less to do on assembly day. Keep the assembled cake in the fridge and eat it within 3 days. For the syrup, you can replace the 300 ml of coconut milk with the same amount of cow’s milk; the cake contains gluten, eggs, dairy and almonds. By the slice, it’s similar to classic bakery cakes, but the coconut in the candies changes the texture from one layer to the next. Cold cream, taken straight from the fridge just before beating, whips more easily and holds the piped swirls better. Fine coconut distributes evenly through the cream, while large flakes leave distinct pieces. Don’t rush to cut the sponge while it’s still a little warm, because it crumbles more easily than one that has cooled completely.