Cristina Cake

For my sister's name day, I decided to prepare a delicious cake with a cocoa base, coffee cream, raspberry jam, decorated with whipped cream, ladybugs, and sugar flowers. This recipe will not only delight the taste buds but will also add a touch of magic to the celebration.

We start with the base. The first step is to separate the eggs. In a food processor, beat the butter (or margarine) with the sugar until it becomes a creamy mixture. Add the egg yolks one at a time, continuing to mix well each time. Next comes the cocoa, which will give the base an intense flavor, followed by the milk poured in a thin stream. After that, we add half of the flour and mix well.

In another bowl, we beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they become a firm foam. Slowly, with a spoon, we add the egg white foam to the previous mixture, carefully folding from the bottom up to maintain the aeration. It is important that the base has a slightly liquid consistency, and for that, I used 10 heaping tablespoons of flour. The resulting mixture is poured into a round baking pan lined with parchment paper and placed in the oven at 180 degrees for about 35 minutes.

For the syrup, we combine water with sugar and orange peel, allowing it to boil for 5 minutes. Once the syrup is ready, we take it off the heat and add rum essence or other preferred flavors, letting it cool.

The coffee cream is prepared as follows: in a small pot, we heat the milk, and in a saucepan, we mix the egg yolks with sugar, vanilla seeds, and flour. We start pouring the warm milk over the mixture, continuously whisking, then place the saucepan on the heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Finally, we add a cup of coffee, continuing to boil until the cream thickens. Once the cream reaches the desired consistency, we remove the vanilla pod, add the butter, and mix well.

After the base, cream, and syrup have cooled, we cut the base in half, ensuring the bottom is thicker than the top. We soak it well to achieve a moist and flavorful cake.

For decoration, we put the liquid cream in a mixer and beat it until it becomes firm, without overdoing it, so it remains soft and velvety. We fill the cake with the coffee cream, adding raspberry jam in places, then coat the cake with whipped cream. We decorate with additional whipped cream and with ladybugs and sugar flowers for a festive look.

In a small cup, we mix a bit of whipped cream with a spoonful of raspberry jam, being careful not to whip it, to achieve a delicate mixture. The cake is left to chill before serving, to allow the flavors to meld.

Servings: 12
Total time: 2 hours
Enjoy your meal!