Creme Bruleed Chocolate Chiffon Bundt Cake

Creme Bruleed Chocolate Chiffon Bundt Cake
Originally uploaded by watchjennybake.

I have been hearing about this recipe from my co-worker for several months now, so when it came time to pick a dessert to bring for our French-themed International Dinner Night, it was a no-brainer.

The book Baking With Julia is a cookbook I think everyone should have, particularly aspiring bakers, so I'm not going to copy the recipe here. (Ha HA!). I think the end result was good enough to try for the actual recipe, but you could probably mimic it with recipes you already have and end up with a similar result.

The first step is to make a custard, similar to what you would make for creme brulee, only not broiling or toasting it on its own. The egg yolks and sugar are cooked over simmering water until thick and creamy.

I made the custard a day ahead.

The cake batter is a typical chiffon cake, where you fold in whipped egg whites at the end. I am the proud owner of a new mesh strainer so I was all over sifting the dry ingredients. I usually skip this step but it definitely helps create a nice texture.


To help the egg whites not loose their volume, they have to be gradually folded into the batter. Only about 1/3 is added at first, to lighten the batter, and then the batter is folded into the egg whites. I took pictures of every step, just for kicks.


I smiled when I took the cake out of the oven, because the recipe said it should have a crack on the top and be just starting to pull away from the edges. Check! You'll also see my well-used bundt pan that I found for 50 cents at a garage sale - the same day I bought a $1 cake saver. Love garage sales for baking supplies.


After the cake has cooled, and right before serving, raspberries have to be tossed with Chambord and spooned into the middle of the cake. Chambord is SO yummy with chocolate, and using fresh raspberries really kicks up the flavor of the liquor.


The custard comes into play now, as it gets poured over the berries and over the sides of the cake. As you can tell, mine was probably not quite thick enough, and drained through the berries pretty quickly. The hostess at the party had a culinary torch, so the resident chef (NOT me) did the broiling of the sugar on the top of the custard. It didn't matter ultimately that the custard sunk through - you can put sugar on anything and broil it!




Here is a bigger picture of the finished project. It may have looked more impressive with a thicker custard, but I like seeing the raspberries peeking through.


The recipe says to serve it right away, and I did. With the number of people there, we quickly made it disappear.


I would make this recipe again. It wasn't difficult, it is just time consuming and some things need to be done ahead of time. The cake had an amazing flavor and was nice and light.

Categories: Cake, Chocolate, Custard, Raspberries