Raspberry and Chocolate Slices!

Surely everyone remembers the GBBO series where Chigs, Crystelle, and Giuseppe made it to the final, Crystelle's focaccia nightmare, and Giuseppe winning the series? 

Well, long story short, but this recipe is one that Chigs made on the show! Two layers of joconde sponge, chocolate ganache, raspberry mousse and raspberry jelly layered up in order to create this stunning dessert that really does belong in a French patisserie! And the fact that I was able to recreate something close to the original shows just how far my skills are coming along. No long preamble before this post though as it's probably going to be a biggie as it is, but I actually took pictures of the assembly process this time!

The finished slices, with 
all their layers!

The first step was to prepare the joconde sponge for layers one and three. This was only my second time making this type of sponge, by whisking egg whites and sugar to form a stiff meringue, before folding in melted butter, flour, ground almonds, and vanilla paste. The mixture was then thinly spread onto two large baking trays that were larger than the frame. Then, once baked and cooled, I used my new metal frame to cut 24 x 22cm rectangle from each sponge, and set them aside for later. 

One third of the meringue mixed 
into the dry ingredients (and yes, 
I spelt joconde wrong!).

Whilst the sponges were cooling, it was time to prepare a raspberry puree, as this would provide the flavour for our raspberry syrup and raspberry jelly layer! The puree couldn't have been easier to prepare, with raspberries being blitzed in a food processor and passed through a sieve to remove the seeds. This was definitely the easiest component to this bake! 

With the puree made I could make the raspberry syrup. A little, but not all, of the raspberry puree is measured into a pan with water and caster sugar, and is heated until the sugar dissolves. I then added 2 teaspoons of Chambord, and left the syrup to cool. Nice and easy!

After leaving the syrup to cool, it was time to make the raspberry mouse. To prepare this mouse, fresh raspberries are pureed in a food processor to give a separate bowl of puree, before being added to a pan with caster sugar and gelatin. The puree is then heating to dissolve the sugar and gelatin. Once this mixture has cooled, double cream is whisked to soft peaks, and folded into the raspberry puree. At this point, prepping the components for the slices is going well!

The raspberry mousse, 
chilling! 

The next layer to prepare is the chocolate ganache, by simply heating up double cream until is steaming, but not boiling, and pouring it over finely chopped chocolate. When the chocolate is melted and the ganache is combined, a little butter is mixed in. This is the first time I've used butter in ganache, but apparently it helps the ganache to shine and enriches it slightly!

The ganache, also chilling!

At this point, construction on the slices can begin! To assemble the slices, one of the sponge layers is placed into the metal frame, and is brushed with plenty of the raspberry syrup. 

The first joconde layer,
brushed with the raspberry 
syrup!

Next up was the chocolate ganache, followed by another layer of sponge. After brushing this sponge layer with the syrup, the raspberry mousse is spread on top, and the whole slice is placed in the fridge to chill until the mousse is firm. 

The ganache on top of
the first joconde layer!

Whilst the slice firms up, the final layer to prepare is the raspberry jelly. The leftover raspberry puree is combined with equal parts water, before being brought to the boil. Gelatin leaves are then added, and the jelly is left to cool. Once cooled, the jelly layer is poured on top of the mousse, and the slice is returned to the fridge. 

With the mousse poured 
in, the slice was ready to 
chill!

The final component to prepare (I know I know, I said the jelly was the last part, but technically the jelly *is* the final layer) is the tempered chocolate for the decoration. To temper the dark chocolate, 3/4 of the total amount of chocolate is heated to 41 degrees C until it melts, then the remaining quarter of the chocolate is stirred in to melt it, until the chocolate cools to 32 degrees C. The tempered chocolate is then spread on to an acetate sheet, left to cool for roughly 10 minutes, and scored when it is almost set, then peeled off the sheet to create the shards. 

You've gotta respect the 
layers!

With the jelly set, the last thing to do was portion up the slab into the smaller slices, and decorate each slice with a fresh raspberry, a sprig of mint and the chocolate shards. A real labour of love this bake, but oh my days was it worth it! The different textures and tastes complimented each other so well, and the little kick from the Chambord really was the icing on the cake!

I'm totally over the moon with how these slices turned out! The sponge, ganache, mousse and jelly all set how I expected them to, and the decorations are so simple but so effective. Irritatingly, the only issue I had was with tempering the chocolate. Everything was going so well, but for some reason I couldn't temper the chocolate, which is frustrating when you consider I actually know how to do it. But really that is such a minor thing that I'm really not that fussed.

It's been so long since I made these, but I just haven't had chance to sit and write about them... I'm already thinking round two is in order! 

Gibby x