Chocolate Joconde Food

MINI JOCONDE SPONGE CAKES

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 half sheet trays (each 18 by 13 inches) with cooking spray and line each with parchment paper then spray the parchment generously.
• Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, cake flour and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the whole eggs until smooth and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Sprinkle in the granulated sugar and whip on high speed until the mixture reaches soft peaks, about 1 minute. Gently fold in half of the egg whites into the flour mixture until combined, then fold that mixture into the remaining egg whites and fold until fully incorporated. Fold in the melted butter.
• Divide the batter equally between the 2 prepared sheet trays and spread evenly--it will not reach all four sides of a pan and that's okay. Bake, rotating 180 degrees halfway through baking, until the edges of the cakes are lightly golden and the surface springs back when touched, about 8 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in the sheet trays to room temperature.
• For the buttercream: Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl using a hand mixer, start whipping together the butter, powdered sugar and salt. Mix in a little bit of the milk at a time so the mixture is not too dry. Add the vanilla. Turn up the mixer speed and whip until the buttercream is smooth. If the buttercream is too wet, mix in a bit more powdered sugar; if it's too stiff, mix in a bit more butter. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure everything is combined.
• Use immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Re-whip if the buttercream is cold.
• Divide the buttercream equally between 2 small bowls. Add the pink gel color to one of the bowls and whisk well to combine. Add the blue gel color to the other bowl and whisk well to combine. Transfer each buttercream to its own piping bag fitted with a star tip.
• For assembly and decorating: Working with 1 cake at a time, gently turn out onto a cutting board and remove the parchment. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cutter, cut each cake into 36 rounds. Pipe the pink buttercream around the edges of 8 cake rounds. Pipe the blue buttercream around the edges of another 8 cake rounds. Place 1 teaspoon of the jam in the middle of each frosted cake round. To stack the cakes, place any frosted cake round on top of another frosted cake round then top with a plain cake round. Repeat to create a total of twenty-four 3-layer mini cakes. Drizzle the melted candy melting wafers over the cakes, pipe a buttercream rosette on top of each and decorate with sprinkles and/or sugar flowers.

JOCONDE CAKE

Steps:

• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla and beat on medium speed (you read that right) until just thick-it will start to leave marks from the whisk in the cream.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using the whisk attachment, continue whipping by hand for several seconds until the cream reaches the desired consistency; this way, you can ensure the mixer won't take it too far. Whipped cream is best used right away.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease an 11 by 16-inch jelly-roll pan, then line the bottom with greased parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour and almond flour. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs and 1⁄2 cup sugar on high speed for about 8 minutes. The batter should be very light in color and texture. When you lift the whisk out of the mixture, the batter should form a ribbon that sits on the surface of the egg foam for several seconds. Turn the speed to medium and continue to whip for 1 minute more. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using the whisk attachment or a rubber spatula, gently fold the almond mixture into the egg foam in three additions.
• In a clean mixer bowl with a clean whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and salt on medium speed just until they start to foam. Slowly sprinkle in the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar to create a French meringue, then whip on high speed until glossy, stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using the whisk attachment or a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula.
• Bake until the cake is set and just golden on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
• Dust a clean kitchen towel with confectioners' sugar. Invert the joconde onto the prepared towel and carefully peel off the parchment paper.
• Cover the joconde with half of the whipped cream, then top with half of the berries.
• Using the towel to get started, roll the joconde, starting at the short end, into as tight a log as you can manage. Transfer the log to a serving platter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Remove the log from the refrigerator, then top with the remaining whipped cream and berries. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.