This is what DREAMS are made of...
Updated: Feb 28, 2019
COCONUT-WALNUT RAFFAELLO CAKE
Raffaelo truffles have been my favorite since I was a little girl. When I was child, we used to consider these "expensive chocolate balls" (because let's be honest, they aren't the cheapest chocolate out there). However, my father would always buy these and a few boxes would just sit in our pantry. There is just something about them...that I could honestly have 5 all at once. This recipe here has been inspired by these 'Raffaelo truffles.' I know there are a few cake recipes out there on the internet that imitate this popular truffle. My recipe is a bit different as it consists of walnuts instead of almonds and a lot LESS coconut but just the perfect amount. The lushing coconut is the last thing to hit your taste-buds....leaving you wanting more!
HOLY-COCONUTS!
Ingredients:
-6 eggs
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1 cup sugar
-8 oz Mascarpone Cheese (room temperature)
-1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
-4 tablespoons of coconut milk
-125 grams of white chocolate
-3 tablespoons whole milk
-2 cups of heavy whipping cream
-1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
-2 cups of ground walnuts (1 cup for cake filling & 1 cup for decorations)
-12 Raffaelo truffles (decorations)
-2 oz shaved chocolate (decorations)
Instructions:
Baking the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Separate egg whites from yolks.
3. Beat 6 egg whites until foamy and then gradually add 1 cup of sugar.
4. Mix until stiff peak forms.
5. Then add in the egg yolks and gently fold. You can use a hand mixer on the lowest.
6. Add 1 cup of ground walnuts and gently fold the batter together using a spatula.
7. Then add 1 cup of all-purpose flour and gently fold. Be gentle with the batter so you don't over mix. If you over mix, it will lose its fluffiness.
7. Grease a 9 inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
8. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, but check readiness with a toothpick. The batter should not stick to the toothpick
9. When baked, take out of the oven and let cake completely cool down on a rack.
10. Cut the cake in half or in 3 layers.
11. Soak the cake layers in coconut milk. (Using a spoon, drizzle coconut milk all over each cake layer).
12. Set the cakes on parchment paper until you've made the filling.
Making the Filling:
1. Combine white chocolate and 3 tablespoons of milk in a bowl. You can either melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan on the stove or put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Mix the white chocolate until it's completely melted.
2. In another bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese.
3. Then add the melted white chocolate to the whipped mascarpone cheese.
4. Using a hand mixer, mix the mascarpone cheese and white chocolate together until you get a smoothy, creamy texture.
5. In another chilled bowl, using a chilled whisk, add 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and whip.
6. Add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and whip until a stiff peak forms.
7. Gradually add the whipped topping into the white chocolate mixture and gently fold.
8. Once you added all of the whipped topping into the white chocolate mixture, add 1 cup of the unsweetened coconut flakes and gently fold.
9. Set into the fridge until ready to use.
Assembling the cake:
1. Apply the filling on the first layer of the cake. Drizzle ground almonds on the filling.
2. Apply the other layer of cake.
3. Cover the entire cake with with the remaining filling cream.
4. Decorate the cake with Raffaello truffles and ground walnuts or as you wish.
The white chocolate and the unsweetened coconut combined gives the perfect amount of sweetness that I didn't need to add anymore sweetener. If it is not sweet enough for you, you can always add a teaspoon of coconut extract (if you have it) to the filling cream.
*For a more Raffaello truffle look, decorate the cake all over with coconut flakes instead of ground walnuts.
*You can always use ground almonds instead of the ground walnuts. Same ratios.
*Instead of soaking the cake layers with coconut milk, you can use sweet condensed milk or whole milk.
Hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know if you try it. Leave a comment with any questions.
All my love,
Amina Brdarevic
Founder of EasternKitchen