Chocolate gateau with raspberry Bavarian cream

Last night Lu and I cooked dinner for eight friends and had a lovely night of eating, drinking and laughing til the small hours.  Squeezing all ten of us around our kitchen table was fun, but there was no problem getting the food to disappear fast, and within moments of putting this gateau on the table almost the whole thing had vanished, to the sound of lots of compliments!  I made this cake the day before to allow it to set overnight.  It's my first go at a 'Bavarian cream' - whipped cream with gelatin in (and in this case, a coulis of fresh raspberries and a good amount of Chambord black raspberry liqueur).  You place the cake inside a mould about an inch wider in diameter, and pour the moussey Bavarian cream around it to set.  The cloud-like texture of it was amazing, and works brilliantly with the combination of rich dark chocolate and sharp but sweet raspberries.  One of my all-time best cakes this, without a doubt.  (It's also, by the way, wheat-free: the cake is made only of three ingredients - eggs, sugar and cocoa powder.) 

Ingredients

For the chocolate gateaux

9 eggs

6 oz caster sugar

3 oz cocoa powder

For the chocolate ganache

100ml double cream

100g dark chocolate

For the raspberry syrup

2 oz sugar

6 tbsp water

4 tbsp Chambord raspberry liqueur

For the raspberry Bavarian cream

1lb raspberries

5 oz sugar

6 tbsp Chambord raspberry liqueur

1 tbsp gelatin powder

500ml double cream

For the whipped cream

300ml double cream

6 tbsp icing sugar

1 tbsp Chambord raspberry liqueur

To decorate

Raspberries

White chocolate stars

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Grease and line two 9 inch round cake tins.
2. To make the chocolate gateaux, begin by separating the eggs.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the whites until stiff but not too dry.
3. In a separate, large mixing bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar until pale and thick. 
4. Sift the cocoa powder into the egg yolk mixture and fold together with a large metal spoon.
5. Stir in a heaped spoonful of the egg white to loosen the cocoa mixture, and then fold in the rest of the whites with the metal spoon. 
6. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 15-20 mins.
7. Leave the cakes in the tins on a wire rack to cool before turning them out to cool completely.
8. To make the chocolate ganache, place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to the boil, then pour over the chopped chocolate, leave to sit for 2 minutes, then gently beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
9. To make the raspberry syrup, combine the sugar and water in saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool, then stir in the liqueur.
10. To make the Bavarian cream, combine the raspberries and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.
11. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.
12. Combine the liqueur and gelatin in a saucepan and heat gently until the gelatin has dissolved.
13. Whisk the gelatin liqueur mixture into the raspberry purée.
14. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form.
15. Fold the raspberry mixture into the whipped cream.
16. To assemble, place one 9 inch cake, centred, in the bottom of a 10 inch springform tin.
17. Brush with half of the raspberry syrup.  
18. Spread with half the chocolate ganache.
19. Pour half of the raspberry Bavarian cream over and around the sides of the cake. Lightly drop the cake on the worktop one or two times to ensure the cream settles into the empty ring around the cake.  
20. Top with the other cake and brush with the remaining syrup.
21. Spread the remaining ganache over the cake.
22. Cover with remaining raspberry Bavarian cream and drop the cake tin on the worktop as before.  The cream should completely fill the edge of the 10 inch tin.  Level the top with a large off-set spatula. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
23. To decorate, carefully remove the springform collar.
24. Place cream in a large bowl, sift in icing sugar and add a little Chambord, then whip until thick.
25. Pipe the whipped cream on top of the cake and in a ring around the bottom edge.
26. Arrange raspberries in concentric circles on top of the cake and dot around the bottom line of cream.
27. Press white chocolate stars into the pink Bavarian cream sides and sprinkle some on top of the cake.