Savarin Framboise

Doused in Grand Marnier syrup, need I say more?  This delicate yeast leavened cake is amazing with local summer berries and cream.  It's boozey, not too sweet, moist and light. 

The recipe comes from Laura Calder's French Food at Home, with one small adaptation.  I substituted orange zest for the lemon, and added some additional zest to the simple syrup.  Gotta give credit to Brianna for the suggestion, the flavour is much brighter.

I love this cake, but until recently I hated making it. The dough is really wet and slimy, not pleasant at all.  In fact, the first time I attempted this recipe I killed my food processor.  I tried using the plastic dough blade- my trusty Cuisinart made some loud noises, there was a weird smell, and things got ugly.   Since then, I've mixed this by hand a few times, but not often, too much work.

Enter Gladys, my new KitchenAid stand mixer, ain't she a beauty?  Have I mentioned that I have THE BEST BABY SISTER in the world?  Yes, well I do.  This sweet woman dragged Gladys and a huge plastic bin full of attachments all the way from New York for me!  Apparently, Gladys was gathering dust in her small kitchen, so my wonderful sister thought of me, and packed her up and hauled her all the way to Nova Scotia.  I'm thrilled, and a little drunk with power, there is nothing this machine can't do.  This recipe is so much easier now that Gladys is my life.  The paddle attachment works perfectly for this dough, Gladys has no trouble with it's sticky, gooey ness,

Gladys

Savarin

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons warm water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk

zest of one orange, finely chopped

1 cup flour

1/4 cup butter, softened

Grand Marnier Syrup

2 cups water

1 1/4 cups sugar

zest of one large orange (use a vegetable peeler for large strips) 

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Thoroughly butter and flour a 8 inch bundt pan or 10 inch savarin ring pan, and set aside.

Combine yeast, sugar, salt, and warm water in the bowl or your mixer and let it proof 5 minutes or so. It should get foamy, if it fails to foam, discard and try again with fresh yeast.  Then, add your eggs, milk, orange zest, and flour. Beat with paddle attachment of your stand mixer for 10 minutes, until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, and starts to form a ball.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour.
Punch down the dough. Incorporate the softened butter, a bit at a time, machine running on low speed, using dough hook. Spoon the batter into the pan, distributing evenly, cover, and let rise again for two full hours.
Bake the Savarin in a preheated 350F oven for 20 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before turning the cake out on to a cooling rack.   Once it comes to room temperature, transfer to a serving platter.

To prepare the syrup, bring the water, sugar and orange peel to a boil in a saucepan a minute or two. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before adding the Grand Marnier and removing the orange peel. Spoon the syrup over the cake, gradually until fit's all been absorbed. 

Serve slices of this light sponge with a dollop of whipped cream spiked with a splash of Grand Marnier and some fresh summer raspberries, heaven.

local raspberries at farmers market