Instructions

RASPBERRY CAKE

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray and set aside.
2. Microwave raspberries in a microwavable bowl, covered, until raspberries have softened and are juicy, about 5 minutes. Place raspberries in a fine mesh strainer set over a small saucepan and press with a rubber spatula to extract as much juice from the raspberries as possible. Discard raspberry solids. Over medium-high heat, bring the strained raspberry juice to a boil, stirring occasionally until the juice turns into a syrup and measures about ¼ cup, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Transfer milk mixture to a clean 4 cup liquid measuring cup and whisk in the egg whites and vanilla extract until combined. Mixture will look curdled.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment attached, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter one piece at a time and mix until pea-sized pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add half of the milk mixture and increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the remaining milk mixture and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Give the batter a few stirs by hand.
4. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops out with a rubber spatula. Give the pans a few light taps on the counter to settle the batter and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking.
5. Let cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes on wire racks, and then invert on to racks to cool completely, about 2 hours.

RASPBERRY FILLING

1. Place thawed raspberries in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Over a bowl pour raspberry puree over a strainer to remove the solids. The puree will be thick. Use a spoon to stir and press the puree through the strainer.
2. Place raspberry puree in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add sugar and cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly to keep lumps from forming. Once the puree thickens, remove from the heat. Cool for 5 minutes and then add fresh lemon juice. Chill for about 2-3 hours in the refrigerator until ready to use.

WHIPPED WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY GANACHE

1. Place white chocolate in the bowl of a stand mixer and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a gentle boil. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. With a hand whisk, whisk the mixture until smooth and stir in Chambord, and cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
3. With the whisk attachment attached to your stand mixer, on medium-high speed, beat the ganache until the whisk beings to leave trails, about 1 minute. It should be the consistency of whipped cream. Do not over whip or the ganache will become grainy.

ASSEMBLE

1. Cut each cake in half horizontally, creating 4 even layers of cake. Place one of the bottom cake layers on a cake platter and spread about 3/4 cup filling over top, leaving about ½-inch from the edge free of filling. Repeat this process with the remaining cake layers, reserving the other bottom layer of cake for the top. The last layer of cake should be bottom side up.
2. Starting with a large amount of ganache on the cake, spread over the top and sides of the cake, removing excess ganache as needed. Save the excess ganache for decorating. Fit a piping bag with a Wilton #1M piping tip and fill piping bag with the remaining ganache. Pipe 8 stars evenly around the edges of the cake. Place one fresh raspberry on top of each star. If you still have ganache in your piping bag you can use it to decorate the bottom edges.