One of the best Raffaello desserts, although the photo does not do it justice. The squares are creamy and moist, and they taste phenomenal! They are prepared with an almond sponge and vanilla-coconut filling. All credit for the delicious filling goes to the BAM coconut spread. Its taste is reminiscent of the filling in Raffaello pralines and is head and shoulders above all competition. The sponge cake also contains a hint of coconut liqueur, which I believe to be irreplaceable, but you can certainly omit it from the recipe.
For coconut lovers, you can also prepare the famous Raffaello cupcakes.
Makes: 12 squares.
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Ingredients for sponge cake
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4 egg whites (medium-sized)
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150 g granulated sugar
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75 g ground almonds
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70 g all purpose flour
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10 g shredded coconut
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Ingredients for filling
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450 ml milk
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4 egg yolks
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1 packet vanilla pudding mix
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100 g BAM coconut spread
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100 g mascarpone cheese
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70 g granulated sugar
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4 pumps BAM vanilla paste
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30 g butter
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Ingredients for moistering sponge cake
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70 ml milk
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1 packet vanilla sugar
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25 ml coconut liqueur
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Decoration
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shredded coconut for sprinkling
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Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F). Beat the egg whites with sugar on the highest speed for about 5 minutes or until stiff. Mix the dry ingredients and fold slowly into stiff egg whites with a spatula. Spread the batter evenly in a 16 x 26 cm baking tin lined with parchment paper (the bottom) and bake for 18 minutes. Cool the sponge in the baking tin for 5 minutes, then take it out and cool on a cooling rack. Cut the cool sponge lengthwise into two equal layers.
- While the sponge cake is in the oven, prepare the vanilla filling. Bring 400 ml of milk to a boil and mix the rest with the pudding mix, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla paste until smooth. Pour the mixture in the boiling milk while stirring constantly and let simmer for a few minutes until thick. Remove from heat, add sliced butter and stir to combine the ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap in direct contact and cool to lukewarm.
- Mix the mascarpone cheese, add the coconut spread and mix well. Mix the cooled vanilla filling with a hand mixer until smooth. Add it to the mascarpone cheese in three stages, mix well with a hand mixer after each addition.
- Put the bottom layer of the sponge cake on a stand, moisten it and fit the ring. Coat it with just over a half of the filling and level out the surface. Place the other part of the sponge on the filling with the cut side facing up, moisten it and coat with the rest of the filling. Level out the surface and sprinkle the filling with shredded coconut.
- Chill the slices for at least 6 hours. Cut into squares and decorate as desired.