This is a terrific holilday dessert. It can be made well in advance of serving, a real advantage if you've got a lot of other cooking to do. In fact, its flavors develop and it tastes even better after it sits in the refrigerator for two to three days.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 8-inch-round Genoise layer (see below)
• 1 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
• ½ cup Port wine
• 2 cups Pastry Cream (see below)
• 2 14-ounce cans sweet black pitted cherries, drained and patted dry

Procedure

1. Using a sharp serrated knife, Split the genoise round into 3 equal layers, each about 2/3-inch thick. Spread ¼ cup of jam across the top of two of the layers and stack the layers one on top of the other, placing the two jam-covered layers on the bottom so that the jam holds the cake together. Slice the cake into 1-inch cubes. Place the cubes in the bowl and sprinkle with ¼ cup of Port, stirring several times to make sure that all the cubes have been moistened.
2. Whip the cream with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks. Stir the remaining ¼ cup Port into the pastry cream. Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream and port mixture.
3. Reserve about 12 Cherries for garnish. Arrange some of the genoise cubes in a single layer across the bottom of a large serving bowl or compote dish. Spoon some of the cream mixture over the cake and smooth with a spatula. Arrange a layer of cherries over the over the cake. Continue to build the layers, finishing with a layer of cream. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure that the plastic does not stick to the surface of the trifle. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Garnish with the reserved cherries and whipped cream rosettes if desired.

For the Genoise

In this recipe, take care when you are whipping the eggs to reduce the speed to medium after 5 minutes. Lengthy whipping at a high speed will produces large air bubbles in the batter, which will pop during baking and result in a flat, heavy cake. If you genoise batter looks very fluffy and light and you are afraid that you have over whipped it, tap the cake pan on the counter a couple of times to burst some of the bubbles before putting it in the oven. Don't worry if the batter looks a little heavy. It still contains a lot of little air bubbles that will give the cake a nice rise in the oven. Adding butter to geniose batter is optional. Leave it out if you want a lighter cake that's lower in fat. If you are going to soak a cake heavy with syrup, use genoise made without butter. The drier geniose will absorb syrup better. Butter in genoise make the cake a little heavier but give it a wonderful buttery taste. This recipe makes one 2-inch-thick cake. This amount of batter can also be baked in a 12 x 16-in jelly roll pan. If you use the jelly roll, you will have a thinner cake that will bake more quickly. Geniose freezes very well, so if you are going to use only one layer, wrap the other one tightly in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil, and freeze it for up to 1 month.

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• ¾ cup plus 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (optional)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 2-inch-deep round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, and grease the paper. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out any excess flour.
2. Pour 2 inches of water into a medium saucepan, and bring to a bare simmer. Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk constantly until the egg mixture is just lukewarm to the touch, 86 to 90 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
3. Return the bowl to the mixer and whisk on high speed for 5 minutes. Then reduce the speed to medium and whisk until the mixture is completely cool, thick, and shiny another 12 minutes.
4. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, salt, and vanilla. If you are using the melted butter, spoon about 1 cup of the batter into a small mixing bowl and stir in the batter; then carefully fold the batter-and-butter mixture back into the larger bowl of batter.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower the heat to 375 degrees. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes more.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately turn the cake out onto a cardboard cake circle. Place the circle on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool completely. When served with mousses, fruit compotes, and fruit salads, genoise is better used on the day it is baked. For layered cakes, wrap the genoise in plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight before using. Genoise can be wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and frozen for up to 1 month; defrost it overnight in the refrigerator before using.

For the Pastry Cream

Whole eggs are fine here, but if you have extra egg yolks sitting around, perhaps left over from making a meringue, you can use them instead. end detail header

Ingredients

• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Pinch of salt
• 5 large eggs, or 8 large egg yolks
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 quart whole milk (optional)

Procedure

1. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the eggs or egg yolks.
2. Bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly dribble ½ cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Dribble another ½ cup of the milk into the egg mixture, again whisking constantly.
3. Whisk the egg mixture back into the milk and return the pan to the heat. Bring to a full boil, whisking constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla, salt, and butter if desired. Allow to cool completely. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Push Pastry Cream thought a fine-mesh strainer before using.

Chef Roland Mesnier Presidential Desserts: From The White House with Chef Roland Mesnier