Makes 10 to 12 servings

“The foundation for this dessert is an airy chiffon cake as dark, fudgy, and deeply satisfying as devil’s food. It may look like an old-fashioned Bundt cake with a cream poured into its center and drizzled down its ridges, but the cream is a crème brûlée, and hidden beneath it is a cache of fresh raspberries plumped with liqueur. When you pull out your blowtorch * to caramelize the crème brûlée, you can pull out the stops as well. Serve this with flourish and fanfare on fancy plates.”

The Crème Brûlée
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar

Pour the heavy cream into a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the soft, pulpy seeds into the pan, toss in the pod, and stir to mix. Bring just to the boil over low heat.
Meanwhile, in a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together just to blend. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk, continuously and energetically, until the mixture is very pale and hot to the touch. Remove the yolks from the heat. Gradually but steadily whisk the cream into the yolks, pod and all.
Put the bowl back over the hot water and let it sit there, with the heat turned off, whisking occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the cream thickens. Set the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water and allow the mixture to cool, whisking now and then When the custard is cool to the touch, retrieve and discard the vanilla bean (or clean it and save it to flavor sugar) and push the mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The custard can be made the day before and kept covered and refrigerated until needed.

The Cake
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup Chambord or other raspberry liqueur
3 to 4 tablespoons sugar

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-cup Bundt pan and dust the inside, including the center tube, with flour; tap out the excess.
Sift together 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda onto a sheet of parchment or waxed paper; add the salt.
In a large bowl which together the yolks, oil, water, and vanilla extract until blended. Whisk the dry ingredients gradually into the yolk mixture; set aside.
Beat the 6 egg whites in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or work with a hand-held mixer. At low speed, beat the whites until they’re foamy and form very soft peaks. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until the whites are thick and shiny and hold peaks. (If you run a finger through the whites, it should leave a smooth, even path.) Fold about one third of the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then turn the yolk mixture into the whites and fold it in gently but thoroughly.
Baking the Cake – Pour and scrape the batter into the pan. Place the pan on a jelly-roll pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cake is springy to the touch and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. The top of the cake may show some cracks and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove the cake to a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 25 minutes before unmolding it onto a rack and allowing it to cool completely. The cake can be made ahead, wrapped airtight, and frozen for up to a month; thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.
Finishing the Cake – Place the cooled cake on a large serving plate. Toss the raspberries with the Chambord and spoon them, with their liqueur, into the center of the cake, filling the opening just to the top. Spoon the cold crème brûlée over the berries and drizzle it down the sides of the cake.
Sprinkle the crème brûlée on the top of the cake with a little of the sugar and working with a blowtorch*, close to the cake, caramelize the sugar. Continue sprinkling on sugar and caramelizing the top of the cake until it is evenly browned.
Storing – The cake can be made up to 1 day ahead, covered, and kept at room temperature, or made a month ahead and frozen. The crème brûlée should be made several hours ahead, or it can be made the day before, However, once you assemble the cake and caramelize the crème brûlée, you must serve it immediately.

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