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1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
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2
Place the sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, salt, corn syrup, water and vanilla in a heat resistant medium-sized mixing bowl.
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3
Set it over a saucepan of simmering water and beat the eggs using a hand held mixer until the eggs have tripled in volume and have reached a temperature of 110 degrees F, about 10 to 15 minutes.
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4
In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour and baking powder.
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5
Gently fold the flour into the beaten eggs in 3 or 4 stages, folding until just combined and being careful not to overmix the batter.
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6
Lightly grease an 11 by 17-inch sheet pan with melted butter and line with parchment paper.
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7
Butter the top of the parchment paper.
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8
Pour the batter into the sheet pan and bake until the center is set and springs back when pressed lightly, about 15 minutes.
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9
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely before proceeding.
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10
Once the cake has cooled, remove from the pan and lay topside up on a cutting board.
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11
Insert toothpicks into the 4 sides of the cake, positioned about 1-inch apart and inserted horizontally about 1/2-inch from the surface of the cutting board.
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12
These should serve as a guide for cutting the top brown edge from the cake.
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13
Using a long-bladed, serrated knife, cut the top brown edge off of the cake by running the knife against the edges of the toothpicks.
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14
Rotate the knife as you cut to make a smooth cut.
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15
Carefully turn the cake over and repeat, so that both the top and bottom browned edges have been removed and the cake is about 1/2-inch thick with no visible brown top or bottom.
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16
(If it helps, you can use a thin book as a guide and lay the toothpicks on the book, then insert into the cake.)
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17
With the cake trimmed, lay it on a cutting board with 1 of the short ends facing you.
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18
Remove the ice cream from the freezer.
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19
If the ice cream is in a paper container, use a serrated knife to cut the ice cream in its container into 1/2-inch rings.
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20
Peel the paper away, and lay the ice cream on the cake, leaving a 1-inch border on 3 of the sides and a larger border on the short edge that is furthest from you.
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21
There should be some ice cream left over; use this to fill in any gaps on the cake that are not covered with ice cream.
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22
Starting with the end closest to you, roll the cake into a log, and wrap it in parchment paper.
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23
Wrap again in plastic wrap.
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24
Place the wrapped cake in the freezer and let freeze at least 2 hours, and up to 1 day before serving.
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25
Once the cake has chilled sufficiently, remove it from the freezer and unwrap it.
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26
Trim about 1/2-inch from both edges of the cake using a serrated knife.
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27
Slice the cake into 10 or 12 even rings.
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28
Place the cocoa powder in a small fine-meshed sieve and sprinkle around the edges of the plate.
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29
Run your finger around the edge of the plate to form a clean edge.
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30
Using a birthday candle or other object with a fine tip, write your greeting or a guest's name, etc., in the cocoa powder along the plate's edge.
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31
Place the cake slice onto the center of the plate and serve with the Raspberry Coulis either drizzled over the cake or on the side.
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32
Garnish with the toasted almonds and mint leaves.
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33
Place all the ingredients in a 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.
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34
Bring the raspberries to a boil, and reduce the heat to a heavy simmer.
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35
Continue to cook the raspberries until the sugar dissolves, the raspberries burst, and the liquid reduces by one half, about 15 minutes.
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36
Strain the raspberries through a fine mesh strainer and discard solids.
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37
Reserve coulis in a non-reactive container until ready to use.
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38
Coulis will keep, refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.
