For the Joconde Sponge, in a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve this in a separate clean bowl to use later. Sift almond flour, confectioneru2019s sugar and cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl). Add the egg and mix well on medium speed, until smooth and light.

Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix. Fold in melted butter. Reserve this batter to be used later. This recipe makes enough to make 4 to 6 individual desserts u201cwrapsu201d.

For the Patterned Joconde-Dxe9cor Paste, Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using a hand held mixer. Gradually add egg whites, beating continuously. Fold in sifted flour and cocoa powder. If the batter is too thick (it should be a bit thick), add a tbsp of milk.

Preparing the Joconde & How to make the pattern - Spread a thin even layer of dxe9cor paste approximately 1/4" thick on a sheet of parchment paper placed on an upside down baking sheet, with a spatula or flat knife. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.

Pattern the dxe9cor paste u2013 Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zigzags, wood grains - be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used or use a piping bag. Pipe letters, polka dots, or a design. If you do not have a piping bag, fill a Ziploc bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one. I used the same joconde- cocoa dxe9cor paste combination and made smaller strips, each with a different pattern.

Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer and freeze hard (approx. 15 minutes). Remove from freezer and quickly pour the joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the dxe9cor paste.

Bake at 240C (450F) until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed (about 8 to 12 minutes). The joconde bakes very quickly, so watch carefully.

Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from the parchment paper. Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Peel off the parchment paper from the joconde. The cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape. Cut the joconde imprime u201cwrapperu201d to required size. Traditionally, it is 1/2 the height of your mould. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height. This is a good video to watch before attempting to cut, line your mould with the joconde imprime and fill your entremet.

Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mould, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mould, overlap your ends slightly. Your joconde should fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mould. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to u201cwrap u201cyour mould, if one cut piece is not long enough. The mould is now ready to fill.

Note : If not ready to use. Lay cake kept whole or already cut into strips, on a flat surface, wrap in parchment and several layers of cling wrap and freeze. Fill with anything you desire. Layers of different flavors and textures are good but should be something cold that will not fall apart when unmoulded.

Suggestions for fillings : Mousses, pastry creams, Bavarian creams, cheesecakes, puddings, curds, jams, cookie bases, more cake (bake off the remaining sponge and cut to layer inside), nuts, Dacquoise, fresh fruit, chocolates, gelee and ice-cream.