Gateau St. Honore

Ingredients

3 tb brandy
1/2 c golden raisins
12 oz semisweet chocolate
7 oz butter
5 eggs
1 lb puff pastry
2 c sugar
16 cream puffs
2 c whipping cream to plump raisins
9 ounces chocolate in
12 circle about
450 until golden brown

Instructions

skillet until golden brown. Do not overbrown. Remove immediately from heat. Using fork, quickly dip one half of each cream puff into caramel and place on buttered parchment paper. When caramel has set, dip uncoated half in caramel. Cool. Place caramel-coated cream puffs around puff pastry. Fill center with chilled chocolate filling. Melt remaining 3 ounces chocolate. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold melted chocolate into half of whipped cream. Set aside. Spoon remaining half of whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with a large round tube. Pipe dome-shaped balls in rows over chocolate filling, leaving spaces between rows. Repeat, using chocolate whipped cream, filling in spaces between rows of white whipped cream to create stripes. Makes one 12-inch cake