Notes: To make the cognac-soaked raisins, the recipe calls for setting the alcohol aflame, which I lit using a strand of dry capellini (thanks to Cook's Illustrated for this unorthodox tip). The brownie base calls for nuts but I left them out for the sake of a taster's allergies. On top of that layer is a vanilla pastry cream combined with Cognac and whipped cream. A flavoured transparent glaze is the finishing touch (somewhat lumpy when cooled). This turned out fine in an 8 3/4" cake ring; the 10" one called for in the recipe would have made a shorter cake. I felt there were too many raisins; one taster felt more Cognac in the cream would have been better. A pretty good cake, not as amazing as some other ones from this book, but it's also a lot less work. Here are Patrick and Renée's versions.
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