10-12 servings.

CANDIED CRANBERRIES:

3 c. cranberries
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. water

CHOCOLATE GENOISE:

4 eggs
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. sifted cake flour
1/2 c. sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp. warm clarified butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. Cointreau, Curracao or Grand Marnier

CHOCOLATE CREME FRAICHE:

5 oz. buttersweet (not unsweetened) or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp. water
5 1/4 c. well-chilled Creme Fraiche
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
Chocolate curls

For Cranberries: Place cranberries in heatproof bowl. Cook sugar and water in heavy small saucepan over low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Pour boiling syrup over berries. Weight berries with plate. Bring water to boil in base of steamer. Place bowl on steamer rack. Cover and steam berries 45 minutes. Let stand at room temperature 3-4 days; do not stir.

For Genoise: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 x 2 inch round cake pan; dust with flour. Combine eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer set over pan of barely simmering water. Heat the eggs to lukewarm, stirring occasionally. Transfer bowl to electric mixer and beat until eggs are cool and tripled in volume. Sift flour and cocoa together. Sift 1/3 of flour mixture over eggs and fold in gently. Repeat in 2 more additions. Transfer 1 cup butter to small bowl. Fold in butter and vanilla. Gently fold into remaining batter. Turn batter into prepared pan. Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and is springy, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.

Drain cranberries, reserving 3 tablespoons syrup. Combine reserved syrup with 3 tablespoons Cointreau.