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Cooking
Strawberry Fraisier Cake
· 8 servings
Prepare the tin
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. You'll need a cake tin measuring 26 cm in diameter. Trace around the tin onto the baking paper with a pencil, then flip the paper over so the pencil mark faces down — you'll still be able to see the circle clearly through the paper.
Whip and whisk
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light, pale and fluffy. Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks. Fold the flour into the yolk mixture, then very gently fold in the egg whites, a little at a time. The batter should be smooth, with no lumps of flour or streaks of egg white.
Divide the batter and bake
Spoon half the batter onto the centre of one sheet of baking paper, and the other half onto the second sheet. Spread it out to just past the traced circle, by about 1.5 cm. Bake one sponge at a time in the preheated oven until golden — this should take about 15 minutes each.
Cool and trim
Let the baked sponges cool completely. Then use the cake tin ring to cut out neat, even circles from each one — this gives you your top and bottom sponge layers.
Light vanilla pastry cream
Put the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk with the sugar and cornflour until well combined, with no lumps. Split the vanilla pods and scrape the seeds into the milk, then bring it to the boil.
Slowly pour in the milk
Pour the hot milk into the bowl with the sweetened yolks, adding it slowly while whisking constantly. Once all the milk is incorporated, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat gently over the stove. Keep stirring and cook slowly until the cream thickens.
Leave to cool
Pour the cream into a clean bowl and cover with cling film. Let it cool completely.
Gelatine and cream
In a small bowl, stir the gelatine into the water and let it bloom for a few minutes. Whip the cream until stiff. Warm a small amount of the vanilla pastry cream (about 3 tablespoons) in a bowl over a water bath to 45 °C.
Combine gradually
Add the gelatine and stir well until fully dissolved. Pour this mixture back into the bowl with the rest of the pastry cream and mix through. Carefully fold in the whipped cream, a little at a time.
A tip for piping
The original recipe suggests piping the cream on using a piping bag. I was a bit lazy and just spooned it into the tin instead — works just fine.
Choose your strawberries
Pick out about 12 to 14 strawberries of roughly the same size. Remove the leaves and slice them in half lengthways. Take the cake ring, wrap it in cling film, and place it on the serving plate you'll be using for the finished cake.
Layering
Line the base with one of the baked sponge circles and spread it with half of the strawberry jam. Arrange the halved strawberries around the inside of the ring, cut side facing out. If they keep slipping, just add a few at a time, securing each batch with cream as you go.
Watch how you apply the cream
Keep going until the strawberries line the whole circumference of the cake. Make sure the cream fills the gaps between the strawberries too — press it in gently with a spoon (or use the piping bag mentioned earlier).
Chill to set
Use some of the leftover strawberries for decoration, and finely chop the rest to sprinkle over the finished cream layer. Put the cake in the fridge — once the first layer of cream sets, it'll give the second layer a firm base to sit on.
Pink cream
Heat half the cream for the pink layer to 45 °C. Stir two tablespoons of cold water into the powdered gelatine and let it bloom. Add it to the warm cream and stir thoroughly, again watching out for lumps.
Whip it up
Whip together the remaining half of the cream, the mascarpone, and the food colouring. Fold the gelatine cream into this mixture. Sweeten with sugar to taste, then whisk again until smooth.
Spread over the cream and top with the sponge
Spread the pink cream over the white layer — the strawberries should be completely hidden underneath. Carefully place the second baked sponge on top and brush its surface with the remaining strawberry jam. Chill in the fridge until the next day, so the creams set firmly and the flavours meld together.
Roll out the marzipan
The next day, colour the marzipan with food colouring. Roll it out and cut a circle 26 cm in diameter. Remove the cling-film-wrapped ring from around the cake and carefully lay the marzipan disc on top.
Decorating
Decorate however you like. I dusted the top with icing sugar through a lace doily and added a few strawberries. I served it with strawberry sparkling wine — and the day felt even more special because of it.