French Fraisier Cake Recipe at your fingertips

Technically the term Frasier means strawberry in the French language and the French being the French have a beautiful Fraisier Cake that is made exclusively during summer when strawberries are harvested. It has two layers of genoise sponge cake with a lot of pastry cream and slices of strawberries adorning it in an appealing pattern. It also tends to have a semi-solid gelatinous strawberry sugary disk on top as well. This cake might be technique and equipment heavy, but is simply too beautiful to not try.

French Fraisier Cake

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:

For the two sponge layers:

• 75 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
• 75 gm powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 75 gm all-purpose flour, sifted
• Pinch of salt

For the strawberry compote insert:

• 200 gm strawberries
• 30 gm granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp powdered gelatin

For the mousseline creme:

• 500 gm whole milk
• 100 gm granulated sugar
• 80 gm egg yolk (from 5 eggs)
• 25 gm cornstarch
• 25 gm all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 200 gm unsalted butter, soft (halved)

For the strawberry jelly:

• 150 gm strawberry puree (fresh or frozen)
• 20 gm granulated sugar
• 2 tsp powdered gelatin

For decorating:

• 7-8 fresh strawberries, cut into halves (side)
• 2-3 fresh strawberries (top)
• Edible flowers (top)

Instructions:

Pastry Cream:

1. Take a large bowl, and whisk the sugar and egg yolks until slightly fluffy using a manual whisk. Once smooth, add the cornstarch, flour, and vanilla, mixing well, until a smooth paste forms.
2. Next, in a saucepan, pour milk and bring it to a simmer. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook on medium heat, whisking, until thickened, about a minute after it first boils. Strain the pastry cream if needed to remove any lumps.
4. Mix in the softened butter in three stages using a spatula until fully mixed in.
5. Add the pastry cream to a shallow bowl, cover with plastic wrap, preferably the wrap touching the surface to prevent skin from forming and set aside to let it cool.

For the sponge cakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, then grease two 7-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time.
3. Sift in the flour and salt, then fold just until combined.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 10 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack. Trim one cake to 6 inches.

For the strawberry compote:

1. You can use frozen or fresh strawberries, if using fresh, wash, chop off the green bits and puree them until you have a pulpy puree.
2. Take chilled water in a small bowl, 1 teaspoon or so and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it. Mix and set aside for it to bloom.
3. In a saucepan, bring the strawberry purée, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil. Cook for one to two minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Once the gelatin has bloomed, get rid of excess water and add it to the pan and mix until you have a cohesive concoction.
5. Pour this compote into a six-inch silicone cake pan and freeze until set.
6. Place the trimmed 16 cm sponge on top and freeze them.

For the Mousseline Cream:

Ensure the pastry cream and butter are both at room temperature, then whip the butter for one to two minutes, then gradually add the pastry cream in 4 stages, beating well after each addition.

Assembly:

1. Set a 7-inch adjustable cake ring on a work surface and line it with acetate.
2. Place the larger sponge in the bottom of the ring. Arrange the strawberry halves on top.
3. Pipe the mousseline cream over the sponge, filling in the gaps between the strawberries.
4. Carefully place the frozen strawberry insert on top, strawberry-side down.
5. Pipe the remaining mousseline cream around and on top of the insert, smoothing the top.
6. Chill the cake for two hours to set the cream.
7. Make a strawberry jelly topping: Bloom the gelatin the same way as before, in cold water, then stir into hot strawberry purée and sugar.
8. Pour the jelly over the chilled cake and refrigerate for four hours until fully set.
9. Carefully remove the cake ring and acetate and decorate with fresh strawberries and edible flowers in patterns of your liking.