French Strawberry Fraisier - The Daring Baker's Challenge, July 2011

A Strawberry Fraisier can be described as the perfect harmony of colors and taste. Imagine the bright red strawberries melting into offwhite Crème Mousseline meeting ivory feathery cake bottoms where the dark brown chocolate drops off the last artistic touch. So simple. So elegant. So French!

Last months Daring Baker's Challenge was an quite interesting one. It was a whole new experience to me and I was really excited to see if I could achieve good result as it was my first try on a fraisier ever. To be honest, I could not recall to have really heard about this type of cake before. So having similarities to the marzipan cakes I often bakes, it inspired me to decorate cakes in a another way than the typical one I am used to. I could not think of a cream cake with marzipan decorated this way. One word, it was gorgeously beautiful. I really fell in love with the lovely red strawberries cut in half all around the cake and the marzipan lid on top which was so easily and simply decorated yet giving it a magical elegant look.


I have to admit I cheated a little. Well not really, but I decided to use another recipe for the fraisier cake bottom which I found here, a Meyer Lemon Génoise Cake.
For rest of the cake, I followed the recipes given by the daringkitchen.


For the Basic Chiffon Cake recipe by thedaringkitchen, please check here at Berry Lovely's blog.

I n g r e d i e n t s

Meyer Lemon Génoise Cake


125 g cake flour *
25 g butter, melted
4 eggs, at room temperature
130 g sugar
(3 tbsp Meyer lemon zest (from 2 - 3 lemons), optional


* If you do not have cake flour available, you can easily make your own by adding 2 tbsp of cornstarch to 1 cup allpurpose flour, taking out 2 tbsp of flour: 110 g flour + 15 g (2 tbsp) cornstarch = 125 g cake flour)


Preheat oven to 175ºC / 350ºF and lightly grease the bottom of a 22-24 cm / 9-inch cake pan


1. Sift the cake flour and set aside
2. Melt the butter and set aside.
3. Heat the eggs and sugar over a double boiler with simmering water. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 122ºF (50ºC), about 7 minutes. Once the mixture is heated beat the mixture to ribbons, preferably using a stand mixer. (You can use a handheld mixer or whisk by hand, but it will take a lot longer). The mixture is at the “ribbon stage” when you pull the batter up with the beater and it stays atop the rest of the mixture, forming a ribbon-like effect. It will take about 8 minutes for the mixture to reach this stage using a stand mixer, about double the time using a handheld
4. Fold 1/4 of the egg mixture into the melted butter to lighten the butter. Add the lemon zest to the egg/butter mixture. Fold the egg/butter mixture back into the rest of the egg mixture.
5. Sift 1/3 of the cake flour onto the egg mixture, then gently but quickly fold together. Repeat in thirds until the flour has been incorporated.
6. Gently pour the batter into the cake pan


Bake at 175ºC / 350ºF for about 17 minutes, or until you insert a knife in the center, and it comes out with a few moist flakes of cake


Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the cake pan. Let cool completely. (If a mound has formed on the top of the cake, slice it off to make an even and flat top.) Slice the cake into two halves.


Pastry Cream Filling


250 ml whole milk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
55 g sugar
1 egg, large
30 g butter
3/4 tsp gelatin, powdered
1/2 tbsp water
250 ml heavy cream


1. Pour the milk, vanilla, and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boiling point. Stir occasionally
2. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine
3. Add the eggs to the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth
4. When the milk is ready, gently and slowly while the stand mixer is whisking, pour the heated milk down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture
5. Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over a medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil and coats the back of a spoon
6. Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for ten minutes stirring occasionally
7. Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream a piece at a time until smooth
8. Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to five days
9. In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften
10. Put two inches (55 mm) of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat
11. Measure 60 ml of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit across the sauce pan with the simmering water, without touching the water
12. Heat the cream until it is 120 F (48.8 C). Add the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Remove from the water bath, and whisk the remaining cold pastry cream in to incorporate in two batches
13. In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula



Simple Syrup


You may choose to flavor the syrup. One way is to use flavored sugar (for example: apple cider sugar, orange sugar, or vanilla sugar) or to stir in 1-2 teaspoons of flavored extract. You may also infuse with herbs or spices, if desired or add four tablespoons (60 ml) of fruit juice or liqueur while the syrup is cooling.


75 g sugar, flavored or white
80 ml water


1. Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Stirring is not necessary, but will not harm the syrup
3. Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly
4. Transfer syrup to a lidded container or jar that can be stored in the refrigerator (Simple syrup can be stored for up to one month)



Fraisier Assembly


Components:


1 baked 9 inch (22-24 cm) chiffon cake / genoise cake
1 recipe pastry cream filling
80 ml simple syrup or flavored syrup
900 g strawberries
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
140 g almond paste / marzipan


1. Line the sides of a 9-inch (22-24 cm) spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom of the pan
2. Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two layers
3. Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the simple syrup. When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to resemble a squishy sponge, you have enough
4. Hull and slice in half enough strawberries to arrange around the sides of the cake pan. Place the cut side of the strawberry against the sides of the pan, point side up forming a ring
5. Pipe cream in-between strawberries and a thin layer across the top of the cake
6. Hull and quarter your remaining strawberries and place them in the middle of the cake. Cover the strawberries and entirely with the all but 1 tbsp. (15 ml) of the pastry cream
7. Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup
8. Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste to a 10-inch (25 cm) round 1/16 inch (1,5 mm) thick
9. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of pastry cream on the top of the cake and cover with the round of almond paste (garnish as desired or keep it simple)
10. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours


To serve release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap
(Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days)

I made this cake on the sixteenth birthday for my younger brother who had birthday in the mid of july. I made a swirl border with melted dark chocolate all around the cake (could have done it finer, but the pastry bag was not really the best one) and garnished with fersh strawberries and cherry, glaced with some clear syrup and chocolate curls.

Did you know that "Fraisier" actually means "strawberry" in french? A Strawberry Fraisier would actually stand for "Strawberry Strawberry"!

Bon appétit!