"Le Fraisier" - Strawberry filled cake
We always order strawberries in our farm boxes from Tera Farm, as they are very fresh and full of flavors. I felt in a festive mood and we invited a couple of friends for a cautious dinner amongst vaccinated friends on our patio. I had not baked the classic strawberry filled french cake called ‘Le Fraisier’ in many years as it is a multi step process, and it requires patience, which I lack at times. The name ‘Le Fraisier’ comes from Fraise, the French word for strawberry). Knowing I was receiving two boxes of strawberries and two friends who enjoy food on the same day, I was motivated to make it happen.
I used this simplified French recipe: for 8 people.
For the Sponge Cake, I used
5 eggs
125g sugar
50g flour
50g ground almond
10g butter
Separate the yolks and egg whites. Beat the yolks with 100g sugar until a pale yellow; separately beat the whites with 25g sugar.
Fold the whites into the yolk and sugar mixture; then add the sifted flour, the ground almonds, and the melted butter.
Pour in a round tin. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes - extend if not cooked. Let it cool. Remove from the tin.
For the Creme Mousseline, I used
2 eggs,
250g milk (I used 2% fat milk),
125g sugar,
35g flour,
125g butter.
Heat up the milk in a saucepan; mix in a bowl the eggs and the sugar until pale yellow, then add the sifted flour.
Pour the hot milk on the mixture and mix.
Pour back into the saucepan, and bring slowly close to the boil while stirring continuously. It will thicken. Do not let it boil.
Whip 60g of the butter into the hot mixture. Let the mixture cool. Whip the rest of the melted butter in, once the mixture has cooled
Other prep:
Wash the strawberries, remove the green, and let the strawberries dry.
Select a subset that will be visible on the outer circumference - try and make them the same size.
Build the cake as follows:
Cut the sponge cake into 2 disks.
One can soak a syrup or alcohol into the sponge cake but I did not this time.
Use a plastic sheet (I use a vegetable bag that I cut open into a large rectangle) to line the cake tin.
Place the bottom half of the cake first. Then place the strawberries to line the outer perimeter.
Put a layer of cream on the cake, pushing it to hold the strawberries in place.
Keep a few strawberries for the top décor: chop the remaining strawberries and put in on top of the cream layer. Add more cream to fill in the void.
Place the second half of the cake on top. Use the remainder of the cream on top. Decorate with the few décor strawberries. Please note that you must not overuse or underuse the cream so that it is used evenly throughout the cake build.
Let the cake set in the fridge for several hours. I suggest at least 6 hours. The plastic sheet is removed just before serving.
The following recipe is close to mine and includes very detailed steps with photos - Classic Fraisier Cake.
-Anouchka
