I like picking the freshest fruits from markets to make my cakes/patisseries, strawberries have been in season in Britain, I have this recipe in mind I always wanted to try to make good use of the strawberries.
Recipe modified and adapted from Tony Wong
French Fraisier
Génoise (Sponge Cake)
Ingredients
4 eggs
120g caster sugar
3 tsp water
120g cake flour
40g melted butter
Equipment
7-inch cake mould (circle or square)
electric mixer
Method
1. Place eggs and sugar into a metal bowl over a pan of hot water.
2. Beat the batter on high speed for about 7 minutes until fluffy and thickened with an electric mixer.
3. Sift and fold in flour.
4. Add and stir in the melted butter.
5. Pour the batter into the cake mould. Lift and drop the baking tin onto the table carefully to get rid of the excess air bubbles.
6. Bake at 180 degree for 20-25 minutes. Insert a skewer into the middle of the cake, the cake is done if the skewer comes out clean. Cool on the rack.
7. Cut the cake horizontally into 2 even slices for later use.
Vanilla Mousseline
Ingredients
500g milk
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
150g granulated sugar
62.5g corn flour
120 egg yolk
250g butter
30-50 fresh strawberries
60g whipped cream for decoration (whip 60g whipping/double cream with 1-2 tbsp caster sugar)
Method
1. Bring milk and vanilla bean paste to boil, turn off heat, cover and infuse for 1 hour.
2. Mix corn flour with half portion (62.5g) sugar. Pour in 1/5 milk (about 100g) and stir.
3. Stir or whisk until smooth.
4. Add in egg yolk and stir well.
5. Bring the remaining milk and half portion of sugar to boil.
6. Pour boiling milk mixture (from step 5) into egg yolk mixture (from step 4). Stir well and pour mixture back to saucepan. Bring to boil.
7. Keep stirring to light yellow thick paste.
8. Strain into a bowl over a pan of ice water, let cool to 60 degree.
9. Add and whisk in the unsalted butter until fully incorporated. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Assemble
1. Place 1 slice of sponge cake at the bottom of the baking tin as the cake base. Spread a thin layer of Vanilla Mousseline on the cake slice. Line halfed strawberries evenly along the sides of the tin.
2. Place whole strawberries with same height into the tin. (Use clean cloth/kitchen paper to dry strawberries. Do not rinse. Wet strawberries do not stick with the Vanilla Mousseline, they fall out when the cake is sliced)
3. Pipe Vanilla Mousseline in between strawberries and on the surface until all strawberries are covered.
4. Top with another slice of sponge cake.
5. Spread the whipped cream on top of the cake and decorate.
