CREME CAKE BASE RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Grease, flour and line the base of a 23cm/9in spring-form or round loose bottom cake tin.
• Place the sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
• Using an electric hand whisk, whisk the mixture over a medium heat until doubled in volume and pale in colour. The mixture is at the right stage when it forms a ribbon trail when the whisk is lifted out of the mixture. Remove from the heat.
• Sift in two-thirds of the flour and gently fold into the whisked mixture with a metal spoon or spatula. Add the remaining flour and fold again. Try to keep in as much of the air as possible. Make sure all the flour is incorporated into the mixture.
• Gently fold in the melted butter.
• Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the sides of the cake begin to come away from the tin and it is pale golden-brown.
• When cooked, allow the sponge to cool a little bit in the tin, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Be careful as this sponge is quite delicate. It should be just under 5cm/2in in height.
• To make the crème pâtissière, pour the milk into a wide based pan, split the vanilla pod along its length using a sharp knife, and add it to the milk along with the vanilla seeds. Bring the milk up to the boil, then take it off the heat.
• Whisk together the eggs, sugar, kirsch and cornflour in a medium sized bowl until blended.
• Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and pour the hot milk through a sieve into the egg mixture. Whisk to combine.
• Pour the custard back into a clean saucepan and set over a medium heat.
• Stir the custard constantly until the mixture thickens. The mixture will take about four minutes to thicken, but when it does it happens very quickly, so you need to really keep stirring to prevent lumps. Whisk until smooth.
• Cook the mixture until the crème is very thick, so that it can be piped and it will hold its shape. Stir in the butter until thoroughly melted and combined.
• Allow to cool slightly, pour into a shallow dish and chill in the fridge for about an hour until really cold and set firm. This chills it faster as it cools over a larger surface area – alternatively you could fill the piping bags with it at this stage and leave overnight to chill.
• Place the ingredients for the lemon syrup in a small saucepan with 70ml/4½ tbsp water. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then boil rapidly for two minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, roll out a thin disc of marzipan to fit a 23cm/9in circumference circle. It is best if you draw around the 23cm/9in base of another loose bottomed tin for the perfect circle. For best results and a perfectly flat surface, chill it in the fridge until it is needed.
• Slice the sponge in half horizontally, creating two slim discs of cake. The cut must be as level as possible as it will be visible in the finished cake.
• Place a strip of acetate plastic around the inside of the springform tin. Or line the base and sides with cling film or parchment lined foil.
• Place one layer of sponge cake in the bottom of the cake tin. Then liberally brush the sponge with half the syrup. With the back of a spoon, gently squash the edges of the cake down so that they are pushed directly against the sides of the tin, creating the defined edges necessary for the Fraisier cake.
• Rinse, hull and halve about 12 strawberries, try and make sure they are all the same height.
• Place the cut sides of the strawberries against the plastic on the inside of the tin. The strawberry halves should be sitting snugly beside each other, so it looks like a little crown inside the tin.
• Take the chilled crème pâtissière out of the fridge and spoon two thirds of the crème into a piping bag, fitted with a 1cm/½in nozzle.
• Pipe a swirl covering the exposed sponge completely in the bottom of the tin.
• Then pipe between each of the strawberries so the gaps are filled right to the top with the crème pâtissière.
• Set about 3-5 strawberries to one side for decoration, then hull and quarter the rest of them and place on top of the crème, so it raises the inside of the cake by about an inch.
• Pipe another swirl of crème pâtissière on top of the cut strawberries to cover the whole surface. Then smooth with a palette knife.
• Place the other disc of sponge on top of this, with the cut side uppermost, so it has a completely flat top. Brush with the remaining syrup.
• Gently press the top down quite firmly, so that the cake and filling push against the acetate to create the distinctive smooth and defined sides of the Fraisier cake.
• Lay the chilled marzipan circle on top of the cake and put the whole thing back in the fridge to set.
• Make some pretty decorations of your choice with melted dark chocolate.
• When ready to serve, remove the cake from fridge.
• Very carefully release the spring tin/loose bottom and remove the cake from the tin and from the acetate or cling film.
• Place onto a serving plate and decorate with reserved strawberries, chocolate decoration and a dusting of icing sugar. Serve chilled.

Steps:

• FOR CAKE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 9-inch layer cake pans (I use Wilton, they are the best). Cut out circles of wax paper and line bottom of pans. If you have Wilton Bake-Even Cake Strips, use them. If not, you will have to level cakes after they are cooled.
• Combine boiling water and cocoa. Stir until smooth. Set aside in the fridge to cool.
• Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla at high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 5 min is perfect).
• In a separate bowl combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt.
• Alternately add flour.
• Then cocoa mixture beginning and ending with flour.
• Do not overbeat or cake will be tough!
• Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 or until top springs back. Do not overbake!
• Cool in pans 10 minutes.
• Then flip out onto a large plate and put in the freezer. Don't worry, I know what I am doing. This keeps the cakes from falling apart and won't leave crumbs in your icing.
• GANACHE FILLING: Place the chocolate into a medium bowl.
• Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Watch very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot.
• When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chocolate chips.
• Whisk until smooth.
• Stir in the Grand Marnier and the orange zest.
• Transfer hot chocolate to a relatively deep stainless steel bowl and immerse it into a bowl of ice water. Then whip with a hand mixer until it is thick and fluffy.
• Once it is desired consistency, take out of ice bath or it will continue to harden; set aside.
• SATINY CHOCOLATE FROSTING: Combine chips, milk, and butter in a LARGE saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.
• Remove from heat; blend in powdered sugar.
• Set the pan (or transfer to a mixing bowl) into an ice bath; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer.
• Stop occassionally to scrape down the sides. Mix until frosting is fluffy and holds its shape.
• It should make a peak with a spoon and hold it. Remove from ice bath or it will continue to harden!
• CAKE ASSEMBLY: Remove frozen layers from the freezer and put on a platter lined with wax paper strips to catch the mess. Place the first cake and spoon about half of the ganache.
• Place the next cake on top of the ganache layer.
• Spoon the rest of the ganache on top.
• Place the last cake on top. Frost the top with the satiny chocolate frosting first. Then start on the sides. Smooth top as much as possible with a flat knife dipped in hot water.
• Take your chocolate jimmies (chocolate sprinkles). Gently take your hand and press them into the sides only. Continue until you have gone all he way around. Gently remove the wax paper strips and discard. Put remaining filling into a piping bag and pipe 12 medium size swirls on top of the cake. I used a #21 tip. Space them out before you start piping to make sure you get 12 and they are even. Top each swirl with a Lindt chocolate truffle and a white chocolate truffle, alternating. If the bottom of your cake is messy where you pulled out the paper, you may use the same tip to pipe a border around the base of the cake.
• Chill in the refrigerator immediately. Before serving, let the cake set out at room temperature 30 minutes so the chocolate will soften back up slightly. Enjoy!
• ALTERNATE GARNISH: Pipe a border around top and bottom lip of cake. Take Pirouette creme filled wafers and line them up around the sides of cake. (They do not have to be all the same height). Add M&M's to the middle of the cake . ***Finished Cake #2 in my photo #2 made in (3) 9-inch pans. Serves at least 14, huge cake.