FRAISIER RECIPES

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. To make the sponge, put the eggs, sugar and lemon zest into a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk using a hand-held electric mixer until the mixture has more than doubled in volume and become very thick, pale and mousselike. To check that the mixture is at the right stage, lift the beaters from the bowl – the mixture that falls off should leave a distinct ribbon-like trail on the surface.

Sift two-thirds of the flour onto the mixture, then gently fold in with a metal spoon. Add the remaining flour and fold in gently to retain as much air as possible, but make sure all the flour is incorporated.

Gently fold in the melted butter.

Pour into the tin and bake for 25–30 minutes until pale golden brown and the sides of the cake shrink away from the tin.

Cool the sponge in the tin for 5 minutes, to allow it to firm up a bit, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack (the sponge is delicate).

Leave to cool while you wash the tin.

To make the crème mousseline, bring the milk and vanilla pod just to the boil in a wide saucepan. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, kirsch and cornflour in a bowl just until smooth and creamy. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk, then pour through a sieve onto the egg mixture, whisking well. Pour the mixture into the washed saucepan, set over medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture boils and thickens; this will take about 4 minutes. It’s important to keep stirring to avoid the custard going lumpy.

Keep stirring for a minute over the heat to make sure the mixture will be thick enough to pipe, but take care that it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the butter.

Allow to cool slightly, then pour into a shallow dish. Press a disc of dampened greaseproof paper onto the surface, to prevent a skin from forming, then chill for at least 1 hour until cold and set firm.

To make the syrup, put the sugar, lemon juice and 70ml water into a small pan and heat gently until the sugar has completely dissolved, then boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

Roll out the marzipan on a worktop lightly dusted with icing sugar to make a thin disc 23cm across. Keep chilled until needed.

When ready to assemble the cake, slice the cold sponge in half horizontally to make 2 thin, even discs. Place the strip of acetate around the inside of the tin so it will fit snugly between the side of the tin and the sponge (or line the tin with clingfilm or parchment-lined foil). Set one sponge disc, cut side up, in the tin and brush liberally with 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.

Choose 12 strawberries of the same height and cut them vertically in half. Arrange pointed end up on top of the sponge layer, cut side against the acetate, making sure the berries are fitting snugly next to each other.

Spoon about two-thirds of the crème mousseline into the piping bag to start off with. Pipe a spiral over the sponge base in the tin to cover completely; pipe between the strawberries to fill all the gaps. (Add the remaining crème mousseline to the piping bag when there is space.) Set 3–5 strawberries aside for the decoration, then quarter the rest. Spread these over the crème so it makes the filling about 2.5cm higher.

Pipe another spiral of crème on top of the berries and smooth level with a palette knife.

Set the other disc of sponge on top, cut side up, and brush with the rest of the syrup.

Gently press the top sponge layer down onto the crème so the assembled cake is firmly pressed against the acetate all round. Lay the marzipan disc on top, then chill well.

Make some decorations from the melted chocolate. To serve, remove the acetate-wrapped cake from the tin, then gently remove the acetate. Set the cake on a plate and finish with the reserved strawberries and chocolate decorations.

Grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Melt the butter and leave to cool. 

Place the eggs and sugar in a large heatproof bowl that will fit snugly on top of a pan of water. Remove the pan of water from the hob once it has come to a rolling boil and place on a heatproof surface. Place the bowl over the pan of water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, and whisk using a handheld electric whisk on a low speed for 4 minutes, until pale and tripled in volume. Increase the speed to medium and whisk for another 5 minutes, until the mixture forms a stable ribbon when the whisk is lifted out. 

Remove the bowl from the heat and sift the flour over the mixture. Very carefully fold in using a wide metal spoon, making sure not to beat out too much air. Gently fold through the melted butter, making sure there are no flour or butter pockets in the mixture. Carefully pour this mixture into a cake tin and bake for 25 minutes, until pale golden, the sides begin to come away from the edge and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely. 

Meanwhile, cut the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Place the milk, vanilla seeds and the halved pods in a large saucepan and heat until it begins to steam. Place the gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften. Mix together the egg yolks, sugar and flours until well mixed. Gradually pour the warmed milk over, then return the mixture to the pan. 

Place over a medium heat and stir constantly for 4-5 minutes. When the mixture becomes very thick and lumpy, beat with a whisk until the lumps are gone and transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl. Squeeze out the gelatin to get rid of excess moisture and stir it through the still-hot crème pâtissière to make sure it melts. Refrigrate this until needed.

Meanwhile, place the halved strawberries in a small saucepan with the caster sugar over a low-to-medium heat with a lid for 10 minutes, until the strawberries have released their liquid and become very soft. Do not stir. Place the gelatin in a bowl of cold water to soften for 5 minutes. Place a fine sieve over a bowl and pour the strawberry mixture over it, again making sure not to press the strawberries. Stir the gelatin into the warm mixture so that it melts. Set this mixture aside, but not in the fridge.

Place the cooled cake on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, trim around the edge of the cake so that the sides are completely even. Using a long serrated knife, slice the cake in half horizontally to make two separate layers, then gently trim down the tops so the layers are even. 

Place one half of the cake on a cake stand. Place an acetate sheet that is at least 10cm wide around the base of the cake and fasten the edge with tape to ensure that it is completely secure. There should be no gaps around the edge of the cake so the other layers don't leak. 

Choose strawberry that are all about 3½ cm in height so the overall result is neat. Cut the stalk of the strawberries off so they have a flat base, then halve them lengthways. Place the strawberry halves on top of the layer of cake, all around the acetate, with the cut half facing the outside, making sure they are all touching so there is a ring of strawberries facing the outside.

Remove the crème pâtissière from the fridge and half fill a piping bag with it. Cut the base of the piping bag so that the hole is roughly ½ cm. Pipe the crème pâtissière between each of the strawberries so that it fills the gaps between them, then continue to fill and pipe the crème pâtissière so that it fills the space in the middle and just covers the tops of the strawberries. Reserve one sixth of the crème pâtissière mixture for later. Carefully smooth the top of the crème pâtissière, making sure it goes right to the edge of the acetate. 

Carefully place the second layer of cake on top, then spread over the remaining crème pâtissière so there is a thin layer covering the cake, again making sure that this reaches the very edge of the acetate tape so that the layer of jelly cannot leak out. Pour the jelly over this layer of crème pâtissière in one even layer. Very carefully transfer the cake to the fridge for at least 4 hours, or until the jelly on top has set. Carefully remove the acetate from the outside before serving.