FRAISIER CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• The crème mousseline : Put 1/2 cup of butter out of the fridge. Put the milk to boil with the sliced vanilla pod and its seeds. Meanwhile, put the yolks in a bowl with the sugar. Beat it energetically, until the mix gets creamy. Add the corn starch and mix well.
• Once the milk has boiled, add it gradually to the previous mix. Then put everything back in the pot, and put it back on a medium heat.
• Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until the cream thickens, as it is wanted. This lasts around 10 minutes.Take out of the heat, and add 1/4 cup of butter. Put some plastic foil directly against the cream, and leave to cool down.
• The sponge cake : Using the electric whisk, beat the eggs and the sugar for 5 minutes. The mix should swell twice its size.
• Sift the flour on the eggs, and gently stir to combine. Put in the greased cake tin, and bake 20 minutes at 350°F (180°C). Leave to cool down.
• The syrup : Pour the water and the sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Take out of the heat and leave to cool down.
• Assembly : Put the strip of plastic inside of the springform pan (or plastic foil). Slice the sponge cake in half horizontally.
• Place the top of the cake upside down in the pan. Brush with half the syrup.
• Clean the strawberries and cut the 2/3 in half. Place them all around the cake, cut outside.
• Meanwhile, your cream must have cool down (it should be too cold). Whisk to make it loose, then gradually add the softened butter while beating at medium speed. Once you have combined all the butter, whisk 2 minutes at full speed : the whisk should leave marks in the cream.
• Apply some cream between the strawberries, then a layer on the cake, and cover the strawberries with cream. Cut what is left of strawberries in little dice, and put them on the cream.
• Brush the second circle of cake with syrup, and put it upside down on the cream. Apply some pressure so the cream comes up on the sides. Cover with cream and smooth the top. Put in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
• Decor : Heat the jam in the microwave oven for 30 seconds. Sift it to take the pieces out, then pour the smooth sauce you got on the fraisier. Lean it on each side to spread it. Put in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Gently unmould the fraisier. If the circle won't come out, heat it a little bit with a hair dryer. Cut a strawberry in slices, and put it on the cake to decorate. If you have some cream left, use a piping bag to decorate with it.
• There you are, your fraisier cake is ready !

Steps:

• Grease and line the base and sides of a 23-centimeter springform cake tin with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Melt the butter and leave it 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 it 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 flour-butter 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 medium heat and stir constantly for 4 to 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 2 separate layers, then gently trim down the tops so the layers are even.
• Place ½ of the cake on a cake stand. Place an acetate sheet that is at least 10-centimeter 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.
• Cut the stalk of the strawberries off so they have a flat base, then ½ 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-centimeter.
• 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 ? 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.
• Serve and enjoy!