KIRSCH SYRUP RECIPE 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 the kirsch syrup, tip the sugar into a small pan. Pour over 200ml/7fl oz water and cook over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes, or until the syrup has reduced by half. Remove from the heat, add the kirsch, stir and leave to cool completely.
• For the joconde sponge, heat the oven to 220C/425F/Fan 200C/Gas 7. Grease and line a 33x23cm/13x9in Swiss roll tin with baking parchment. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl. Add the caster sugar, one teaspoon at a time, whisking between each addition to make a glossy meringue. Cover with cling film and set aside.
• Tip the ground almonds and icing sugar into the bowl of a free-standing food mixer and add the whole eggs. Whisk together for 3-5 minutes, or until doubled in volume. Fold in the flour, and then gently fold in the meringue in three separate batches. Pour the melted butter down the side of the bowl and fold in, until incorporated. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface with a palette knife. Bake for 5-7 minutes until pale, golden-brown and springy to touch.
• Place a sheet of baking parchment over a cooling rack and turn the cake out onto it. Peel off the baking parchment from the base of the cake and leave to cool completely.
• For the chocolate ganache, pour the cream into a small pan and heat until just bubbling. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth and glossy. Pour into a bowl and leave to set.
• For the crème au beurre, place the egg yolks in the bowl of a food mixer with the whisk attached. In a pan over a gentle heat, dissolve the sugar in three tablespoons of water and then boil it steadily until the syrup reaches 110C/225F on a sugar thermometer. With the food mixer running, slowly pour the syrup over the egg yolks. Continue whisking until the mixture is thick and mousse-like. Add the butter, a little at a time, whisking continuously and finally add the vanilla paste.
• To assemble, slice the cooled sponge horizontally so you have two 33x23cm/13x9in sponges. Cut each of the sponges in half vertically, so that you have four sponges.
• Place one of the sponges on a cake board and brush with one-quarter of the kirsch syrup. Spread over one-third of the crème au beurre. Top with another sponge and brush with one-quarter of the kirsch syrup. Spread over the chocolate ganache.
• Top with a third sponge and brush with another one-quarter of the kirsch syrup. Spread over another third of the crème au beurre and top with the final sponge. Brush with the remaining kirsch syrup and spread with the remaining crème au beurre.
• Arrange the raspberries over the top in rows and brush over the melted jam to glaze. Refrigerate the opera cake for two hours to set the layers and make it easier to trim. Trim the edges using a sharp knife to reveal the layers.