Fraisier (French strawberry cake)
This classic French patisserie is a delicious assembly of 2 layers of genoa sponge filled with strawberries and crème mousseline (confectioner's custard with butter). The sponge is soaked in strawberry syrup and the cake is topped with a thin layer of marzipan.
For 1 Fraisier (French strawberry cake), you will need:
- 300 g strawberries
- 100 g caster sugar
- 350 g Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
- 150 g butter
- 1 Génoise (Genoa sponge)
- 500 g strawberries
- 150 g Marzipan (almond paste)
- 30 g apricot glaze (optional)
Nutritional information:
Whole recipe
Calories
4906
245%
Proteins
89g
34%
Carbohydrates
527g
50%
Fats
272g
41%
Per 100 g
Calories
236
12%
Proteins
4g
2%
Carbohydrates
25g
2%
Fats
13g
2%
% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories by day for a woman (change to a man).
Times:
Preparation : 1 hour 43 min.
Cooking : 1 hour
Start to finish : 2 hours 43 min.
Cooking : 1 hour
Start to finish : 2 hours 43 min.
Preservation : A day or two in the fridge.
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How much will it cost?
For 1 Fraisier (French strawberry cake) : 9.98 €
Note : These prices are only approximate. Read more...
Step by step recipe:
1 Begin by preparing the strawberry syrup: Put 300 g strawberries, cut into pieces, in a bowl which can be used in a bain-marie. Add 100 g caster sugar. |  |
2 |  |
3 Prepare 350 g Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream). When it is made and has cooled a little (wait 15 minutes), incorporate 150 g butter very cold and cut into small pieces, beating thoroughly until the butter is well mixed in. This cream is a "crème mousseline". |  |
4 Prepare 1 Génoise (Genoa sponge). When cooked and cooled, cut this to the shape of your cake, round or square. You can see that here I have cut it round using a dessert ring. If you do not have one, you can cut round a small plate laid on the sponge. |  |
5 Split the genoa sponge in two through the middle. |  |
6 Place one circle of sponge on the serving plate and place a dessert ring over it. |  |
7 Soak the the top of this sponge circle with half the strawberry syrup. |  |
8 Spread a thin layer of crème mousseline over the sponge. |  |
9 Arrange straberries cut in half around the circle with the cut side towards the outside. |  |
10 Then fill the circle with whole strawberries, placed upright. |  |
11 Spread the remaining crème mousseline over the strawberries; ideally, they should be completely covered. Tap the plate gently on the worktop to settle the cream. |  |
12 Lay the other circle of genoa sponge on a wire rack and soak with the remaining strawberry syrup, using a brush. |  |
13 Then turn this over onto the dessert inside the ring. This is a tricky operation, so I advise you to turn it over smartly onto a baking sheet to (along with the rack), then slide it onto the top of the cake. Press gently on the top to make sure it is flat and even. |  |
14 Roll out 150 g Marzipan (almond paste) thinly (see this page on the subject), then use it to cover the top of the strawberry cake and trim off any excess. |  |
15 Decorate with a half strawberry and brush with an apricot glaze. This is not essential, but adds an attractive finish and prevents the marzipan from drying out. |  |
16 At the last minute, gently remove the cake from the dessert ring. Your "fraisier" is ready to be served and enjoyed. |  |
Remarks:
If you do not have a dessert ring, use a circle of strong card, lined with a piece of stretch plastic film, held in place with a paper clip.For a quicker finish, you can simply sprinkle the top of the cake with icing sugar in place of the marzipan.
For Gaston Lenôtre, a strawberry cake should be made with butter cream rather than mousseline, and he called it a "Bagatelle".
Source:
Home made, with Catherine as tester. Her portion is shown in the photo.Last modified on: September 18th 2011
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