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.
180 K 4.2/5 (22 reviews)
2 hours 45 min.
Average
3 Fraisiers (French strawberry cake)
8 IngredientsLast modified on: September 18th 2011
For 3 Fraisiers (French strawberry cake), you will need:
- 1
2 lb + 14.6 oz strawberries - 2
10.6 oz caster sugar - 3
2 lb + 5.0 oz confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream) - 4
1 lb + 0.4 oz butter - 5
3 génoises (genoa sponge) - 6 4 lb + 13.6 oz strawberries
- 7
15.8 oz marzipan (almond paste) - 8
3.2 oz apricot glaze (optional)
Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 1 hour 45 min.
Cooking: 1 hour
All in all: 2 hours 45 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 1 hour
Begin by preparing the strawberry syrup:
Put 2 lb + 14.6 oz strawberries, cut into pieces, in a bowl which can be used in a bain-marie. Add 10.6 oz caster sugar.
Cover with stretch cooking film to seal the container well and place in a bain-marie over very low heat for one hour.
Put 2 lb + 14.6 oz strawberries, cut into pieces, in a bowl which can be used in a bain-marie. Add 10.6 oz caster sugar.
Cover with stretch cooking film to seal the container well and place in a bain-marie over very low heat for one hour.
Stage 2 - 3 min.
Stage 3 - 30 min.
Prepare 2 lb + 5.0 oz confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream). When it is made and has cooled a little (wait 15 minutes), incorporate 1 lb + 0.4 oz butter very cold and cut into small pieces, beating thoroughly until the butter is well mixed in.
This cream is a "crème mousseline".
This cream is a "crème mousseline".
Stage 4 - 5 min.
Prepare 3 génoises (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.
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.
Stage 5 - 5 min.
Split the genoa sponge in two through the middle.
Stage 6 - 2 min.
Place one circle of sponge on the serving plate and place a dessert ring over it.
Stage 7 - 5 min.
Soak the the top of this sponge circle with half the strawberry syrup.
Stage 8 - 5 min.
Spread a thin layer of crème mousseline over the sponge.
Stage 9 - 5 min.
Arrange straberries cut in half around the circle with the cut side towards the outside.
Stage 10 - 10 min.
Then fill the circle with whole strawberries, placed upright.
Stage 11 - 5 min.
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.
Tap the plate gently on the worktop to settle the cream.
Stage 12 - 5 min.
Lay the other circle of genoa sponge on a wire rack and soak with the remaining strawberry syrup, using a brush.
Stage 13 - 5 min.
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.
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.
Stage 14 - 10 min.
Roll out 15.8 oz 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.
Stage 15 - 5 min.
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.
Stage 16 - 3 min.
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".
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".
Keeping: A day or two in the fridge.
Source: Home made, with Catherine as tester. Her portion is shown in the photo.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 1,400 RDI=540 % | 7,130 RDI=670 % | 2,910 RDI=440 % | 43,040 RDI=2,150 % | 180,180 RDI: 2,150 % |
| Per 100 g | 20 RDI=9 % | 120 RDI=10 % | 50 RDI=7 % | 700 RDI=40 % | 2,930 RDI: 40 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 3 Fraisiers (French strawberry cake) : 31.10 €
- Per Fraisier (French strawberry cake) : 10.40 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Puits d'amour, Raisin breads (pains aux raisins), Millefeuille, Chinois, Peach and green tea tart, ... See them all 19
Strawberries
Like these other recipes: Strawberries in a thyme and lemon-flavoured red wine reduction, Eton mess, Quick Strawberry Millefeuille, Strawberry brunoise in a dessert-wine sabayon, Clear strawberry juice, ... See them all 19
Marzipan (almond paste)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Provençal colombier for Pentecost, Arizona cupcakes, Agen prune cake, How to make marzipan decorations, Piped petits-fours, ... See them all 6
Butter
Like these other recipes: Mushrooms on toast, French style, Filo leeks and cheese tart, Dublin fruit scones, Corsican tarts, Potato Waffles with Smoked Salmon, ... See them all 472
Other recipes you may also like
How to dust
"Dusting" in cooking is sprinkling a very fine layer of something in powder form. Icing sugar or cocoa powder on cakes for example. As this is not very easy to do evenly, here is a way to do it.October 13th 2010153 K5 2 min.
Quick bramble jelly
Fruit jelly is jam made with the juice only. All the skin and seeds are strained out, which gives a very smooth texture. Here's a quick recipe which will give you an excellent jelly, and which keeps the full flavour of the blackberries thanks to its very brief cooking.July 5th 2013284 K4.2 50 min.
Chocolate Chantilly
If we look at the more scientific side of Chantilly cream we can see that it's mainly cream, and cream is a mix of very small droplets of milk fat and water, which is called an emulsion. When we whip this emulsion, we incorporate air into it and so create a mousse or foam. In the end Chantilly is a...September 25th 2013181 K5 15 min.
Saucipain
Saucipain (or sausage bread) is a kind of savoury baguette. The dough contains small dice of dry-cured sausage or salami and is mixed with red wine instead of water. Served sliced in rounds, it makes a typically French aperitif snack.October 24th 201773 K3.8 4 hours 30 min.
Brownies
Brownies are traditional North-American tray-baked cakes: always moist in texture, usually with chocolate and pecan nuts. Brownies should still be soft in the middle, so need to be slightly undercooked.March 8th 2020115 K4.1 35 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-06)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe (as 2 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.