Fraisier Cake | French Strawberry Cake

Make the sponge cake: Preheat oven to 355ºF/180ºC. Grease a 7.85 inch/20 cm diameter removable pan with butter, sprinkle with flour and turn to remove the excess. Set aside. Sift the flour, set aside. In the bowl of the KitchenAid or a stand mixer, add the eggs along with the sugar and salt. Beat, increasing progressively the speed without reaching the maximum, until reaching the rippon stage* (see in NOTES). Add the flour little by little as we integrate with enveloping movements helping us with a spatula. Incorporate the butter and integrate again with enveloping and soft movements. Pour the mixture into the pan, tap gently to settle the batter and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let it rest for 15 minutes and unmold. Let it cool completely on a rack. Once it has cooled completely, wrap with film and refrigerate until the next day.

Make Italian meringue: In a medium saucepan pour the water together with the sugar and, without stirring, place at medium heat. Leave until it reaches a temperature of 250ºF (121ºC), the ideal would be to help us with a digital thermometer. While the syrup is cooking, whisk the egg whites together with the 45 g of sugar until obtaining a meringue that forms soft peaks. Once it reaches 250ºF (121ºC) remove from the heat and begin to integrate on the egg whites in a fine and continuous thread. We will do it at the same time that we beat the meringue to a medium speed. The final appearance will be a firm and very shiny meringue. Set aside.

Make mousseline: Add the butter in the KitchenAid bowl and beat with the flat beater at medium-high speed. We must obtain a spongy butter, white and very aired. It will take about 10-12 minutes. Stop the KA and with the help of a silicone spatula scrap the butter from the walls of the bowl. Add half of the meringue and mix at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stop, add the rest of the meringue and mix again at medium speed until fully integrated. Remove the film from the cream and soften with the help of a whisk. Add the pastry cream to the mixture of butter and meringue. Beat at medium high speed until a smooth and creamy consistency is obtained. It will take about 4-5 minutes. Transfer the mousseline to a piping bag. Set aside.

Assemble the cake: With the help of a cake cutter, cut the sponge cake in 2 equal parts. With a serrated knife, subtly cut the edges of the sponge cake to remove the most golden tonality. Wash the strawberries and dry with kitchen paper. Cut some of the strawberries in half, removing the part of the stem making a straight cut. Place some mousseline cream on the base of the Push-Pan mould to adhere to the cake disc. Place a little more on the disc and have one of the sponge cakes. Press lightly. Place a sheet of acetate inside the mould surrounding the sponge cake. This will help us to remove the cake in a cleaner way. Moisten the cake with half the syrup. Place a row of strawberries around the cake. The ideal is to cut as we place, so we will not cut too many strawberries. Arrange a very thin layer of whipped cream on top of the sponge cake. Smooth with the help of a cake straightener. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. At this point we can leave it refrigerated even until the next day.

Finish decorating: Put Chantilly in a piping bag with an 18mm Saint Honore tip. Decorate the surface the way I show you in the video. Place some very finely laminated strawberries in the center. Sprinkle the sides with ruby powder and decorate with some strawberry leaves. Enjoy!

Optional - make the syrup: Add all the ingredients in a saucepan except Kirsch. Place at medium heat and let it boil. The sugar must be completely dissolved. Once it comes to the boil, turn off the heat and let it cool completely. Put the syrup in a bottle with the help of a funnel, add the Kirsch, close and shake to mix well. Set aside at room temperature.