Fraisier

While it's still strawberry season (and my Mom's birthday), it's time to post this lovely French strawberry cake. Classically it's filled with mousseline cream (which is basically pastry cream with butter whipped in). My version imitates the classic version only in appearance, as I'm not a fan of buttercreams (and sorts) so I made it with lighter yogurt mousse instead.

I've done many cakes with this chiffon cake recipe (in Finnish) but while it is very fluffy, it's also quite durable to cutting. The high middle layer of fraisier cake in between the durable cake sheets made me think that my go-to recipe wouldn't maybe work. So I tried a new recipe in hopes of it bringing a bit denser but also a crumblier result. The cake resulted in being quite porous and light, which is why some of the mousse leaked between the cake and the lining, so I'll try something else the next time.

I used the same springform pan for baking and for assembling the cake but as the cake will shrink during and after the baking and because the sides are cut, the same pan will get too big. So if you don't have an adjustable cake ring, you can try the same as I: I lined the sides with crimped aluminum foil and then lined the inside with plastic pastry ribbon so that the cake will fit tightly inside the ring. I made quite a big cake as I took it to work but a smaller cake might be easier to assemble (my cake got a little lopsided :D).

Many happy summer parties with lots of strawberries!

P.S. Happy birthday, Mom!

Fraisier - Strawberry Cake
Author: Tuulia / Kitchenfoxtales     Preparation Time: 60 min     Cooking time: 35 min
Waiting time: 4+ hours     Servings: one 22 cm cake     Calories per serving: 330 kcal (1/12 cake)

A lovely classic French cake with yogurt mousse twist. Enjoy while the strawberry season lasts!

Ingredients:

Cake (for 24 cm springform; halve the amounts for 18 cm springform)
• 225 g eggs (appr. 4 eggs)
• 150 g sugar (appr. 1,75 dl)
• 10 g glucose syrup (scant 2 tsp)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 140 g cake flour
• 40 g melted unsalted butter
• 70 g milk (appr. 70 ml)
Mousse:
• 240 g plain yogurt
• 100 g mascarpone
• 60 g sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 (6 g) gelatin sheets
• 400 ml whipping cream, whipped (save some for piping)
To moisten: milk or rum+water, sweetened according to taste
To fill & decorate: 250-500 g strawberries

Instructions:

Cake

1. Stir the eggs with sugar and glucose syrup over a hot water bath until the mixture reaches 40 C.
2. Take away from water bath and whip until light and fluffy.
3. Sieve the flour and fold it into the batter.
4. Melt the butter and add milk to it. The temperature should be around 50-60 C. Stir some batter to the mix and fold the mix to the batter
5. Pour the batter to a prepared springform and bake at 180 C for 35 min.
6. Let cool. Cut the cake around the edges and halve it.

Mousse

1. Place the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes.
2. Stir yogurt, mascarpone, vanilla extract, sugar and lemon juice together.
3. Remove the gelatin from the water, squeeze slightly and place to a small cup. Microwave for 10 seconds (or until dissolved).
4. Add dissolved gelatin to the yogurt mix. Fold in the whipped cream. Place into the refrigerator while assembling the cake, but don't let it set too much.

Assembly:

1. Place the other half of the cake inside a tight cake ring lined with plastic ribbon (for pastry). I used the same springform I had baked the cake in, but made it smaller by lining the sides with aluminum foil and then lining the insides with plastic ribbon. The cake should fit inside the ring very tightly so that the mousse doesn't leak in between.
2. Brush the cake with milk or sweetened rum+water -mixture.
3. Halve the strawberries. (Save some for garnishing). Arrange them around the edge so that their cut sides stick to the plastic.
4. If you have plenty of strawberries, cut the rest (excluding those for garnishing) to small pieces.
5. Pour the mousse in the middle and push it around the edges so that they fill all the empty spaces around the strawberries.
6. Push the strawberry pieces into the mousse in the middle.
7. Brush the remaining cake sheet with milk or rum water. Arrange it on top.
8. Let the mousse set in fridge for a couple of hours (if you're in a hurry use more gelatin; the mousse will set more quickly).
9. After the cake has set, remove the cake ring and plastic ribbon and decorate the cake with strawberries and cream pipings.

Adapted from Cooking tree & Cooking tree
*Nutritional information is based on average values and is a rough estimate.

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