Fraisier, the elegant and colorful traditional French strawberry cream cake, is available all year round in Paris, but it is especially luscious in late spring and early summer, when local strawberries are in season. If you love strawberries, this is the cake for you… and it is perfect for a Mother’s Day dessert.
When I saw this cake for the first time at Stohrer (the oldest pastry shop in Paris… since 1730), I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was beautiful with an elegantly classic look. Being a big strawberry fan, I decided immediately I must purchase it from among all the many fantastic looking pastries in the case.
Stohrer is a relatively small shop (located in a very lively old shopping street, rue Montorgueil, in the center of Paris, 2e.), but packed with all kinds of French pastry as well as delicious ice cream. Many of their pastries are classic, and some were created at the same location 200+ years ago – almost 100 years before chocolate became a popular ingredient in French pastry. Traditionally, butter, egg and cream were the main ingredients in French pastry, which is why custards dominated classic desserts. Stohrer is a French pastry museum where you can not only see the history of French pastry but also purchase and taste it!
I only make this cake when I can find sweet and juicy strawberries in season. Strawberries are plentiful this time of year in markets, however it is getting hard to find good ones. To make this cake I searched in three shops, but I could not find what I was looking for.
First, strawberries today are too big (grown with too much fertilizer, I bet). Second, most of them are white inside (this means they are harvested too early – same as most other fruits and vegetables in the market today). Even those labeled “organic” with a higher price do not seem much better. This is a very problematic situation in American supermarkets today. Produce looks good, but there’s no flavor inside. So I only trust and enjoy produce from my local farmer’s market. How about you?
This recipe looks complicated and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. First you can make the biscuit genoise (sponge cake), and wrap and refrigerate it a few days in advance. Then make the pastry cream and buttercream a day or two before serving. You then only need to prepare the soaking syrup and assemble the cake on the day you serve it. This will make the process easier, but you will still enjoy the accomplishment… and the compliments.
- Biscuit Genoise (sponge cake)
- 5 large eggs
- ½ cup (110 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 ounces (115 grams) all-purpose flour, sifted
- ¼ cup (35 grams) ground almonds
- Crème Pâtissière (pastry cream)
- 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Crème au Beurre (buttercream)
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (125 ml) water
- 3 large egg whites
- 12 ounces (330 grams) unsalted butter, cut in pieces, softened at room temperature
- Kirsch Soaking Syrup
- ⅓ cup (60 grams) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (70 ml) cold water
- 2 tablespoons Kirsch or brandy
- For Assembly
- 3 pints ripe strawberries (preferably small organic strawberries)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup red currant jelly or strained raspberry preserves (optional)
- Place rack in center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Line a 10 ½ x 15 ½ inch (26 x 39 cm) jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Lightly butter the sides of the pan and the paper, and set aside.
- In a large bowl placed over simmering water in a saucepan (bain-marie), whisk or beat the eggs and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture becomes fluffy, about 3 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and continue to whisk or beat the mixture until cool, pale and about triple its original volume, about 5-6 minutes.
- Sift the flour and almond onto a sheet of wax paper. Add this mixture gradually to the egg mixture, folding it in very gently with a rubber spatula. Gently scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it gently and evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake is lightly golden and springs back slightly when pressed, about 15-18 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack. Cover with plastic wrap until needed.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the milk to boil over medium heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar and add the cornstarch and whisk until well blended. Gradually pour the hot milk into the bowl and whisk to blend. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk vigorously until thickened, about 2 minutes. Strain the cream through a sieve into a mixing bowl and whisk in the vanilla extract. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto surface of the custard. Cool to room temperature, then chill.
- Bring the sugar and water to boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture boil for 4 minutes until it forms a soft ball (235-240 F/ 115 C). Meanwhile in a medium-size bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) until nearly stiff. As soon as the sugar syrup is ready and while the mixer is running, pour the syrup onto the beaters in a very thin, steady stream, until all the syrup is incorporated. Continue to beat until the mixture is fluffy and cooled to room temperature. Add the butter, one or two pieces at a time, until the mixture is well blended and fluffy. If the buttercream is not to be used immediately, cover and refrigerate it.
- (Remove from the refrigerator about ½ hour before using to soften, then beat briefly to refluff.)
- Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Kirsch and remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
- Combine the buttercream with 1 cup (250 ml) of the pastry cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, folding them together with a rubber spatula until smooth.
- With a serrated knife, cut the edges from the cake. Cut the cake into two 6 x 8-inch (15 x 20-cm) rectangles (reserve the remaining cake for another use). Place one rectangle of cake on a serving platter or a sheet of cardboard cut to fit (and then wrapped with aluminum foil). With a pastry brush, generously moisten the top of the cake with some of the syrup. With a spatula, spread a 1/4-inch (½-cm) layer of the cream filling mixture over the cake.
- Cut the tops off several strawberries at their thickest point. Arrange these strawberries around the outside edges of the moistened iced cake layer, the cut sides flush with the cake’s edge, facing out. Arrange more strawberries to cover the cake layer. Set a little of the cream filling aside.
