The Fraisier Cake is a French culinary gem that captures the essence of strawberry season. This piece uncovers the layers, components, and rich history of this classic delight, along with a guide on how to craft it to perfection.

Fraisier Cake: The Epitome of Strawberry Indulgence

Often hailed as a tribute to strawberries, the Fraisier Cake stands out with its exquisite presentation and flavor profile. This French delicacy, whose name is derived from the French term “Fraise,” meaning strawberry, is synonymous with the summer season. With strawberries in full bloom, the Fraisier offers a refreshing bite that boasts of nature’s bounty.

The Heart of the Fraisier: Its Components

Though the art of creating this treat might seem intricate, the process is simple when broken down into its primary elements. Each component holds its own significance, culminating in a dessert that is both visually appealing and palate-pleasing:

• Genoise Foundation: This Italian-inspired sponge serves as the base, enveloping the cake with its light and fluffy texture. Enhanced with a strawberry-infused syrup, it perfectly marries moisture with a subtle sweetness.
• Crème Mousseline Filling: A favored choice among patisserie experts, this creamy filling encapsulates smoothness and richness. Derived from the union of crème pâtissière and whipped butter, its texture is reminiscent of a soft mousse, tantalizing the taste buds with every bite.
• The Strawberry Star: Without a doubt, strawberries are the centerpiece. The Crème Mousseline elegantly encases these juicy berries, exhibiting their vibrant hues and intricate details. Additionally, the fruit embellishes the core and crowns the top, creating a visual feast.

An optional finishing touch to the Fraisier is a layer of marzipan or almond paste, enhancing its elegance. Whether you opt for this or not, the charm of the Fraisier remains undiminished.

Ingredients Deconstructed:

• Eggs: Vital for the genoise sponge, opt for large, free-range eggs for superior quality;
• Sugar: Superfine sugar is ideal due to its rapid dissolving nature;
• Flour: Cake flour is the preferred choice, ensuring a feather-light sponge, though all-purpose flour can substitute in a pinch;
• Oil: Neutral oils, such as vegetable or canola, are suitable, but melted butter is an alternative.
• Milk: Whole milk provides the robustness essential for the Crème Mousseline;
• Vanilla: Quality matters. Whether you opt for an extract, bean paste, or a whole pod, it’s the aromatic essence that elevates the flavor;
• Butter: Prioritize high-quality unsalted butter, as it impacts the richness and consistency of the cream;
• Corn Starch: Essential for thickening the custard, ensure not to confuse it with cornmeal;
• Strawberries: Vibrant and ripe berries are crucial. For the syrup, frozen variants can suffice, but for presentation, nothing beats fresh, luscious strawberries;
• Marzipan: Enhance the cake’s allure with an optional marzipan layer, which can be naturally colored or dyed to match the dessert’s aesthetic.

Preparing Each Component 

While we’ve split the components for easier comprehension, here’s a summary of the essential steps. For detailed directions, consult the dedicated posts for each component.

While you can ready the genoise sponge, strawberry-infused syrup, and creamy custard ahead of time, remember to immediately use the transformed custard into creme mousseline. Delay can cause it to solidify undesirably!

Strawberry-Infused Syrup 

Begin by making the Strawberry-Infused Syrup. In a petite pot, merge sugar, water, and strawberries, and heat gently until the sugar dissolves, yielding a translucent liquid. Once done, cool after straining.

Genoise Sponge Layer 

Start by warming your oven to 350°F / 180°C and prep an 8-inch baking pan. Craft the Genoise Sponge by merging whipped eggs and sugar using a water bath. Transition the mix into a mixer bowl and whip until its volume doubles. 

Gently introduce flour, then amalgamate milk, oil, and vanilla in another vessel. Blend a spoonful of the batter into this mixture and later incorporate everything. Pour the final batter into the pan and bake until springy. Let it cool, then seal in plastic until needed.

Creamy Mousseline 

Begin the Creamy Mousseline by blending egg yolks, flour, corn starch, and a portion of sugar. As you warm milk, sugar, and vanilla in a pot, gradually combine it with the yolk blend. Once uniformly mixed, heat until it thickens. Strain for smoothness, cool, then whip butter before adding the custard in increments. The result should be lush and fit for piping.

Fraiser Cake Assembly

After cooling, level the genoise sponge and bisect it. Situate one piece inside a pastry ring or ungreased baking pan. Dab the sponge with strawberry syrup for moisture. Neatly align strawberry halves around the pan’s perimeter, followed by piping in the mousseline to fill voids. Cover the center with vertically placed strawberries to create a delightful core.

Note: Always opt for uniform strawberries for a consistent and appealing presentation. Use suitable equipment for optimal results.

• Gently layer a generous portion of crème mousseline over the strawberries, ensuring a substantial, even layer that completely conceals the strawberries beneath. Utilize a palette knife to achieve a smooth, leveled finish;
• Next, gently place the second sponge layer over this creamy layer, ensuring it sits perfectly. Moistening it with another generous brushing of strawberry-infused syrup enhances its texture and flavor;
• A final layering of crème mousseline is then spread atop the sponge, ensuring a level, smooth finish. After the assembly, transfer the Fraisier Delight to a cooling chamber to solidify for a minimum of 4 hours; if possible, allowing it to set overnight ensures the best texture. After the stipulated time, briefly let the delight sit outside the cooling chamber for about 5 minutes for easy handling;
• Attempting to ease the delight out of its mold should be straightforward. However, if any challenges arise, a gentle external warmth (using a mild heating tool like a hairdryer) will help by slightly softening its sides, ensuring the mold expands, aiding in the easy release of the delight;
• Once free from its mold, the delight should showcase the beautifully layered sponge, embraced by the lush crème mousseline, showcasing the halved strawberries. If the plan is to slice it, each piece should reveal whole strawberries, presenting a visual feast;
• While it’s traditional to garnish the top with marzipan, it’s an optional touch. To give the marzipan a rich hue, blend in a modest amount of red food color until uniformly mixed. With a sprinkle of icing sugar on the work surface to prevent sticking, roll out the marzipan thinly;
• Use the same mold or a similar dimensioned one to trace and extract a perfect circle, which can then be delicately placed atop the Fraisier Delight. Garnishing with fresh strawberries offers the final touch to this culinary masterpiece.

Note: For those using an open-bottomed mold, it’s advisable to construct the Fraisier Delight on a serving plate or board. If the choice is a detachable base mold, transfer the delight to the serving board or plate post-release.

Required Tools for Construction:

• Mold Selection: Options abound when choosing a circular mold for creating the Fraisier Delight. Whether one opts for a detachable-base mold, a spring latch mold, or even a tart ring, the essence is its capability to firmly hold the delight’s structure and facilitate easy demolding. The primary criterion is ensuring the mold chosen for construction is either identical in size or smaller than the mold used for baking the sponge. If discrepancies arise in dimensions, trimming the sponge to fit is feasible, but if the sponge is undersized, the creamy mousseline might seep, potentially cloaking the sponge’s sides;
• Mold Height: A crucial consideration is the mold’s height, ensuring it can comfortably accommodate all layers. If it falls short, fashioning an extended collar using a transparent acetate strip is an efficient workaround;
• Pastry Brush: Essential for applying the strawberry syrup evenly on the sponge layers. Opting for food-grade or silicone brushes is advised to avoid unwelcome foreign elements in the delight.
• Whisking Device: While manual whisking or using handheld electric mixers are feasible, stand mixers with whisk attachments are ideal. This machinery ensures efficient and exhaustive whipping of both the sponge mix and the crème mousseline, sans the manual exertion;
• Cookware: Multiple culinary tasks necessitate a saucepan, such as crafting a bain-marie for the sponge, concocting the strawberry syrup, and curating the base pastry cream for the mousseline.

Preparing in Advance

The Fraisier Delight can certainly be curated a couple of days prior to its intended indulgence. However, prolonging this might compromise the freshness of the strawberries. To alleviate assembly efforts, advance preparation of most components is feasible:

• Strawberry Syrup: This aromatic infusion remains usable for a fortnight when refrigerated in a sealed jar;
• Sponge Layer: Ensuring this base remains moist is paramount. Storing it enveloped in cling film, within a sealed container at ambient conditions, maintains its freshness for 3-5 days;
• Pastry Cream Base: This vital component for the crème mousseline can be prepared up to three days in advance, provided it’s refrigerated. However, post its blending with whipped butter to form the mousseline, immediate utilization is advised.

For the Fraisier Delight to retain its freshness post-assembly, sourcing the strawberries on the day of assembly is ideal.

Storage Recommendations

After the assembly of the Fraisier dessert, it’s vital to keep it chilled. Ideally, it should be consumed within a span of 72 hours for the best taste experience. Its longevity is largely influenced by how fresh the strawberries incorporated within it are. Observing the outer strawberries of the sweet delicacy provides insights into its freshness.

If you’re keen on preparing its individual components ahead of time, kindly refer to the section mentioned previously (“Can I Make This Ahead of Time?”) to discern how each component should be stored.

Fraisier Cake

Experience a taste of France with layers of genoise sponge harmoniously combined with creme mousseline and fresh strawberries.

Ingredients Scale

• 1x | 2x | 3x;

Genoise Sponge Delicacy Ingredients:

• 4 Eggs;
• ¾ cup White Sugar (150g);
• 1 cup Delicate Flour (130g);
• 3 tablespoon Vegetable Elixir (39g);
• 2 tablespoon Dairy Liquid (25g);
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence.

Creme Mousseline Components:

• 2 ½ cups Full-fat Dairy (600g);
• 5 Egg Yolks;
• 2 teaspoon Vanilla Essence;
• ½ cup White Sugar (100g);
• 3 tablespoon Thickening Grain (Corn Starch);
• 1.5 tablespoon Universal Flour;
• ½ teaspoon Saline;
• 4 units of Butter.

Strawberry Elixir Ingredients:

• 1 cup White Sugar (200g);
• 1 cup Aqua (236g);
• 1 teaspoon Citrus Extract;
• 1 cup Strawberries (use either fresh or frozen).

Additional Components:

• 2 containers of Fresh Strawberries (enough for internal filling and external decoration);
• 1 petite pack of Marzipan (optional; for a thin circle atop the dessert);
• ¼ teaspoon Crimson edible tint (optional).

Guided Steps

Given the multiple components involved in crafting this French delicacy, the instructions have been delineated by each segment for clarity and ease of reference:

• Prepare the Strawberry Elixir in advance;
• Craft the Genoise Sponge Delicacy. Allow it to cool, subsequently, trim the top and bisect to obtain two slender layers;
• Ready the Creme Mousseline and reserve;
• Set one genoise layer at the foundation of a baking ring or a detachable-base dessert mold. Refrain from greasing;
• Select symmetrical strawberries, bisect, and position with the inner side facing the mold;
• Imbue the sponge layer with the strawberry elixir;
• Fill a piping tool with Creme Mousseline. Ensure the spaces around the strawberries are adequately filled, followed by a central layer to conceal any visible sponge segment;
• Populate the core with upright strawberries until fully covered;
• Amplify the Creme Mousseline layer over these strawberries, ensuring concealment, and flatten using a palette tool;
• Overlay with the remaining genoise layer, applying gentle pressure;
• Imbue this layer with more strawberry elixir;
• Layer the remaining Creme Mousseline atop, ensuring smoothness. Chill the dessert for a minimum of four hours, preferably longer;
• Post chilling, allow a 5-minute ambient rest. Carefully extricate from the mold, using mild external heat if necessary;
• Re-chill briefly while you tend to the Marzipan;
• Integrate the crimson edible tint into the Marzipan uniformly. Spread thinly on a dusted surface;
• Using the same mold as a guide, extract a Marzipan circle and delicately position atop the dessert;
• Embellish with strawberries. Perfection!

Final Thoughts

In crafting the Fraisier Delight, one engages in a meticulous process that brings together varying textures and flavors, resulting in a masterpiece that’s both visually appealing and gustatorially satisfying. A symphony of genoise sponge layers, complemented by rich Creme Mousseline and crowned with fresh strawberries, this dessert is a tribute to French culinary elegance. 

Whether you are a seasoned chef or a culinary enthusiast, following these carefully crafted steps ensures you create a delicacy that’s both authentic and delectable.