6 inch cake using a 4 egg genoise recipe with scoops of avocado and beetroot pomegranate ice cream
This is a Fraisier, or French style strawberry cake for spring with a creme mousseline or mousseline cream filling and topping that is a bit diplomat or bavarois-like here to help the added thick yogurt cream cheese set
The genoise sponge is baked in a 20cm/9inch spring form cake pan, then split horizontally into two layers
You will need a bain marie set up for the cake.
I use a metal mixing bowl that nestles snugly over and slightly into, but not inside, a saucepan filled with 2-3 inches of boiling water
Make the creme patissiere for the mousseline ahead of time if wanted.
Ingredients
(Can be scaled as needed)
For the cake
6 large eggs, at room temperature
225g/1 cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine sugar or caster sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225g/2 cups flour + 20g/2tbs cornstarch, sifted together plus a pinch of fine salt
50g/3.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 tablespoons of liqueur or flavoured syrup of choice for brushing the cake.
For the Creme Mousseline
The creme patissiere:
1 large whole egg
4 large egg yolks
50g/scant 2oz flour
100g/ 1/2 cup sugar divided into 2
500g/2-1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Adding for the mousseline:
160 g soft butter divided into two
1 envelope/7g powdered gelatin bloomed in 60 ml cold water (sprinkled evenly and left for 10 minutes)
200g cream cheese-consistency strained Greek style yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
100g powdered sugar
Instructions
Prepare the Sponge Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F /180C
Line a 20cm/9-inch spring form cake pan using parchment paper; set aside until needed.
Fill a large saucepan one-third of the way with water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium-low.
Beat together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla in a large heatproof bowl; place over the saucepan of boiling water, making sure that the bowl is above that water and that the bottom of the bowl isn't directly touching the water. Beat the egg mixture constantly until a thermometer registers 40C/106°F, about 6 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to beat the mixture to ribbon stage with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture is at least doubled in volume, very thick and mousse-like, pale in color, and leaves a thick trail on the mixture surface when the beaters are lifted, about 8-10 more minutes.
Working with a third of the flour mixture at a time, sift the flour into egg mixture, and fold in gently until fully combined, making sure no flour is visible.
When all the flour is folded in, gently pour the melted cooled butter down one side of bowl to ensure the weight of butter does not deflate egg mixture, and gently fold in until the butter is completely incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared spring form pan; bake in preheated oven until golden brown and centre of cake bounces back when lightly pressed, or an inserted skewer comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes, loosely covering with aluminum foil after 20 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning, if needed.
Remove from the oven, and cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Release the pan clasp to remove outer ring of pan and allow cake cool completely on the wire rack, about 45 minutes more. Set aside until ready to use.
For the Creme Mousseline
Make a creme patissiere with the following:
1 large whole egg
4 large egg yolks
60g/2+ oz flour
100g/ 1/2 cup sugar divided into 2
500g/2-1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Heat milk and half the sugar over a medium-low heat in a large saucepan and scald i.e. almost but not quite coming to a boil, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat. Whisk in the vanilla extract
Beat or whisk together the egg, egg yolks, remaining sugar, and flour in a large heatproof bowl until combined.
Pour the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.
Place that bowl of mixture over hot water in the bain marie setup and cook over the boiling water on a medium heat, whisking constantly, until fully thickened, about 8 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally to prevent anything sticking. Once fully thickened, remove from heat.
Bloom an envelope/7g of powdered gelatin in 60ml/1/4c cold water for 10 minutes - sprinkle evenly over the water and allow to sit and absorb.
Add the bloomed gelatin to the hot creme patissiere, stirring gently until dissolved and mixed in thoroughly.
Beat in 80g/2.5 tablespoons butter in small pieces.
Cool the creme patissiere to room temperature or fridge until needed.
Making the mousseline
In a bowl
Beat
80g softened butter until light and fluffy
Add and beat in
200g yogurt cream cheese
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Then add and beat in
100g powdered sugar
Add the prepared creme patissiere in spoonfuls until incorporated.
Assemble the cake
Using a large serrated knife or cake leveler, cut the cake across horizontally to create 2 equal, thinner rounds about 1.25cm/¾-inch thick each.
Line a clean 9-inch spring form pan using an acetate sheet or parchment paper, with at least 1 1/2-inch/3cm showing above the pan. Cut out and place a parchment paper circle to fit the bottom of the spring form pan.
Place 1 cake half, cut side facing up, in the lined pan. With a pastry brush, brush each cut side of cake lightly with around 2 tablespoons of flavoured syrup or liqueur of choice.
Place strawberry halves, cut sides facing outwards and points of strawberries upward, and around the outside efge of the cake so that cut sides are placed flat against the parchment paper. When the cake outer edge has been lined with strawberry halves, roughly chop remaining strawberries, and set aside.
Pipe about 120ml/1/2 cup of the mousseline cream to fill spaces between the strawberries. Then pipe about 120ml/1/2 cup mousseline cream to completely cover the strawberried and pipe more cream in a thin layer (about 129ml/1/2 cup) to cover the rest of the cake showing through, and top that with the set aside chopped strawberries in an even layer. Cover with another thin even layer of the cream (about 250ml/1 cup) over the chopped strawberries. Place the second cake half, cut side down, on top of yhe cream, pressing gently to adhere to cream layer. Brush cake with remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur. Pipe remaining Mousseline Cream (about 2 1/2 cups) over top of cake, and spread into a smooth layer. Cover pan using plastic wrap, placing wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours. Remove collar of pan, and remove and discard parchment. Decorate with sliced strawberries in a ring around the edge of cake if wanted.
Slice and serve with a scoop of ice cream or sorbet if wanted.
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