12-14 servings; 1,5-2 h preparation; 30 min cooking.

So a special day deserves a very special treat. I can’t imagine a better and elegant birthday cake than this strawberry fraisier, so I made it for my birthday today. It’s light, not overly sweet and so addictive. Just the perfect treat for this day! Make your celebration extra special with this recipe! 

There are quite a few steps until the cake is done, but the end result is spectacular. You will feel so proud of yourself when you see the cake assembled. And for sure your guests will be impressed with your effort and skills.

Ingredients

• 1000 g strawberries

for the sponge:

• 5 eggs, room temperature, divided
• 150 g sugar, divided in two parts 50 g and 100 g
• 75 g butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 150 g all-porpose flour
• 1 lemon, zest

for the syrup:

• 100 g sugar
• 50 g water
• 1/2 vanila bean or 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp rum
• 1 tbsp lemon essence or juice

for the cream:

• 500 g mascarpone cheese
• 500 g whipping cream
• 50 g sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, minced
• 2 sheets gelatine
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 80 g flaked almonds

for the jelly:

• 50 g strawberries
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 sheets gelatin

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Cake sponge: Divide egg whites and yolks in two different bowls. Beat the egg whites in a food processor or use a hand mixer until they start thicken. Add salt. Beat for 2 min. Add 50 g sugar and beat until hard picks occur. Set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks with 100 g sugar in a heat-proof bowl over a double boiler. Take the bowl from the heat on a kitchen towel and return it back over the double boiler. Repeat that a couple of times. This will prevent you to end with scrambled eggs. Whisk until they turn white and silky. Take from the heat. Add the lemon zest.

Melt butter in the microwaves. Add in parts to the egg yolks as you continue whisking. Strain the flour over the egg yolks mixture and combine well. If the batter is too thick, add a little bit of cold milk.

Fold one spoon of the egg whites into the yolks mixture. Use a spatula to incorporate the rest of the egg whites into the mixture. Mix until smooth and you don’t see any egg whites or flour. Don’t over beat it, because it will lose its volume.

Cover the bottom of a 24 cm spring form with parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the form and bake in the preheated oven for 30 min. I used two 24 cm forms for these recipe and divided the batter equally between them. Take from the oven and let cool completely. Cut the sponge in two equally thick circles or use two forms as I did. Set aside.

Syrup: Melt sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the vanilla bean and essence. Add the lemon essence or juice. Bring to the boil and cook until it starts to thicken. Take from the heat and add the rum. Set aside to cool down completely.

Mascarpone cream: Melt 2 sheets of gelatin with 2 tbsp of water in a microwaves or on the stove. Set aside to cool down. Mince the mint leaves very fine.

Beat the cream and sugar in food processor until thicken and glossy. Add the mascarpone and vanilla essence. Beat for 3-4 more minutes. Leave 2 tbsp from the mixture aside for later. You will use if to cover the cake. Use a spatula to add the mint and almonds to the rest of the mascarpone mixture. Mix until smooth.

Strawberry Jelly: Mash strawberries in a blender until smooth. Strain the sauce through a fine strain. Warm the sauce in a sauce pan with sugar. Melt the gelatin in a microwaves with 2 tbsp of water. Add to the strawberry sauce. Bring to the boil and take of the heat. Let it cool completely.

Assembling the cake: Put one of the sponge circles on the bottom of a spring form. Pour a half of the syrup until the sponge is wet. Cut strawberries in half just enough to cover the sides. Put strawberries around the spring form. Cover the rest of the sponge with whole strawberries. You can also cut the remaining strawberries in pieces and fold them into the cream if you prefer.

Once the bottom layer is covered with strawberries, Cover with the cream mixture. Make sure that all holes are filled. You can use a piping bag if you have one. place the second sponge on top. Press gently so that the cream spreads evenly in the holes. Pour the rest of the syrup on top of the sponge. Make sure that it’s covered completely with the syrup and there are no dry spots.

Cover the sponge with the 2 tbsp of mascarpone mixture. Make sure that it’s evenly covered. Pour the jelly on top. The jelly should cover the whole cake. Make sure that it’s smooth, without any holes. Set in the fridge overnight. You can decorate the cake with fresh mint leaves, strawberries and melted or rasped white chocolate. Enjoy!