06.20.09
I Heart Strawberries…
It wasn’t an easy task to figure out how to consume 22 lbs. of cherries as my husband and I did last weekend. Well, we didn’t eat them all by ourselves. Between distributing them to friends, making jam out of them, and snacking a few, it turns out it’s not difficult to go through that many cherries. After I took my eyes off of the cherries, I realize strawberries are also in season. This time I didn’t go fanatic with them. I just want to make a few sweet treats with them for dinner. Growing up, baking at home was non-existent. My parents usually took me to these French bakeries where making a decision on what to get was always a challenge. They all looked so good. One of the items that always caught my eye was the little whipped cream towers with strawberries around them and a layer of cake on the bottom. I learned that they are called le fraisier which literally means “strawberry”. Don’t ask me why, but when I saw the beautiful strawberries at the store today, I immediately thought of this dessert. I remember I still have some mascarpone cheese at home that I need to use. And before I know it, the dessert is made.
Ok, so I made it sound way too simple. To make this dessert, you do need a few gadgets. First, I use 3″ baking rings to hold everything in place. A piping bag with a large tip comes in very handy when you’re filling the baking rings with cream. And I line the inside of the baking rings with some rhodoid sheets which are basically clear acetate cake wraps. If you don’t have it, you can cut out some parchment paper strips instead.
Using baking rings
Ingredients:
Makes 4 individual size cakes (3 inch)
Orange Flavored Cake
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp orange zest
Strawberry Cream (Or Plain Vanilla Cream)
Optional: 2 Tbsp Ground dry strawberry
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp sugar
10-15 strawberries, sliced with 2 halved for garnish
Optional: Mint leaves for garnish
- In a bowl, combine the heavy cream and sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks form, then add the optional dry strawberry, mascarpone cheese, and vanilla. Beat the mixture until smooth.
- Slice the strawberries, reserving 3-4 for garnish. Coat the sliced strawberries with 1 Tbsp sugar.
- Heat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-inch by 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- Mix the egg, egg yolk, and sugar in a heatproof bowl.
- Set the bowl on a pan with gently simmering water, but make sure the bowl isn’t touching the hot water.
- Whisk the egg mixture until it looks pale and fluffy. Remove the bowl from the pan.
- Either use a hand mixer or an electric mixer to beat the mixture for another 5 minutes until the mixture gets ribbony.
- Add the sifted flour into the mixture in two batches, mixing the flour in completely each time until smooth.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. Bake until the cake turns golden on top.
- Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool.
- When the cake is cool, use the baking rings to cut out 4 bottom rounds. Loosen the cake from the rings, and keep the rings rested on top.
- Line the inside of the baking rings with a piece of clear acetate cake wrap.
- Arrange sliced strawberries along the inside of the cake wrap.
- Using a piping bag and large tip, pipe the cream to fill the baking rings. Level out the top with a spatula.
- Carefully remove the baking rings without removing the clear acetate cake wraps. Chill the cakes in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Garnish the top of the cakes with halved strawberries and mint leaves as desired.
- Refrigerate until dessert time.
