Light Fraisier Cake with Diplomat Cream
Find the easy recipe for the vanilla fraisier cake with diplomat cream step-by-step in pictures. A very light and delicious fraisier, perfect for any occasion.
SERVING:12
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EQUIPEMENTS
INGREDIENTS
- For a round cake ring of 22 cm in diameter and 6 cm in height (8.7x 2.4 inches)
Pastry Cream
- 450 ml (15.2 fl oz) milk
- 125 g (4.4 oz )granulated sugar
- 100 g (3.5 oz) egg yolks (about 4 or 5 eggs depending on size)
- 4 and a half sheets of 200 bloom gelatin (9 g)
- 2 vanilla pods
- 50 g (1.8 oz) cornstarch
- 30 g (1.1 oz) butter
Diplomat Cream:
- Cold Pastry cream
- 400 ml (13.5 fl oz) heavy cream (32/35% fat content, well chilled)
Sponge Cake:
- Use a mold or cake ring of 20 cm in diameter and 4 cm in height (7.9x1.6 inches)
- 3 eggs
- 90 g (3.2 oz) sugar
- 75 g (2.6 oz) flour
- 15 g (0.5 oz) cornstarch (can substitute with flour)
- 1 packet of vanilla sugar
Syrup for Soaking:
- 75 g (2.6 oz) sugar + 15 g (0.5 oz) vanilla sugar
- 150 ml (5.1 fl oz) water
- 15 g (0.5 oz) Kirsch (optional)
For Assembly:
- Sponge cake cut into two discs
- Vanilla diplomat cream
- Syrup for soaking
- 800 g (28.2 oz) fresh strawberries, more as desired for decoration
Quick Almond Paste:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) almond flour
- 100 g (3.5 oz) powdered sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) egg whites (approximately)
- Gel food coloring color of your choice
PREPARATION
Pastry cream
- Prepare it first so that it has time to cool down.
- Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water. In hot weather, place the bowl in the refrigerator. If using powdered gelatin, soak it in 6 times its weight in cold water.
- Sprinkle a bit of sugar into a saucepan (it prevents the cream from sticking to the bottom). Pour the milk over it.
- Split the vanilla pods in half and scrape out the seeds. Add them to the milk in the saucepan along with the scraped vanilla pods.
- Bring to a boil to heat. Remove when it starts to simmer, just before boiling.
- Meanwhile, lightly whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl. Add the cornstarch and mix gently to obtain a smooth, lump-free texture.
- Gradually pour the hot milk over the mixture in two batches through a fine sieve while whisking to blend everything.
- Pour everything back into the saucepan and heat over medium heat. Be sure to dip the sieve into the milk at the end to pass all the vanilla seeds through with the help of a spatula. Straining is not mandatory but it can catch any milk skins or particles from the vanilla pod. Remove the grated vanilla pod.
- Thicken by whisking constantly until the cream thickens. Remove from heat when air bubbles begin to burst on the surface.
- Off heat, add the butter and mix well until melted. Add the well-squeezed gelatin and whisk to incorporate.
- Pour the cream into a large dish covered with plastic wrap, spreading it in a thin layer to speed up cooling. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate to cool quickly. Even though you can prepare it the day before, it's easier to smooth out when it hasn't spent much time in the refrigerator. Ideally, let it cool just enough to set.
The sponge cake:
- Use a cake mold or a round cake ring that is 20 cm in diameter x 4 cm in hight (8 x 1.5 inches)
- If you choose to use a cake ring, cut a disc of parchment paper slightly larger. Place the greased and floured ring on a baking sheet, then lay the parchment paper disc inside. It should rise slightly up the sides.
- Preheat oven to 180°C ( 350°F )
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla sugar until they triple in volume.
- Incorporate the sifted flour and cornstarch in three additions, folding gently from bottom to top with a spatula. You can use the whisk, mixing in circular motions from the center of the bowl outward. Do not whisk. Occasionally tap the whisk on the edge of the bowl to release the batter. This method is very practical and prevents lumps.
- Pour the batter into the mold and bake for about 20 minutes, adjusting for your oven. Check the doneness with a toothpick inserted into the génoise; it should come out clean.
- Unmold onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper, and let it cool completely covered with a kitchen towel before cutting it into two discs of equal thickness.
The syrup for soaking:
- Combine water, sugar, and vanilla sugar (or scraped vanilla pod) in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat as soon as the sugar has dissolved. The goal is to dissolve the sugar and create a light syrup.
- If you want to flavor it with kirsch, add it off the heat. Let it cool completely.
Diplomat cream:
- Prepare once everything else is ready.
- Whip the cold heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer. Start at medium speed until many bubbles appear on the surface, then increase to maximum speed.
- Stop whipping as soon as it holds well on the whisk. It should be firm but not too stiff so that it can be easily incorporated into the pastry cream. Keep it in the refrigerator while you smooth out the pastry cream.
- In a mixing bowl or the bowl of the stand mixer (which you will have emptied of the whipped cream), whisk the pastry cream until smooth. It should become very smooth, without lumps.
- Add a bit of the whipped cream and whisk without caution. Gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream in three additions, using a spatula or whisk, working from the bottom up. Transfer to a piping bag without a nozzle and proceed immediately to assembly.
Assembling the fraisier cake with diplomat cream:
- Place a 22 cm (8.7 inches) by 6 cm (2.4 inches) round cake ring (adjustable or not) on a gold cake board or serving plate. Line the inside of the ring with a strip of acetate (rhodoid) of the same height. To move the fraisier without any issues, place the gold cake board on a flat, rigid support.
- Wash and dry the strawberries with paper towels, then hull them. Leave a few with their leaves for decoration. Choose a dozen of the same size and cut them in half lengthwise. Tackle them, cut side down, against the circle. If the cutters are not the same size, adjust them by cutting the base.
- Cut a disk of sponge cake to fit the bottom of the circle and place it against the strawberries. The cut side of the sponge cake should face upwards.
- Soak with syrup using a brush.
- Pipe diplomat cream into the spaces between the strawberries and cover all the strawberries. Use a small spatula to press the cream firmly against the sides of the mold to remove any air bubbles. This ensures a smooth finish when unmolding, without any holes on the sides.
- Cover the sponge cake with a generous layer of cream and fill with varying sizes of strawberry pieces.
- Cover with a bit of cream and place the second sponge cake disc on top, previously soaked with the cut side down. The soaked side should be against the cream.
- Press the sponge cake gently to push the cream up the sides. Soak the top of the sponge cake and add a bit more cream around it to reach the height of the cake ring.
- Cover the surface with cream, then use a large spatula to scrape off excess cream until it's level with the top of the ring. Fill any empty areas with cream and smooth with the spatula to achieve a smooth and perfectly flat surface. The layer of cream should not be thick.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before unmolding. Once the cream no longer sticks to your fingers, cover the fraisier with plastic wrap to protect it from refrigerator odors.
- Store any remaining cream covered in the refrigerator; there should be just enough left to pipe a few rosettes. I don't see the need to pipe more cream on top of the fraisier; it can unbalance the whole cake. However, if you like the visual aspect, you can plan for a bit more cream.
- I only decorated and unmolded the fraisier the next day.
Quick almond paste:
- This almond paste is very easy and quick to make. You can also check out the recipe for the more traditional almond paste, which has a longer shelf life.
- Preheat the oven to 140°C (284°F).
- Spread the almond flour on a baking sheet and bake it for 10 minutes to dry it out.
- Let it cool, then blend it with powdered sugar to obtain a fine powder.
- Transfer to a bowl and gradually add egg white while kneading it. You should achieve a smooth and pliable paste.
- Knead it for about ten minutes on a work surface. If it feels too hard, add a little more egg white.
- Color it using gel food coloring in the color of your choice. You can set aside a small portion and color it differently to make small flowers for decoration.
- Wrap it in plastic wrap until ready to use.
Finishing touch:
- Place the almond paste on the fraisier 1 or 2 hours before serving, as the moisture from the cream can cause it to melt; alternatively, make it slightly thicker.
- Roll out the almond paste to 2 mm thickness between two sheets of parchment paper.
- Remove the fraisier from the refrigerator and place the almond paste on top using the parchment paper to help.
- Use a rolling pin to trim off the excess. If needed, adjust with a knife. Smooth your hand over the top to remove any trapped air underneath. If you're not comfortable with this method, you can cut out a disc and place it on top of the fraisier instead.
- Remove the cake ring from the fraisier, peel off the rhodoid strip, and decorate according to your preference. I piped a few rosettes of cream using the Wilton 2D nozzle, added strawberries, almond paste flowers, some multicolored sugar pearls, and gold leaf.Brush a bit of neutral glaze over the top strawberries to protect them and give them shine.
- Return the fraisier to the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
This fraisier cake is well-balanced between the two layers of light sponge cake and airy diplomat cream. The thin layer of almond paste gives a subtle almond flavor that complements the strawberries very well.
Light strawberries with diplomatic cream
Tried this recipe? Don't forget to tag me on @gateau_et_cuisine_rachida or #gateauetcuisinerachida!