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Strawberry Sauce: If using frozen strawberries,
first place in a bowl
and thaw. Then place the strawberries, and
their juices, in the bowl of your food processor or blender and process until they are pureed
(can also use an immersion blender). Add
the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Taste and add more sugar if
needed. Cover and place in the refrigerator until well chilled (can be made up
to a week in advance). Makes about 1/2 cup (120 ml).
Vanilla Genoise:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Lightly butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, two - 8 inch (20 cm)
round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.
In a
heatproof bowl (preferably stainless steel) whisk together the eggs and
sugar. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisking constantly,
heat the eggs and sugar until lukewarm to the touch (this will take about 3 - 5
minutes). Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to the bowl of your electric
mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (can use a hand mixer). Add the
vanilla extract and beat on high speed until the egg
mixture has cooled, tripled in volume, and looks like softly whipped cream (the batter
will fall back into the bowl in a
ribbon-like
pattern). (This will take about 3-5
minutes.) (See video for
demonstration.) Then
sift about
one-third of the
flour mixture over the whipped eggs and gently
fold in using a
spatula. Fold in half of the remaining flour, and then
fold in the rest.
Take about 1 cup (240 ml) of
the batter and fold it into the warm melted butter. (This lightens the butter.) Then,
with a spatula, gently
fold the butter
mixture completely into the egg batter. (See video for demonstration.) Evenly divide the batter between the two pans
(about 340 grams in each pan), smoothing the
tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Bake until the cakes shrink slightly from the edges of the pans and the tops
spring back when lightly pressed (about 16 - 20
minutes). (A toothpick
inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.) Cool completely in their
pans that have been placed on a wire rack. To remove the cakes from their pans, run a small knife around
the edges
to release the cake. If not using right away, the cakes, well wrapped,
will keep two days in the refrigerator or they can be frozen for a
month.
Soaking Syrup:
Place the
water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil
for about one minute or until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool
to room temperature. Stir in the alcohol or fruit juice. The sugar
syrup can be made, covered, and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of
weeks.
Strawberry
Cream: In a small measuring cup, stir together the gelatin and
1/4 cup (60 ml) of the cold strawberry sauce. Let this mixture sit for 5 - 10 minutes
(or until spongy) and
then microwave for a few seconds to dissolve the gelatin (can also do this step
by placing in a small saucepan and heat until the gelatin has dissolved). Then
set aside to cool until tepid.
Meanwhile, in the
bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (or with a hand
mixer), beat the cream
and sugar until soft peaks form. Add the strawberry sauce mixture and beat until
the cream has stiff peaks. Taste and fold in a little more sugar, if needed.
Place the Strawberry Cream
in a piping bag fitted with
a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) plain tip.
To assemble the
Strawberry Cake:
Place one cake layer (top of the cake facing down) on a
9 inch (23 cm) cake
circle and then
place on a
cake turntable
or your serving plate.
With
a pastry brush, moisten the cake with some of the soaking syrup. Spread a thin
layer of Strawberry Cream on the cake. Next, pipe
a ring of the Strawberry Cream
around the outside edge of the cake. Then pipe a second ring of Strawberry Cream
on top of the first.
(See video for demonstration.)
Take the cut strawberries and fill
inside the rings of Cream.
Then spread a thin layer of the Strawberry Cream on top of the strawberries.
Next, brush the top side of the second layer of genoise with the soaking
syrup. Then place the cake layer, top side down, on top of the filling. Gently
press the top of the cake to compact. Brush the top of the cake with soaking
syrup. Cover the entire cake with Strawberry Cream. Using a flat edge spatula or
metal scraper, smooth the frosting on the top and sides of the cake. Cover and
refrigerate for several hours (or overnight) so the cream has time to set. Can
be covered and stored in the refrigerator for two to three days.
Serves about 12 to
14
people.
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