Fraisier cake – French Strawberry Cake

This classic Fraisier cake is perfect for any occasion. It is a French recipe, easy to make, and super delicious. It’s a perfect cake for spring and summer, full of strawberries, with delicate vanilla custard, topped with marzipan and chocolate. You’ll need a fluffy sponge cake (genoise, wiener, biskuit), a butter custard vanilla cream, plenty of strawberries, marzipan for the top and some dark chocolate.

Ingredients for the Biskuit (sponge cake) – 26 cm:

• 4 eggs (M size for Europe, L for America)
• 120 g caster sugar
• 120 g all-purpose flour
• 20 g butter
• 20 g milk
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar (8 g) or 1 tsp vanilla extract or any other flavor of your choice
• 1/2 tbsp cherry brandy (Kirschwasser) or any other alcohol of your choice (optional)

1. Preheat the oven at 180°C/356°F (no ventilation).
2. Prepare a pan (springform) with a 26 cm diameter (either line it with parchment paper or butter it and flour it).
3. Melt the butter together with the milk.
4. Separate the egg whites and beat them with a pinch of salt until soft peak.
5. Add the sugar, vanilla, and alcohol (leave it out if you don’t want any in your cake) and continue mixing until the egg whites keep their shape.
6. Add the egg yolks and mix gently till incorporated.
7. Sift the flour on top and gently incorporate it with a spatula (folding). Do not overmix!
8. Add the melted but cold butter and milk and gently incorporate it with the spatula.
9. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake it at 180°C/356°F (no ventilation) for about 25-30 minutes. You can check when it’s done with a toothpick inserted in the middle. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
10. Let it cool down for few minutes, remove it from the pan and rest it on a rack.
11. You will get a ~3cm high very fluffy Biskuit (sponge cake).
    

For the custard vanilla cream:

1. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a pot.
2. Add the egg yolks and the vanilla. You can also use 2 whole eggs instead of the egg yolks but the cream will slightly change its taste and consistency.
3. Add the milk and whisk it until there are no lumps.
4. Boil it until it gets the consistency of a custard. Pay attention: once the milk gets hot, the custard is done in a few seconds. And also burned in another few seconds! So don’t leave the pan unsupervised.
5. Cool it down completely. You can keep it in the fridge with plastic foil on top so you don’t get a crust.
6. Take it out half an hour before mixing it with the soft butter so they both have the same temperature.
7. Keep the butter vanilla cream in the fridge until usage.

Assembling the cake:

1. Cut the Biskuit in 2 layers.
   
2. Dust your working station with powder sugar and roll out the marzipan.
3. Cut a circle with a 26 cm diameter to be used later as a top. You can use the bottom of the springform to get the right size.
4. Wash the strawberries and cut some of the biggest ones in half, for layering them on the side.
5. Put one layer of Biskuit (the one which was the top) in a cake ring or the springform pan.
6. Layer the cut strawberries on the side.
7. Fit the rest of the strawberries in the middle to check the arrangement and how many they fit. You should put the bigger side (the one where leaves were) on the bottom.
8. Remove the strawberries in the middle.
9. Add a thin layer of custard cream on the Biskuit to stabilize the halves on the side and also have a stable base for the strawberries which will come in the middle.
10. Add the whole strawberries in the middle.
    
11. Add the custard cream on top of them and make it even. Keep aside about 2 tbsp of cream.
12. Add the other Biskuit layer (the one which was at the bottom). We do this because, usually, the bottom layer of a sponge cake is straighter and more stable.
13. Add the remaining custard cream which was set aside. This will help with keeping the marzipan top stuck to the cake.
14. Add the marzipan top.

For the decor:

1. Add the strawberries on top.
2. Melt the chocolate.
3. With a teaspoon, drizzle chocolate on top of the strawberries and cake. Start from the middle and then go to the sides so you get nice patterns and the big chunk of melted chocolate goes in the middle, between the strawberries.
4. Add green pistachio and mint leaves for some nice color.
   
   
5. I had some chocolate mini hearts in white and dark which I added on top. I also added later powder sugar which didn’t end up being a good idea.

Want more strawberry recipes? Check out here.