Fraisier Cake

Directions

1. Roll out the marzipan into a 9-inch-circumference circle. Use the base of a 9-inch springform pan to draw a perfect circle. Place marzipan on a flat surface and refrigerate until needed.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease, flour and line the base of the springform pan.
3. To make the cake, place sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl over a pan of simmering water. Using an electric whisk, whisk the mixture over medium heat until doubled in volume and pale in color. You’ll know it is at the right stage when it forms a ribbon trail on top of the mixture in the bowl when the whisk is lifted up. Remove from heat. (Alternatively, you can combine the sugar eggs and zest in a large mixer bowl and use the whisk attachment to beat until thick and fluffy.)
4. Sift two-thirds of the flour into the bowl and gently fold it into the egg mixture. Add the remaining flour and fold again, trying to keep as much of the air in as possible. Gently fold in the melted butter. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the sides of the cake begin to come away from the tin and it is a pale golden brown. Allow the cake to cool for a bit in the tin, then turn it out onto a cooling rack. (Be careful as this sponge is quite delicate.) It should be just under 2 inches tall.
5. While the cake is baking, make the lemon syrup by placing the sugar, lemon juice and water in a small saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then boil rapidly for two minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
6. To make the mousseline cream, pour the milk into a wide-based saucepan. Split the vanilla pod along its length and add it to the milk, along with the seeds. Bring the milk just to the boiling point, then take it off the heat.
7. While the milk is heating, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch in a medium-sized bowl, then add the eggs, egg yolks and kirsch, whisking until blended.
8. Pour the hot milk through a sieve into the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Pour the custard into a clean saucepan and set it over a medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens. (It will take about four minutes to thicken, but when it does it happens very quickly, so you need to really keep stirring to prevent lumps.) Whisk until smooth. Continue cooking until the cream is very thick, so that it can be piped and will hold its shape. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until thoroughly melted and combined. If it does appear lumpy at this point, transfer to a large mixer bowl and whisk on high speed until smooth and creamy.
9. When slightly cooled, pour into a shallow dish and chill in the fridge for about an hour until really cold and set firm. Alternatively, you could fill a large piping bag with it and leave in the fridge overnight to chill.
10. When the cake is completely cool, slice it in half horizontally, creating two slim discs of cake. The cut side must be as level as possible, as it will be visible in the finished cake.
11. Place a strip of acetate, plastic wrap or parchment paper around the inside of the springform pan. Place one layer of cake in the bottom of the cake tin, cut side up. Brush the cake with half the syrup. Using the back of a spoon, gently press the edges of the cake down so that they are pushed directly against the sides of the tin, creating the defined edges necessary for the fraisier cake.
12. Rinse, hull and halve about 12 strawberries, trying to make them about the same height. Place the cut sides of the strawberries against the plastic around the inside of the tin, pressing them snugly onto the surface of the cake and against each other, forming a crown of strawberries around the inside of the cake pan.
13. Taking the chilled mousseline cream out of the fridge, spoon it into a large piping bag fitted with a ½-inch tip. Pipe a spiral to cover the entire cake in the bottom of the tin. Then pipe between each of the strawberries to fill the gaps right to the top of each strawberry.
14. Set about 3-5 strawberries aside for decoration, then hull and quarter the rest and place on top of the cream in the cake tin, keeping them toward the center but in an even layer. Pipe another spiral of cream on top of the cut strawberries to cover the whole surface. Smooth with an offset spatula.
15. Place the other cake half on top of this, cut side up so it has a flat top. Gently but firmly press the cake down so that the cake and filling push against the lining of the pan to create the distinctive smooth sides of the fraisier. Brush the top of the cake with the remaining lemon syrup, and lay the marzipan circle on top of the cake. Put the whole thing back in the fridge to set.
16. Meanwhile, make some decorations of your choice with melted dark chocolate: Melt chocolate over a bain-marie or in the microwave on 50% heat, stirring every 30 seconds. Cool slightly and then transfer to a small piping bag with a narrow or a zip-lock plastic bag with a tiny hole cut in one corner. Pipe in swirls onto wax paper and allow to set.
17. When ready to serve, remove the cake from fridge; very carefully release the spring and remove the cake from the pan and peel back the lining. If necessary, touch up the sides with a palette knife, smoothing the cream between the strawberries. Transfer to a serving plate and decorate with reserved strawberries, chocolate decorations and a dusting of powdered sugar. Serve chilled.

*Mary’s recipe originally calls for self-rising flour. While you can find this in the grocery store, I read that the American version of self-rising flour contains salt, where the British version does not. So I prefer to make my own, adding 1½ t. baking powder to each cup of regular flour, as listed in the ingredients here.