Cake with Strawberries
by Heather
(Surprise, AZ)
Le Fraisier - French Cake with Strawberries
Do you know the name of the layer cake that has sliced strawberries in it with Triple Sec liqueur and crème anglaise (I think). It has the chantilly cream frosting and more strawberries (whole) on the outside that are soaked in liquor.
I think its called vosgienne or something close to that.
Thanks,
Heather
Hi Heather,
Thanks for writing with your question.
I believe you are thinking of a fraisier, a classic French cake that gets reinterpreted in many different ways. A Vosgienne (named after the Vosges mountains in the north east of France near the border with Germany) might be a sort of Forêt Noire made with raspberries. However, different cakes do get called Vosgienne, simply because they are made in the region. The Forêt Noir Vosgnienne is typically made with just sponge cake and whipped cream - no pastry cream layer, and is covered in shaved chocolate.
A fraisier is made with sponge cake, called a biscuit genoise in French, that is imbibed in a syrup that may contain a liqueur. The cake is layered with pastry cream and strawberries. Many times the pastry cream is a crème mousseline, which means that it contains some butter.
Classically the top layer of a fraisier is rolled marzipan that receives further decoration depending on the skill of the baker. This marzipan layer, and even the pastry cream filling, is sometimes changed to whipped cream and this is where we get to the cake I believe you are thinking of.
I will try to test a fraisier in the coming weeks and will post a link to the recipe here. If you want to get started right now, here is a rough idea of how I would go about making it:
- Make a crème mousseline. Refrigerate and have it ready to go. Here is a Pastry Cream Recipe.
- Make several layers of sponge cake. When the layers have cooled, imbibe them with Triple Sec (since that is the flavor you mention - other possibilities would be kirsch or even non-alcoholic strawberry syrup).
- Slice the strawberries and layer them with the pastry cream and the cake. The strawberries and pastry cream are intermingled to create a layer that alternates with the cake.
- Finish by topping with whipped cream and more strawberries. I would do this at the last minute as whipped cream can collapse, especially if it is touching something juicy like strawberries.
I hope that I have answered your question and a delicious fraisier lies in your near future.
Kind Regards,
Kim
