French Strawberry Cake

By norsegal8

This French rendition of strawberry shortcake is a charmer. A génoise is layered with sugared berries and a velvety blend of whipped sweet cream and sour cream, topped with swirls and rosettes of cream, and finished with fresh berries, their frilly hulls adding additional color to the cake. This is the classic version of the cake, the one you find in the best Parisian patisseries, but the berries and cream mixture can be used with other cakes such as Vanilla Pound Cake, Lemon Loaf Cake and Chocolate Chiffon Bundt Cake.

Ingredients

• CAKE
• 1 recipe Perfect Génoise batter
• 2 pints fresh strawberries
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of the fruit)
• THE CREAM
• 1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 large strawberries

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with solid shortening, dust with flour and tap out the excess. Put a parchment circle in the bottom.

BAKING THE CAKE
Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula, working from the center outward and creating a slightly raised ridge around the edges. Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, or until the top spring back when lightly prodded and the cake starts to come away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the cake to a rack and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
To remove the cake from the pan, first test its readiness. Tilt and rotate the pan, then gently tap it on the counter. If it doesn’t seem as if the cake is releasing from the pan, or if you are the cautious type, run a thin blade between the cake and the edge of the pan, freeing the sides and letting a little air get under the cake. Invert the cake onto a rack and remove the pan. Slowly peel off the parchment paper liner, turn it over, and put it back on the cake. Cover the cake with another rack and invert it again. Remove the top rack and let the cake cool completely right side up. The cake can remain uncovered at room temperature for a day, but it should be wrapped in plastic if you won’t be using it within 2 days. For longer storage, wrap it well and freeze it for up to 10 days. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.

PREPARING THE BERRIES
Toss the sliced berries with the sugar in a large bowl and leave them, uncovered, at room temperature, for at least 2 hours. Coarsely mash the berries with the tines of a fork and toss them again; let them stand for 1 hour longer. You can do this the day before, but the berries should be refrigerated after they are mashed.

MAKING THE CREAM
Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sour cream , sugar and vanilla together until the mixture forms soft peaks. The cream is the proper consistency when the tracks made by the whisk close slowly and almost disappear. Cover and refrigerate the cream until you are ready to frost the cake. Just before using the cream, give it a turn or two by hand with a whisk to bring the mixture together again.

FINISHING THE CAKE
Using a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, cut the cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place the bottom cake layer cut side upon a cardboard round. Lift the berries with a slotted spoon so that most of the liquid drains off, spoon half of the mashed berries over the cake layer, then spread a thin layer of the whipped cream over the berries. Top with the middle layer cake, spoon on the rest of the strawberries and spread another thin layer of cream over the berries. Center the top layer over the filling.
Working with a flexible icing spatula, frost the top and sides of the cake with whipped cream, leaving about ½ cup of the cream for a decoration. Spoon the remaining whipped cream into a decorating bag fitted with and ¼-inch star tip and pipe 10 rosettes around the top edge of the cake, positioning the rosettes about an inch from the edge and leaving an inch between each rosette.
Slice each berry in half from blossom to stem, leaving some of the hull on each half. Prop a berry half, cut side down, on top of each rosette, and refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before serving.

STORING
The cake can be refrigerated for several hours before serving. Keep it away from any foods in the refrigerator with strong odors.