Fraisier

Instructions

Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière)

A kitchen scale is recommended.

Hydrate the gelatin in the specified amount of water.

Prepare a pastry cream using all the ingredients listed above.

Remove from the heat, weigh the required quantity of pastry cream, then add the hydrated and melted gelatin. 

Whisk until fully incorporated.

Cool rapidly, cover with cling touching the surface, and refrigerate for 8–12 hours (preferably overnight).

Almond génoise

Preheat fan oven to 330F - 165°C.

Butter two 18 cm pastry rings and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Warm the diced almond paste slightly in the microwave to soften it.

Add the eggs and blend with an immersion blender until smooth and homogeneous.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar, and whip at high speed for 4 minutes.

Sift together the flour, salt, and vanilla powder. 

Incorporate into the mixture at low speed, one spoonful at a time.

Once all the flour has been incorporated, remove 2 tablespoons of batter, mix them with the melted butter, then fold this mixture back into the main batter.

Pipe or pour 220 g of batter into each ring, smooth the surface if necessary, and bake for approximately 18 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. 

Slice horizontally to a thickness of 1 cm, then cut out two 15 cm discs using a pastry ring (see notes).

Reserve for assembly.

Diplomat Cream (Crème Diplomate)

After the resting time, smooth the pastry cream in the stand mixer with the whisk attachment until perfectly smooth with no lumps.

Whip the whipping cream together with the mascarpone to a firm consistency.

Fold the whipped cream mixture into the pastry cream until fully incorporated.

To Assemble

Place an 18 cm pastry ring, 6 cm high, onto a serving platter.

Line the inside of the ring with acetate strip.

Wash, dry, and halve the strawberries lengthwise, selecting strawberries of uniform size.

Arrange them tightly against the acetate, cut side facing outward and rounded side facing inward.

Place the first génoise disc in the centre.

Transfer the diplomat cream into a piping bag. 

Begin by piping cream between each strawberry.

Pipe a spiral of cream over the génoise disc and smooth with a small offset spatula.

Pipe additional cream around the upper edge, between the strawberry tops and the ring, smoothing carefully to remove any air bubble.

Fill the centre with 185–200 g diced strawberries, distributing them evenly.

Cover with another layer of diplomat cream and smooth evenly.

Place the second génoise disc in the centre and press gently to ensure proper adhesion.

Pipe the final layer of cream and smooth the surface with an offset spatula.

Refrigerate the fraisier for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

To serve

Remove the pastry ring and acetate strip.

Smooth the sides with a small spatula if necessary.

Transfer the remaining diplomat cream (see notes) into a piping bag fitted with an open French star tip (Decora 868) and pipe decorative swirls on top.

Glaze whole and halved strawberries with neutral glaze and finish the decoration.

Notes

Approximately 8 strawberries were needed to line the 18 cm ring, though the exact quantity depends on their size. You may need slightly more or fewer.

The génoise discs may vary between 15 and 16 cm in diameter depending on the size of the strawberries used.

This génoise recipe does not require soaking syrup, though you may brush the sponge with syrup if desired.

The quantity of diplomat cream used during assembly was not weighed precisely.

Approximately 280 g of diplomat cream remained for the final decoration.

Too help you, I can suggest, once the diplomat cream is prepared, reserve about 250–280 g separately for the final piping decoration. The remaining cream will be used to assemble the fraisier.