Fresh Fraisiers: Daring Bakers

     When I saw the challenge for this months Daring Bakers challenge I couldn't wait to make it.  A light, fluffy chiffon cake with a light pastry cream in the middle studded with fresh fruit sounded amazing!  Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Baker's host and she challenged us to make Fresh Fraisiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

      Getting the fresh fruit was the easy part.  There was plenty of fruit to choose from at both the farmer's market and the local grocery store.  I wanted to stay with the classic strawberries but added in blueberries and mango as well.  I love lemon with any other type of fruit so I made the cake as a lemon chiffon cake.  The toughest part of this challenge for me was not the time it took, but the heat both outside my house and inside.  On the day I decided to make these, the outside temperature rose to 103 degrees and inside my house was 90 degrees.  That's right my friends, we do not have air conditioning in our house so baking this cake in the heat was torturous. 

Fresh Fraisiers with Strawberries, Blueberries, and Mango (adapted from Tartine Cookbook)

½ t. salt
¼ c. butter, melted
3 large egg yolks
¼ c. water
3 T. fresh lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
1 t. lemon zest
5 large egg whites
¼ t. cream of tartar

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line the bottom of two 8 inch pans with parchment paper.  Do not grease the sides.

3.  In a medium mixing bowl combine the butter, egg yolks, water, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest.  Whisk to mix.  Pour into the flour mixture and mix for at least 1 minute or until smooth.

5.  Use a rubber spatula and scoop ⅓ of the egg whites into the flour mixture and fold in.  Repeat with the remaining egg whites until just combined.

6.  Divide the batter into the two prepared cake pans.  Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean.   Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

7.  To unmold the cakes run a knife around the sides of the pan and remove from the cake pan.  Peel off the parchment paper.  Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Pastry Cream Filling:
1 c. low fat milk
½ t. vanilla
¼ t. salt
2 T. cornstarch
¼ c. sugar
1 egg
2 T. unsalted butter
¾ t. gelatin
½ T. water
1 c. heavy cream

1.  Pour the milk, vanilla, and salt into a heavy saucepan.  Place over medium heat and scald, bringing the milk almost to a boil, stirring occasionally.

2.  Meanwhile, add the cornstarch and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine.  Add the egg and mix well.

3.  When the milk is almost boiling remove it from heat.  With the stand mixer on low, slowly add the hot milk down the side of the bowl.

4.  Pour the warm egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the custard is thick and coats the back of a spoon.  Do not boil.

5.  Remove the mixture from the heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a medium mixing bowl.  Let cool for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

6.  Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream until it is smooth.

7.  Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the surface of the pastry cream.  Refrigerate until cold or up to 5 days covered.

8.  In a small bowl measure the water and then sprinkle with gelatin.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

9.  Put a few inches of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Place a stainless steel bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. 

⅓ c. water
⅓ c. sugar
2 t. lemon extract

1.  In a saucepan over medium high heat combine the water and sugar.

2.  Bring to a boil stirring to dissolve the sugar.

3.  Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.  Add in the lemon extract and mix well. 

4.  Put the syrup in a small bowl with a lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

Fraisier Assembly:
2 baked 8 inch lemon chiffon cakes
1 recipe pastry cream filling
⅓ c. simple syrup
1 pound strawberries
1 c. blueberries
1 c. sliced mango
powdered sugar

1.  Line the sides of an 8 inch springform pan with plastic wrap.  Do not line the bottom.  Place the pan on the plate that you wish to serve the Frasier on.

3.  Hull and slice half of the strawberries.  Cut half of the mango into thin slices.  Arrange half the strawberries, blueberries, and mango around the sides of the pan and pipe cream in between the fruit and a thin layer on top of the cake. 

6.  Store up to 3 days.

This post linked to:

What's Cooking Wednesdays, What's on Your Plate Wednesday

Cast Party Wednesday, Frugal Food Thursday

It's A Keeper Thursday, Sweets for a Saturday