Ingredients
Units
Scale
- For the sponge cake:
- 6 eggs (TFD strongly prefers duck eggs in this recipe)
- 100 g granulated white sugar
- 50 g Turbinado sugar (optional TFD change, replace with white granulated sugar for original)
- 300 g 00 pastry flour
- 1 sachet baking powder
- ***
- For the custard filling:
- 4 egg yolks (TFD strongly prefers duck eggs)
- 100 g granulated white sugar
- 100 g flour
- 500 ml whole milk
- 1 Tahitian or Madagascar vanilla pod
- 200 ml heavy cream
- 400 g strawberries or wild strawberries (please try and use wild strawberries, if at all possible)
- ***
- Ingredients for the syrup:
- 180 ml bottled water
- 45 ml Frangelico (optional TFD addition, omit and replace with water for original - Amaretto is an alternate choice)
- 75 ml limoncello
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 small handful bruised spearmint leaves, tied with kitchen twine (optional TFD addition, omit for original)
- ***
- Ingredients for the icing:
- 2 Tbsp. powdered violet sugar (Optional TFD change, replace with regular powdered sugar for original)
- 500 g fresh very ripe local strawberries
- 2-4 drops Chefmaster Super Red Liqua-Gel® Food Coloring (optional TFD addition, omit for original)
- 15 g gelatin leaves
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- ***
- Garnishes, as preferred by TFD:
- An outer ring of blackberries
- A smaller inner ring of wild strawberries
- One white strawberry in the center
Instructions
- Start with the sponge cake: Separate the yolks from the egg whites. Beat the egg whites until stiff.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 6 Tbsp. boiling water. Add sugar and beat with electric whips until frothy. Gradually add the flour and baking powder, then incorporate the egg whites into the mixture, mixing from the bottom up.
- Pour the mixture into a 24-cm-diameter cake pan, previously buttered and floured.
- Bake the sponge cake at 170° for 40 minutes, then take it out of the oven, turn it upside down and let it cool.
- Meanwhile, prepare the icing: Soften the gelatin leaves in cold water for 10 minutes. Remove the stems from the strawberries and wash them. Place them in a bowl with the powdered violet sugar.
- Blend them, put them in a saucepan with the gel food coloring and boil 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and the gelatin leaves, squeezing them first. Stir to dissolve the gelatin and let it cool, then refrigerate.
- To prepare the filling you will need custard: Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and put it in a saucepan with the milk. Simmer for 5 minutes over low heat. Separately, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, after which add the sifted flour. Remove the vanilla from the milk and pour the milk little by little into the mixture, stirring constantly.
- Pour everything into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring to avoid lumps, until the cream becomes thick. Finally, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
- Add the whipped cream to the custard and mix well.
- Lastly, prepare the syrup. Bring the water and frangelico with the sugar and mint to a boil, immediately turn off the heat and steep ten minutes, fish out mint leaves and discard, then let it cool and add the limoncello.
- Now you have everything ready to assemble the cake! Cut the sponge cake into 3 horizontal disks. Place the base on a plate and wet it with the syrup. Spread half the cream on the base, then top with sliced strawberries. Place the second disc of sponge cake, wet it too, then top it with the other half of the cream and strawberries.
- Close everything with the third disc of sponge cake, wet it, and then leave the cake in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- The last step is to coat the cake with strawberry frosting. Finally decorate the cake with the blackberries, strawberries, and a single white strawberry in the center, or as you prefer – a few mint leaves are also an excellent garnish.