Fraisier Cake Recipe with Vanilla Mousseline

This fraisier cake recipe layers light sponge, fresh strawberries and vanilla mousseline cream in a neat round cake. Halved berries line the edge, while a thin marzipan lid finishes the top. It needs several hours of chilling, so make it ahead rather than rushing the filling. This version uses a 20 cm cake ring and makes eight slices. The cream is pastry cream enriched with butter; matching their temperatures is more useful than beating harder when the mixture looks uneven.

What matters for fraisier cake

Choose firm ripe strawberries and dry them well after washing. Water on the cut fruit can loosen the filling. Mousseline needs cooled pastry cream and softened butter at a similar cool room temperature, about 20–22°C; hot custard melts the butter and cold custard leaves lumps. Work in a cool kitchen, then refrigerate the assembled cake promptly. The sponge should be cooled before it touches the cream.

Recipe at a glance

Yield: 8 slices; one 20 cm cake. Preparation: about 75 minutes. Cooking: about 35 minutes. Total elapsed time: about 485 minutes. Includes about 375 minutes for the resting, rising, cooling or chilling described below.

How to make fraisier cake

How to tell when it is ready

The chilled cake holds a clean slice; sponge is springy and cream has no butter lumps.

Tips

• Fold sponge batter gently to retain air.
• Use dry strawberries with similar heights around the ring.
• Pipe into gaps at the edge to prevent holes.
• Chill fully before removing acetate.

Troubleshooting

• Split cream: bring butter and custard to similar temperatures and beat gently.
• Leaking berries: dry washed fruit thoroughly and assemble close to serving day.
• Dense sponge: beat eggs to a persistent ribbon before folding.

Substitutions

• Use almond-free rolled fondant instead of marzipan; it is sweeter.
• Vanilla bean seeds can replace extract.

Variations

• Leave off the marzipan for a simpler cream-and-berry finish.

Serving suggestions

• Serve cool, allowing just 10–15 minutes out of refrigeration before slicing.
• Use small dessert plates to support the layers.
• Pair with unsweetened tea.
• Keep extra berry sauce separate.

Make ahead

Bake sponge and cook custard a day ahead; refrigerate custard promptly and wrap the cooled sponge. Assemble on the serving day or the evening before.

Storage

Refrigerate covered and eat within 2 days for best fruit texture. Freezing the assembled fresh-strawberry cake is not recommended.

Food safety

Keep perishable ingredients at 4°C/40°F or below. Refrigerate perishable leftovers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 32°C/90°F. Use clean equipment and separate raw animal ingredients from ready-to-eat food.