Passport
Baker
Sandra
Location
Tomah, WI
Baking Challenge
Fraisier Cake
Have fun giving your creation a name and please describe your recipe.
Strawberry Fields Fraisier Gateau: I searched the web and found the prettiest Fraisier Cake recipe, which wasn't Mary Berry's, but the "Evil Twin's!" I did take advice that Mary often tells the technical challenge bakers: "Read the recipe more than once." After my fifth read, I was ready to tackle this difficult technical challenge. I followed the complex, very detailed instructions to the "T" and ended up with a cake I am proud of. I baked a genoise sponge cake, whipped up the crème patisserie to mousseline cream (with the addition of one pound of butter). And I made marzipan for the first time. The only ingredient I didn't have was kirsch, a cherry liquor, but I do have a good friend who loaned me her bottle for the seven tablespoons my cake required.
Tell us about your creation's final texture after baking. Are you happy with it?
I think the cake texture was okay. I whipped the eggs and sugar for the 15 minutes called for, and the mixture was pale and foamy. When I cut the cake in half to layer it, one half was perfect, but the second half was a bit concave, so I had to piece it fit the pan.
Detail how you added a Wisconsin twist to your flavors or presentation.
Besides eggs from my flock of five red hens, I bought Wisconsin Amish unsalted butter from the Mennonite market outside of town. Since moving to Western Wisconsin 14 years ago from urban New Jersey, I have picked up some of the best traits from my new friends and neighbors. They are generous with their time and baked goods! So because I live alone, I was able to present the cake to my best Wisconsin friend, who is entertaining her Illinois family. She's serving the Fraisier cake on Saturday, so will let me know how they liked it. She's going to bring a piece to church on Sunday, so I'll find out if they really liked it, or were just being kind Wisconsinites!
How did you do?
Absolutely lovely.
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