Fraisier (French Strawberry Cake)

Fraisier is a French strawberry cake : a génoise (white cake) is filled with crème mousseline and fresh strawberries. This is a classic French dessert.

Lire la recette du fraisier en Français

Fraisier is a fancy French word for strawberry cake. If you want to know how to pronounce it, go : fray zee ey. There, you can now say fraisier ;)

Strawberry cake (this version, filled with cream and fresh strawberries) has been one of my favorite desserts ever since I was a little one. Most birthday cake pictures from my first ten years on this planet are of fraisiers. I think it's because it combines a lot of my favorite things when it comes to desserts : strawberries, cake, and cream. A lot of cream.

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My Favorite Cake Recipe

This is my favorite cake recipe. It only requires four ingredients (plus flavoring of your choice) and it is perfect for layer cakes !

I’ve shared this cake recipe before, with this Easter cake, or this nectarine layer cake, and I thought it was time it had its own post.
You see, I’ve used this cake recipe for four years now. It’s my go-to whenever I have to make a layer cake for a birthday or another special occasion (see this other Easter cake).

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Nectarine Layer Cake

This easy vanilla cake filled with nectarine chunks and frosted with a mascarpone whipped cream is the perfect way to celebrate the end of summer.

This cake is my way to hang on to those last couple weeks of summer. I mean, nectarines and whipped cream scream summer, right ?

Pinterest and Instagram have already been all pumpkin-everything and apple this and Halloween that these last few weeks, and I'm just scrolling through my feeds, internally screaming "SUMMER ISN'T OVER YET !". Let's just enjoy early September, when it's still warm enough to go out without a coat, before the leaves all turn yellow and it seems like it won't ever stop raining. I realise we're entering the most exciting time of year, with Halloween and Christmas (well, and Thanksgiving in between for those of you who celebrate). The thing is that a week before Halloween, people'll be talking about Thanksgiving like Halloween is a thing of the past, and it will be the same with Thanksgiving and Christmas, and can't we just enjoy things before moving on to the next one and time is just flying by so fast what even is the point of life ?

Alright, sorry, went a bit existential crisis on you there. I'll end my rant and go back to cake.

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Easter Cake (Vanilla Cake + 2 Ingredients Chocolate Frosting)

Easter Cake : Easy vanilla cake with two ingredients chocolate frosting

Lire la recette du gâteau de Pâques facile en Français

Today I thought I'd share the cake I made for Easter last year : a vanilla cake with a two ingredients chocolate frosting. Yes, you read that right, two ingredients chocolate frosting, that can even be made in the microwave !

I decorated the cake using pastel mini confetti sprinkles (similar here), gold pearl sprinkles (Mine were "Soft Gold Pearls" from Dr Oetker, but it looks like they've been replaced by Chocolate Gold Pearls), mini meringue candy (or "Petit Jésus" here in France, usually found in stores around Easter and Christmas. They're often shaped like, well, baby Jesus. See here ; do you have those where you live ?) and chick and eggs picks (I didn't find anything similar, as mine were originally decorating a plant and I just re-used them. I did include pastel bunny face picks in my Easter Party Moodboard.)

The cake is almost a génoise. A génoise only requires flour, sugar and eggs to make, but the ones I bake always end up tasting like eggs. One day I was looking for a baking powder free cake recipe and found this one. I tried it even though the ingredients are almost the same as a génoise, hoped it wouldn't taste like an omelet, and it didn't ! This recipe is now the one I use for every birthday cake I bake. It's the perfect base for any kind of frosting, the cake is light and soft, you can add any flavoring you want, or none at all and it still tastes great !

As for the frosting... well, it's the most simple frosting ever. No need to cook egg whites or soften butter. Just two ingredients, a microwave (or bain-marie if you're feeling fancy), a handmixer, and voilà ! Frosting !

EASTER CAKE
by A Cup of Sprinkles
Adapted from CuisineAZ

Easy baking powder free vanilla cake and two-ingredients chocolate frosting

Cook time : 55 minutes
Yield : 2 23cm/9 inch cakes
Keywords : Easter, easy cake, easy frosting

FOR THE BAKING POWDER FREE CAKE :
Ingredients :
5 eggs
220g of sugar
150g of flour
100mL of milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions :

Preheat the oven.

Separate the egg whites for the yolks. Beat the egg whites until firm, set aside.

Beat the yolks with the sugar, until the mixture has whitened in color.

Mix in the flour, then add in the milk and vanilla extract.

Gently fold in the egg whites.

Transfer the batter to the cake pans, and bake for 50 minutes to an hour (180°C/350°F), until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.

FOR THE 2 INGREDIENTS CHOCOLATE FROSTING :
Ingredients :
250g of unsalted butter
250g of dark chocolate

Instructions:

Cut up the butter and break the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave for 1 minute, whisk, and microwave again for 30 seconds. Repeat until the butter and chocolate are completely melted and whisk to combine.

Set aside and let cool completely.

Once the frosting has cooled, beat on medium speed using a hand or stand mixer. The frosting will lighten in color and fluff up.

Keep in the fridge until ready to use (Beating again on low speed if the frosting isn't soft enough to spread.)

ASSEMBLY :

Put the first cake layer on the cake board or serving plate.

Spread a little frosting on top of the cake and put the second cake on top of the frosting.

Spread a thin coat of frosting all around the cake, and allow to set in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Once the crumb coat has set, spread the remaining frosting all around the cake.

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