Fraisier

Make the génoise batter. Whip the 200 g egg with 125 g sugar until pale and voluminous, then fold in the 125 g sifted flour without knocking out the foam. The foam is pale and voluminous and a ribbon of batter sits briefly on the surface before sinking.

Bake the sponge. Bake in the 20 cm tin at 180 °C for about 20 minutes. The sponge is evenly golden, springs back lightly in the centre and has no wet batter at the core.

Prepare the syrup. As soon as the baked sponge is turned onto its rack, combine 140 ml water and 60 g sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the sugar is fully dissolved and the syrup has briefly simmered. Remove it from the heat. Let the syrup cool during the same already counted 45-minute interval used to cool the génoise, so syrup cooling adds no extra passive time. Once cool, weigh out exactly 140 g finished syrup for the cake. The syrup sugar is fully dissolved, the syrup has heated for about 5 minutes, and exactly 140 g cooled finished syrup is reserved for assembly.

Cool before splitting. Leave the sponge on the rack for the full 45-minute cooling interval. The syrup cools concurrently during this already counted period, so no additional passive time is added. The sponge is fully cool and firm enough to split into two even layers without tearing.

Cook the pastry cream. Heat the milk and vanilla. Whisk the yolks with 130 g sugar, 30 g flour and 30 g cornstarch, temper with the hot milk, then return to the saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes, reaching 95 °C and holding about 1 minute. The cream reaches 95 °C, remains there for about 1 minute, and becomes smooth, glossy and thick enough to hold whisk trails.

Cool the pastry cream safely. Whisk 125 g butter into the hot pastry cream, spread it in a shallow tray, cover directly on the surface and refrigerate. The pastry cream is covered on the surface and reaches 4 °C or below within 90 minutes without a warm centre.

Temper and whip the mousseline. Remove the chilled pastry-cream base and the remaining 125 g finishing butter so they can temper separately for 20–30 minutes while the strawberries and ring are prepared. Before combining them, verify that both the pastry cream and the butter are in the same 18–20 °C working range. Beat the pastry cream smooth, then gradually incorporate the butter and whip until the mousseline is smooth, aerated and able to hold a clean ridge. The 20–30 minute tempering interval runs concurrently with fruit-and-ring preparation and therefore adds no extra passive time. Count all room-temperature handling toward the maximum 2-hour cumulative limit. After 20–30 minutes of tempering, both the pastry-cream base and the finishing butter measure 18–20 °C before they are combined. The finished mousseline is smooth and aerated and holds a clean ridge.

Prepare the fruit and ring. During the 20–30 minute mousseline-component tempering interval, wash and dry the 650 g purchased strawberries before hulling them. Reserve neat halves for the ring and keep the rest for the centre; about 600 g edible fruit should remain. Split the cool génoise into two even layers and line the 20 cm × 5 cm ring with acetate. About 600 g clean dry hulled strawberries are ready, with even halves reserved for the visible ring.

Build the cake. Set the first génoise layer in the ring and apply half the 140 g syrup. Stand strawberry halves cut-side out around the acetate, pipe in mousseline, add the remaining strawberries, cover with more cream, then add the second sponge and remaining syrup. The strawberry halves stand flush against the acetate, both sponge layers are evenly moistened, and mousseline fills all gaps without warm pockets.

Set the fraisier. Refrigerate the assembled cake for at least 4 hours at 4 °C. The cake is firm enough for the ring and acetate to lift away cleanly and the cream keeps sharp slice edges.

Finish and slice. Roll the 180 g marzipan into a thin 20 cm round and place it on the cold cake. Remove the ring and acetate, leave the cake for 15 minutes before serving, then cut 10 slices with a clean knife. The 180 g marzipan forms an even top and the chilled cake cuts into 10 clean slices without cream slumping.