FRASIER TORTE

This French-inspired strawberry torte involves a sponge cake base with a

strawberry mousse - very refined!
Makes one 9-inch cake
Serves 10 to 12
Sponge Cake:

large eggs, at room temperature

cup

sugar

1 tbsp

lemon juice

tsp

finely grated lemon zest

cup

all-purpose flour

tsp

salt

1 tbsp

unsalted butter, melted

tsp

vanilla extract

Mousse:

egg whites, at room temperature

2 tbsp

gelatin powder

cup

sugar

cup

cold water, divided

2 cups

pured and strained fresh strawberries (about 4 cups sliced)

1 cups

whipping cream

2 tsp

vanilla extract

2 cups

whole, hulled strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper,
but do not grease the pan.
2. Whip the eggs and sugar on high speed until they are almost white in colour, more than triple
in volume and hold a ribbon when the beaters are lifted, about five minutes. On medium
speed, add the zest and juice.
3. Sift the flour and salt and, still on medium speed, add the flour. Spoon about a cup of the
batter into a bowl, and stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Add this all back to the full batter
and stir until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes,
until the centre of the cake springs back when gently pressed. Cool the cake completely in
the pan.

FRASIER TORTE (cont)

4. For the mousse, whip the egg whites just until past foamy and
set aside. Sprinkle the gelatin powder over cup of water,
stir and set aside. Bring the sugar and the remaining cup of
the water to a boil and boil without stirring until it reaches
240F on a candy thermometer. While whisking egg whites
on medium speed, pour the sugar slowly and carefully down
the side of the bowl and, once all added, increase the speed
to high, whipping for 30 seconds to a minute, just until the
whites hold a soft peak but are still hot. Beat in the gelatin
until it has dissolved into the whites, then continue to beat until
the mixture cools to room temperature. Whisk in the strawberry pure.
5. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it holds a soft peak
and add the vanilla. Fold this into the strawberry mixture using
a whisk, and folding it in two additions.
6. To assemble, run a palette knife round the inside edge of
the sponge cake pan and remove the cake, peeling away
the parchment paper. Wash the pan, reassemble and place
the cake layer back in the bottom of the pan. Slice the hulled
strawberries in half and place them on the cake so that the flat side of each berry is pressed
up against the ring of the pan, and they are very close together. Pour the mousse over the
cake and berries and chill until set, at least four hours. Top the cake with any remaining
strawberry halves right before serving.