Strawberry and orange curd fraisier
Our resident chef and Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite launches a new series to inspire your baking!
Serves 10 – 12
Ingredients:
For the Sponge
3 large eggs 90g caster sugar90g plain flour30g unsalted butter, melted
For the syrup
50ml water 50g caster sugar4 tbsp orange liqueur (Cointreau)
For the filling and finishing
400g strawberries, plus extra to top (plump and evenly sized as possible) 180g white mini marshmallows500g mascarpone cream cheese300g orange curdIcing sugar, to dust
Equipment
20cm deep-sided, loose-bottomed round cake tin (it’s very important that you don’t grease the sides of the tin, though do line the base with baking paper)Pastry brush
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6
Put the eggs and sugar into a freestanding electric mixer and whisk until tripled in volume and you reach the ribbon stage – when you lift the whisk out, the batter should fall down from the whisk into the bowl and sit on the surface of the batter for at least 2 seconds
Sift over the flour and fold in just until incorporated, then add the melted butter and fold in until you have a smooth aerated batter – don’t deflate those bubbles! Carefully pour into the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and invert the tin onto a wire wrack, allowing the cake to cool upside down (that’s why you mustn’t grease the sides of the tin)
For the syrup, simply boil together the water, sugar and orange liqueur for one minute, then set aside until needed
Slice off the leaf end of the strawberries to flatten then cut each strawberry in half. Arrange the strawberries side by side on the worktop to check they are all almost exactly the same height.
For the filling, place the mini marshmallows into a heatproof bowl with 1 tablespoon water. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the marshmallows melt completely then remove from the heat and beat in the orange curd. Once incorporated, beat in the mascarpone.
Release the cooled cake from the tin by sliding a knife in between the edge of the cake and tin. Remove the baking paper from the base of the cake. To assemble, slice the cake in half and place one half back into the tin – clean and reline the tin first.
Paint the cake with a good sloshing of the syrup and squash it down so that it fills the bottom of the tin. Place the strawberries around the outside edge of the cake, so that the flat bottoms rest on the cake and the cut sides are pressed against the tin.
Pour over the filling – be careful not to displace the strawberries – and smooth out the top. Place the remaining half of cake on top, pressing it down lightly, then paint with a little syrup.
Chill the cake in the fridge overnight, then push the bottom of the cake tin up (I place it over a tall glass or mug) and remove the cake
Finish with some chopped strawberries and a generous sprinkling of icing sugar