Tags
Baking with Julia, Dorie Greenspan, French genoise cake, French strawberry cake, genoise, strawberry cake
I must confess… I put off making this cake for as long as I could. It just sounded time consuming and annoying and having to do one recipe before I could do the assigned recipe routine is getting rather old. It just seems a bit much lately. But then Mei and I are finally getting the chance to return to Paris with the husband unit – and we leave TODAY!! So I was uber motivated to get this done before then and posted on time, since I really didn’t have a good reason not to make the recipe and post on time…

Turns out? This is easily a cake made during nap time! Which is precisely when it happened, on Sunday… a perfectly lazy Sunday with nothing but time and no “have-to-dos” to do!
As soon as Mei got down for her morning nap, I took the liberty of ignoring the pile of dishes in the sink and got to making this cake!

I have made genoise recipes before, so I wasn’t a stranger to this recipe – but I did make one modification that seemed to help successfully fold the flour into the sugar and egg mixture. Doing one third of the flour at a time caused the flour to clump and sink, which was difficult to “dig out’ and de-clump. As a result, we did manage to find a couple balls of raw flour that dusted the plate on the last layer that was poured out of the bowl … but as soon as I realized that we would be having that problem, I just sifted enough flour to cover the surface of the bowl and quickly and gently folded that in – which completely solved the problem with the flour clumping, which really just defeats the effort of all the flour sifting in the first place. And when youre pregnant? The less energy you can expend, the better!
Oh and one more little modification … I doubled the amount of cream, added 1/2 C of sugar and omitted the sour cream. It’s just the way that I like to make fresh whipped cream “frostings” for cakes like this.

I bought three large containers of strawberries which proved to be just enough to fill and top the cake and for Mei to snack on the ones I deemed too small to be worth slicing up. She really enjoys it when I use fruit to make desserts… although I wind up having to buy double of what I need…!

Since we are leaving for Paris today, we sent half of the cake over to the neighbors and they seem to enjoy our little “gifts”… and we are happy to share! I did make a double recipe which proved to be enough to make three layers, so I didnt bother cutting the layers in half – there was so much more strawberry goodness in each bite this way! It was the perfect treat for an after Father’s Day dinner!

Mei got to lick the beaters for the first time by herself!! while watching her beloved Elmo…

To see how the other Doristas fared with their cakes and see their beautiful creations, click here. If you would like to join in the fun, please pick up a copy of Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking with Julia” and check our recipe schedule! For the recipes, please check with our hosts for this recipe; Sophia of Sophia’s Sweets and Allison of Sleep Love Think Dine
You’re leaving for Paris tomorrow? I am leaving next week for 5 weeks in my favourite city!!! Your cake looks glorious indeed! I wish I had made a double layer too – mine was barely enough to cut in halved. Next time, next time! Have fun in Paris
LOL, we left on Tues after I posted that actually! Yes, it is easily one of my favorite places in the world! I would love to go back there more often! I saw that you were headed over there soon on your website, and saw I was going to just miss you there! I hope you enjoy every moment! I certainly can’t be there long enough!
Yeah, after I read that everyone was coming up with really short cakes and thin layers I decided to double the batter
Gorgeous cake. The strawberry top is beautiful. What a lot of work you put into this. Great job! (And love the shot of Mei licking the beaters. That is the BEST part of baking!)
Thanks! I had a great time making it!
Licking the beaters IS the best thing ever and I want her to have really early memories of doing just that when we bake together!
Nice looking cake! Mei is so cute!
p.s. your photos do not display. I have to click on it in another tab. It may be that the size is too big.
~Carmen
now the photos are displaying…nevermind!
carmen
Thanks! I think WordPress does that sometimes… just re-fresh your pages!
BEAUTIFUL! I need to try this one again.
Did you have lots of trouble with yours? I think its one of those that you just have to really be focused to get right
That is one gorgeous cake (and one cute kid). Enjoy Paris.
Thanks! we did! I wish I could live there!
Lovely cake and pitcures.
Lisa
Thanks Lisa!
Wow!! Your genoise rose exceptionally well! Look at those thick layers! Great tip on the flour too
Thanks! I had fun putting the top together!
I saw the first pic and went “wow”!! U’ve done a splendid job!! well done!!
Awww thanks! It was a bit too much effort to make this one, so I’m thinking I will stick with other cake batter recipes but we do enjoy a fresh strawberry cake with fresh whipped cream!
Your cake is gorgeous! Have a fab time in Paris.
Thanks, we really enjoyed ourselves!
The strawberries on top are a great addition. It looks fantastic.
I combed through all my cake decorating ideas to find something different from what I normally do with these types of cakes and was happy with the end product!
wow, your cake looks so decadent!
Thanks!
Alice, your cake looks so beautiful! How in the world did you get three large layers from 1 cup of cake flour? I barely got 2! Great post. Nice baking with you, Catherine at http://www.praycookblog.com
Oh, lol you didnt read the content? I doubled the cake batter recipe since I was reading how people were having trouble getting two layers out of one and my husband agreed that doubling it and getting two, slightly larger layers instead – but it yielded three layers!
Lovely job! Lucky Mei
Have a great time in Paris!
Thanks! We did!!
Your cake looks fantastic! And I wish I had doubled the cream! Would have made a huge difference!
OH, I always make way more whipped cream than I need anyways cuz the husband unit and daughter unit always seem to just appear in the kitchen as soon as they hear the beaters stop whipping the cream and take spoonfuls at a time while I frost the cake … so I have to at least account for that…!!
Wow, gorgeous cake! Great idea on doubling the recipe to make this “dream”
hahaha!! Thanks!!
What a cute “dish washer”
I would decrease the cream and increase the strawberries …
Ulrike @Küchenlatein
LOL, we put four pints of strawberries in it… I dont think we could get anymore on there!
Beautiful cake! Have a WONDERFUL trip! That was smart to make a double recipe of the batter. Mine was way too thin.
Thanks again! Yes, that’s what I got from most people… I hope you try it again with more cake layers!
I’m glad you finally decided to make this cake. Yours turned out wonderful!
LOL, some of the internal struggles we have with TWD and FFWD are fun, aren’t they?? Thanks!
Wow that is a beautiful cake! How did you get such thick layers?? Wonderful job and very cute little helper!
I doubled the cake batter
Mai got the hardest work…didn’t she?
Your cake is really beautiful.
Haha, YES! She has the “hardest job of all!” Thanks!
From a fellow TWDer, your cake is absolutely beautiful! I love the strawberry decorations you placed on top, just lovely
Thanks, thanks, thanks!! We had fun with this one!
I’ve been seeing these lovely cakes pop up.. yours is so lovely.. the perfect beaters for a lovely Mei to taste, I think!!
Have you baked one for yourself? This cake didnt last two days in our house!
Your modifications really worked because you got three lovely layers. Love all the strawberries on top! I know you will have a wonderful time in Paris!
Thanks! I tend to make big cakes anyways, but this was such a great one to do it with since it had fresh, light whipped cream and really ripe strawberries!
YUM. Have fun in Paris…my favorite place!!!
Thanks! Mine too!!
Oh my your cake is gorgeous! Love the strawberry top!!!!!
Beautiful cake, cute daughter and great pictures! Enjoy your time in Paris!
Oh, wish we could bring you all with us!
Enjoy Paris! Love the way you topped your cake. Mei is adorable!
Thanks!
What a decadent and impressive looking cake. Have a great time in Paris. : )
Thanks!