Heart-Shaped Fraisier Cake

INSTRUCTIONS

• Pastry cream
• Add milk and vanilla extract to a saucepan, and bring to boil at medium heat, turn off the heat and set aside.
• In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, add the cornstarch and whisk until there’s no lumps.
• Whisk in 1/4 of the hot milk until incorporated and then whisk in the remaining hot milk.
• Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling.
• Remove from heat and stir in the butter.
• Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming.
• Let the pastry cream chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using.
• In a bowl whip the heavy cream with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, whip until stiff peaks form and add the pastry cream and mix.
• Transfer some of the mixture into a big piping bag.
• Cake/Sponge
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
• Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, cream the room temperature butter and powdered sugar until pale then mix in the eggs and continue whipping.
• Sift in flour and salt then fold with a espatula until combined.
• Divide the mixture in two greased 15cm/6inch round cake pans (they will be thin cakes).
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Let the sponges cool completely and cut them with a cake mold ring of your choice (I used this Heart Cake Mold Ring, cutting the sponges with the 4 inches one).
• Assembling the cake
• Using a larger cake mold ring than the one you used to cut the sponges (for this I used the 6 inches heart mold)
• Start building the cake, setting one of the sponges into the cake mold ring and arranging the strawberry halves on the sides of the mold like in the video.
• Pipe the pastry cream on top of the sponge and fill the gaps in between the strawberry halves.
• For the filling, mix the cut strawberries with the jam and add them at the center of the mold and pipe a little more of the cream covering the strawberries.
• Place the other sponge on top and pipe the rest of the cream around and on top of the sponge, smooth the top with a spatula.
• Chill the cake in the fridge for around 3-4 hours.
• Once the cake fully sets, carefully remove the cake ring.
• In a bowl whip the heavy cream with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, mixing until stiff peaks form, transfer it into a piping bag and decorate with the whipped cream and fresh strawberries like in the video/pictures.
• Enjoy!
• Remember to store it in the fridge <3