About this recipe

Le Cordon Bleu is delighted to share one of the recipes from our book Chocolate Bible for those who love chocolate and strawberries. Enjoy the season!

Serves: 6-8

Preparation time: 2 hours
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Génoise sponge: 4 eggs; 125 g sugar; 125 g flour, sifted
Imbibing Syrup: 150 ml water; 150 g sugar; 1½ tbsp Kirsch
Chocolate Mousseline Cream: 160 g milk chocolate; 75 g sugar; 3 egg yolks; 30 g cornstarch (cornflour); 400 ml milk; 200 g butter, at room temperature; 500 g strawberries, cut in halves
Decoration: powdered (icing) sugar; 200 g pink almond paste (refrigerated 1 hour); strawberry halves (optional); dark chocolate, melted (optional)

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Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Butter a 20 cm round cake pan.
Génoise sponge: Place the eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl; whisk to combine. Stand the bowl over a bain-marie and whisk continuously for 5–8 minutes, or until the mixture becomes light and doubles in volume. Do not allow it to become too hot. Remove from the bain-marie and continue whisking quickly by hand, or with an electric beater on high speed, until cool and the batter falls in a ribbon from the whisk or beater. Gently fold in the sifted flour, adding it in 2 or 3 batches. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, to come 2⁄3 up the side. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the surface is firm but springy to the touch. Turn out onto a rack and cool.
Kirsch Syrup: Place the water and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stir until the sugar dissolves then, bring to the boil; cool. Add the Kirsch to the cold syrup.
Chocolate Mousseline Cream: Chop the chocolate and place in a large bowl. Prepare a pastry cream in another bowl: Combine 50 g of the sugar with the egg yolks and the cornstarch; whisk until pale yellow and creamy. Bring the milk and the remaining sugar to the boil. Slowly whisk 1⁄2 of the hot milk-sugar mixture into the egg-yolk mixture and add the remaining milk; return to the saucepan. Stir continuously over medium heat until the mixture is thickened and comes to the boil. Cook for 1 minute and pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until smooth. Cover the surface of the chocolate cream with cling film; cool. Beat the butter until creamy. When the chocolate cream is cold, blend in the creamed butter using an electric mixer; refrigerate the chocolate mousseline cream for 20 minutes.
Line a 22 cm circle mold with strawberry halves. Use a long serrated knife to cut the génoise sponge horizontally in 2 even layers. Place one layer in the bottom of the circle mold and brush with Kirsch syrup. Spread with 1⁄3 of the chocolate mousseline cream. Place the remaining strawberries on the cream and cover with 1⁄2 the remaining mousseline cream. Top with the other sponge layer, brush with syrup and spread with a thin layer of the remaining mousseline cream, saving the rest for decoration, if desired. Refrigerate for 1 hour before removing the circle mold.
Roll out almond paste to 2-3 mm on a work surface sprinkled with powdered sugar. Cut out a 22 cm disc with the circle mold ; place it on top of the filled cake. Decorate with strawberries and melted chocolate.

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Find out more...

Books

This month, our recipe comes from the recently released "Chocolate Bible" written by the Le Cordon Bleu Chefs

Chocolate Heart
Galette des Rois
Fresh Fruit Christmas Log

Quick Links

Chocolate Strawberry Cake

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