I was really excited to bake the French Strawberry Cake. This recipe is hosted by
Sophia and
Allison and you can check out their blogs if you want the recipe...or, as always, you can check out the book,
Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
I was thinking this would be a great recipe this month. We had much to celebrate. There was my husband's birthday, but he likes Mocha cake. And then there was my older daughter's high school graduation but she loves a good lemon tart.
So, today, the day before TWD/BWJ blog day, I made the cake. I would say we are celebrating the first full weekday of summer vacation. It was the first Monday that we could all sleep in and I had the whole day to bake this cake.
Reading through the recipe, I thought this would be one terrific recipe. As the title suggests, it features strawberries and cream frosting. Yum. Unfortunately, this cake was not as spectacular as I had hoped. The recipe did say that the cake is "sturdy, firm, adaptable...and drier than most American cakes." And indeed, the genoise I baked certainly was sturdy and dry. I have to ask myself, "Is it me?" or was that just the nature of the cake? I just don't know genoise well enough to know the answer.
I did like the strawberries and the cream frosting, so I'm sure these recipes will find their way into my repertoire.
Yup.. your cake looks a lot like mine... a bit on the dryer side.. but according to the recipe thats the way it should be!!! i would have preferred it if i could use strawberries too!! :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't find it dry but I didn't really enjoyed it...
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your daughter's HS graduation! I loved the cream used for this cake too...the sour cream gave it a pleasant tang.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your daughter! My youngest graduated, too, and we're off to college orientation today :) Yeah, the cake was decent, but not my favorite base for all that whipped cream and berries~
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your daughter! Your cake looks great!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely - I'll definitely be using the strawberries and the whipped cream for other recipes, and I'm glad I gave the cake a shot but it's just not for us.
Nice, very lovely! Congratulations to your family on the graduation!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your daughter's graduation! Its surprising that such a sturdy cake comes from such a delicate batter isn't it? Yours looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Congrats, & nice work!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your lovely daughter and happy birthday to your husband!
ReplyDeletePretty idea to celebrate the beginning of summer holiday... There's always a way to "have a beautiful cake".
Congratulations on the double holiday in your family! Love your idea to celebrate the first day of vacation with cake :) I found that the cake tastes better with a little bit of time so the juices from the strawberries could soak the genoise layers.
ReplyDeleteI agree the cake was a little dry but the strawberries and cream were wonderful. Congratulations to your daughter and happy birthday to your husband!
ReplyDeleteI made a similar recipe with a 2-layer yellow cake (no slicing required), and it was great. I'd say skip the genoise next time.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your lovely daughter! (My eldest graduates this Friday - such a crazy time!)
ReplyDeleteI soaked my cake with the juice from the maceration and it sure did soak it all up - so I guess it worked out having the cake on the drier side :-)
LOL! Did it really say that the genoise would be sturdy & dry? I missed that part, but mine definitely lived up to the description!
ReplyDeleteShe did really say sturdy. And while she didn't say "dry" exactly, I think she described the genoise as drier than American style cakes. In my case, that meant pretty dry.
DeleteCongratulations to your daughter.. The cake did not work for me either, I believe it was my execution and inexperience that resulted a very flat cake..
ReplyDeleteI have made many Genoise cakes, but I usually use it as a base for Tiramisu or break it up for trifle. I made Ladyfinger Genoise and used it as a base with the strawberries and cream to make a shortcake.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your daughter!!!
Beautiful Californian strawberries. I am so jealous. :))
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your daughter and Happy Birthday to your husband! It sounds like you've had some lovely treats lately. Your strawberry cake looks great, but it's too bad it didn't measure up in taste. We enjoyed the cake, even though it was only one sad little layer.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your daughter! Always such an exciting time with each milestone in their lives. Our daughter just graduated from college -crazy how time flies by. This cake was not a hit for us though the cream frosting was nice - I do like my whipped cream without sugar.
ReplyDeleteYay to your daughter! I agree with her, lemon tarts are awesome. My cake was quite dry too, but the next day, it was really nice after it soaked up all the liquid. I love the gigantor dollop of whip cream..mmMmMm...
ReplyDeleteYeah, it isn't you. This recipe is just tricky! Some day maybe I'll try it again but it will never make the favorites list! Congrats to your daughter and happy birthday to your husband!! What an exciting weekend you had!
ReplyDeleteHey, who needs an official reason to eat cake? The start of summer vacation is good enough to me!
ReplyDeleteAnd no, it's not just you, genoises are pretty boring by themselves. I always brush mine with flavored simple syrup to give them some moisture and make them a little more interesting...but in general I guess I prefer American cakes!
we make simple cakes all year round and put fresh whipped cream and any fruit we fancy with it - its just light and tasty and so easy! especially if we have only the energy to whip together a cake mix - this is an easy way to make those cakes taste great too!
ReplyDeleteI think it's the cake, not anything you did. Seems like many didn't love this one. Oh well, on to next recipe!
ReplyDelete