La Tartine Gourmande
April 15, 2007

Revisiting the Idea of a Fraisier — Idée de fraisier revisité

strawberry cake fraisier rhubarb sweet french

Rhubarb Mousse and Strawberry Cake

Ideas sometimes come to me in the most unexpected places. How could I have imagined that I would end up thinking about the concept of this dessert while doing laps at the pool this past Friday. When my friend R. called to talk about the birthday party she was hosting on Saturday, she laughed when she added casually: “if you want to make something, that would be great“. Did I want to make something? I was feeling under the weather from working too many hours, but could I really let R. down on the day of her birthday party? Could I be this bad friend?

I did not think so. I like R. and wanted something special for her day.

After a quick mental scan of possible ideas, I remembered le fraisier that I never managed to bake the year before despite promising to, and thought about the massive amount of rhubarb I had purchased a few days before.

A few more laps and I had my cake idea.

strawberry cake rhubarb fraisier fruit sweet

Fraisier: derives from the French word fraise, strawberry.

Le fraisier is a classic French cake made with a basic génoise (sponge cake) sliced in two halves, each of which is brushed with kirsch liqueur. The cake is filled with butter cream and fresh strawberries, and topped with red almond paste or Italian meringue. Although at home we did not eat too many cakes that involved chantilly (whipped cream) or crème au beurre (butter cream) — my mum made a lot of tartes aux fruits (fruit tarts) instead — I have a particular attachment to this cake, especially when we would visit one of my grandmother’s. At mémé’s, every single cake seemed to always taste better. Or was it because everything was allowed?

strawberry cake rhubarb fraisier fruit sweet

strawberry cake rhubarb fraisier fruit sweet

Although the inspiration for this dessert is somewhat derived from the idea of a fraisier — with the génoise and strawberries — it largely differs from it since neither butter cream nor almond paste is used, the two of which I am not particularly fond of. Instead, I prefer to top the génoise and freshly sliced strawberries with a snow-light rhubarb mousse made with mascarpone, rhubarbe purée , egg whites and whipped cream.

————–

Now, I have to hope that R. liked it as much as I enjoyed licking my fingers when making it. Well, I can never go wrong with the classic strawberries and rhubarb combination.

And guess what! I will be this boring. I just do not get tired of these two spring fruit together!

donna hay strawberry cake rhubarb fraisier fruit sweet

And this will definitely be my Mousse Entry to the Donna Hay Event hosted by the lovely Helen from tempting-as-ever food blog Tartelette.

And I know, I will mention it before you say anything.

No recipe?

Outrage ! Horrible me! Mille excuses !

But it will come. I promise. Hopefully under a form that you will like even more.

Tagged as: Cakes , Dessert , French Inspired , Fruit , Gluten Free
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84 Comments »

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  1. Je suis curieuse de connaître la suite. Tu nous auras fait bien patienter avec cette recette! :-) Mais, comme le dit le dicton, tout vient à point à qui sait attendre! Magnifiques photos. Les couleurs vives éveillent tous mes sens, c’est magique!

    Comment by Ninnie — On April, 15th, 2007 at 7:57 am

  2. it’s just wonderful, justement j pensais ce que j’allai faire de mes fraises!

    Comment by leonine19 — On April, 15th, 2007 at 8:06 am

  3. Vivement la suite! Cette photo est très évocatrice. De l’acide, du sucré, du mousseux, du plus consistant. Un florilège de saveurs et de consistances, sans lourdeur.

    Comment by Eliflo — On April, 15th, 2007 at 8:20 am

  4. Wow~ gorgeous!

    i’ve made the cream cheese strawberries cake right now~ so fun：） but i prefer yours~ so~~~o beautiful!

    Comment by YOYO's food — On April, 15th, 2007 at 9:11 am

  5. ET bien, je n’étias pas encore venu sur ton blog avant de mettre mon billet et je comprends mieux ton commentaire ;-) Seulement que je suis un amateur quand je vois ce que tu fais….mon dieu c’est beau !!!!! Divin Béa, un immense bravo

    Bon dimanche
    Claude

    Comment by Claude-Olivier — On April, 15th, 2007 at 9:30 am

  6. Jolis résultat… next, please ! :-)

    Comment by liputu — On April, 15th, 2007 at 10:09 am

  7. Amazing!

    Comment by yaiAnn — On April, 15th, 2007 at 10:17 am

  8. Ce fraisier est superbe !

    Comment by CoinCoin — On April, 15th, 2007 at 10:22 am

  9. alors la si tu me prends par les sentiments…rubarbe et fraise..aie aie aie! Magnifique. J’espere que vous vous etes tous bien regale et quelle bonne copine tu fais!

    Comment by Helen — On April, 15th, 2007 at 10:56 am

  10. Magnifique réalisation et photos qui mettent vraiment l’eau à la bouche!
    Mille bravos!

    Comment by chantal33 — On April, 15th, 2007 at 11:00 am

  11. Je suis toute en émoi devant tes sublimes photos et j’arrive à la fin du billet, il n’y a PAS de recette. Vite, la suite !

    Comment by Sophie — On April, 15th, 2007 at 11:03 am

  12. I love your blog!! You have beautiful photos and the recipes sound so delicious! I don’t know if you have posted before, but what kind of camera do you use? Also could you write a post on photography tips?

    Comment by Patty — On April, 15th, 2007 at 11:12 am

  13. Beautiful as always, Bea, You are indeed an amazing woman!

    Comment by Carol — On April, 15th, 2007 at 11:18 am

  14. [...] myself to the idea of using doctored paper cups instead of buying dessert rings, but this strawberry-and-meringuey thing has made me doubt [...]

    Pingback by Raspberry Debacle » Blog Archive » OPR: Revisiting the Idea of a Fraisier — On April, 15th, 2007 at 11:22 am

  15. Boring…never with strawberry and rhubarb…I mean red like that can never be boring.
    Love your photos. Waiting patiently for the recipe!

    Comment by Tanna — On April, 15th, 2007 at 11:54 am

  16. Oh this looks as beautiful as at looks tasty. Too bad you didn’t have time to write down the recipe. Maybe you could just give us the mousse recipe, and we can find a genoise recipe somewhere else?

    Comment by Astrid — On April, 15th, 2007 at 11:59 am

  17. comme d’ahbitude et comme toutes les autres recettes de ton site : sublimes, gourmandes, a dévorer d’urgence ! c’est irrésistile, je suis décidément fan !

    Comment by Mimine — On April, 15th, 2007 at 12:02 pm

  18. j’avais très envie d’en faire aussi tu m’as grillée sur le fil !!!

    Comment by mercotte — On April, 15th, 2007 at 12:39 pm

  19. C’est trop trop trop appétissant !

    Comment by elodie — On April, 15th, 2007 at 12:56 pm

  20. Bea, c’est le plus joli fraisier qu’il m’ait été donné de voir !!!

    Comment by Camille — On April, 15th, 2007 at 2:01 pm

  21. TRès beau et je raffole de l’association fraise/rhubarbe !

    Comment by Tiuscha — On April, 15th, 2007 at 2:32 pm

  22. Je n’ai pas encore acheté de fraises cette année, mais les recettes qui fleurissent ici et là donnent drôlement envie. Et celle-ci si joliment photographiée, c’est le summum.

    Comment by Beah — On April, 15th, 2007 at 2:44 pm

  23. Bea, this looks exquisite, can I come and live at your house?

    Comment by jennie — On April, 15th, 2007 at 3:14 pm

  24. Those photos are absolutely stunning! Oh man, I can’t wait for you to post the recipe so I can give it a try!

    Comment by Ellie — On April, 15th, 2007 at 4:35 pm

  25. Oh my god! This is so amazing!

    Comment by Anh — On April, 15th, 2007 at 5:18 pm

  26. How are we meant to compete with this? hehe
    Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb - love it, beautiful!!!!!

    Comment by Bron — On April, 15th, 2007 at 6:17 pm

  27. I love the color of these!

    Comment by Kat — On April, 15th, 2007 at 6:39 pm

  28. Beautiful little cakes! I don’t like butter cream either, this rhubarb mousse is a much better partner!
    I’d love to make similar ones but I have to get such ring moulds first. Do you have a recommendation what diameter would be best (if there’s a “one size fits all”)? Can only invest in one set…

    Comment by Eva — On April, 15th, 2007 at 7:19 pm

  29. A perfect dessert - rich and flavorful, but light as air. Not too sweet, not too filling, but very very satisfying. The strawberries were naturally sweet, and the rhubarb added a touch of tartness without being overpowering, as it sometimes can be. And the presentation was celebratory. Thank you very much! I am lucky to have you as a friend, and not simply because you make such délices for me.

    Comment by R. — On April, 15th, 2007 at 7:25 pm

  30. Trop beau, trop beau. Vivement la suite.

    Comment by Mary — On April, 15th, 2007 at 7:51 pm

  31. What a fabulous dessert! I love strawberries and rhubarb. And your pictures….oh my! Fantastic!

    Comment by Chris — On April, 15th, 2007 at 7:52 pm

  32. Oh it’s so beautiful, Bea! And it makes me think that strawberry season will be here very soon. Even though we are still dealing with cold and … snow … I cannot believe it!!!

    Hope you’re feeling better!

    Comment by Ivonne — On April, 15th, 2007 at 9:17 pm

  33. Oooh, can they be anymore beautiful. I love that strawberries picture witht their stem off…very creative and cute!

    Comment by Rasa Malaysia — On April, 16th, 2007 at 1:22 am

  34. This makes me think of Charlotte!!! But even more beautiful!!

    Comment by snow — On April, 16th, 2007 at 1:45 am

  35. ¤ Just a dream ¤

    Comment by $ha — On April, 16th, 2007 at 2:15 am

  36. c’est une merveille !!!!!

    Comment by sylvie — On April, 16th, 2007 at 3:51 am

  37. I see now what you were talking about with my strawberry cake…your presentation is so much more spectacular..as usual.

    Comment by peabody — On April, 16th, 2007 at 4:11 am

  38. It reminds me of Nordljus latest post :
    http://nordljus.co.uk/

    Comment by Sally — On April, 16th, 2007 at 5:25 am

  39. Bea, this is beautiful. And love the step by step photos - although I don’t know if I’ll ever be brave enough to try making these myself. ;)

    Comment by Patricia Scarpin — On April, 16th, 2007 at 7:30 am

  40. I get my best ideas in the pool..but nothing like this :(
    Can I come to yr house too?

    Comment by ParisBreakfasts — On April, 16th, 2007 at 9:47 am

  41. Absolutely stunning, Bea! I can’t wait for the recipe!

    Comment by gilly — On April, 16th, 2007 at 3:31 pm

  42. C’etait vachement bon!! J

    Comment by J — On April, 16th, 2007 at 7:19 pm

  43. Absolument fabuleuses ces photos… Les couleurs sont à tomber et le design, waouhhhh !
    Vraiment vraiment très appétissant !
    Bravo Béa !

    Comment by Ingrid — On April, 17th, 2007 at 1:03 am

  44. Rhubarb Mousse and Strawberry Cake…

    Le fraisier is a classic French cake made with a basic génoise (sponge cake) sliced in two halves, each of which is brushed with kirsch liqueur….

    Trackback by topGrubs.com — On April, 17th, 2007 at 2:56 am

  45. enfin la recette (les photos quoi…) de ce beau dessert rhubarbe-fraises…
    quel suspence…..

    Comment by veronica — On April, 17th, 2007 at 5:17 am

  46. Oh bea- this is beautiful!This remarkable creation looks so tasty too.

    Comment by veron — On April, 17th, 2007 at 6:40 am

  47. I wish my wife could eat raw strawberries

    Comment by Jeff — On April, 17th, 2007 at 11:22 am

  48. Quelle jolie recette !

    Comment by eva — On April, 17th, 2007 at 11:43 am

  49. This food looks sooooo beautiful!
    looks beautiful, taste beautiful.

    catalyst0527.blogspot.com

    Comment by Catalyst0527 — On April, 17th, 2007 at 12:00 pm

  50. How precious!!! I’m a sucker for anything with strawberries, and I don’t know if I could eat something so beautiful! :)

    Comment by Christine — On April, 17th, 2007 at 2:07 pm

  51. Ninnie, eh oui, tu as bien raison, ce dicton a du vrai! Merci de ton passage! Je suis bien contente que cela te plaise

    Leonine, merci.

    Eliflo, encore un peu de patience ;-)

    Yoyo, thank you!

    Claude, eh oui tu le vois bien, moi et les fraises, ou les tartes aux fruits, c’est une vraie histoire d’amour!

    Liputu, merci.

    yaiAnn, thanks.

    Coincoin, merci.

    Helen, ah oui, je suis comme toi, je craque pour cette association aussi.

    Chantal, merci.

    Sophie, ahah, tu me fais sourire ;-) Patience.

    Patty, thank you very much for your kind note. My camera is a Canon 30D. This post idea is a great idea. I will have to do this, thanks for the suggestion.

    Carol, oh thanks so much.

    Tanna, coming coming….

    Astrid, I will make it even more special, I hope.

    Mimine, merci beaucoup de ton message.

    Mercotte, ah oui, c’est vrai. Je suis impatiente de le voir chez toi alors.

    Elodie, merci.

    Camille, oh dis-moi, tu es bien trop gentille. Je suis sûre que ton fraisier doit être superbe aussi, car je suis bien persuadée que tu en as déjà fait, pas vrai ?

    Tiuscha, merci.

    Beah, ah les fraises, que ferait-on sans elles ?

    Jennie, ahahh, you are funny!

    Ellie, thank you! Yes it will come! Promise.

    Anh, thanks.

    Bron, com’on, you surely can do very well too. I know that part! AH yes isn’t rhubarb the best fruit/vegetable, whatever it is!

    Kat, thanks.

    Eva, if you want individual cakes, which I think is cute, I would recommend the size I use, that is 2 3/4″diameter. They are good size. Check on jbprince.com, they have a real large selection.

    R., oh I am the lucky one to have you as my friend! And, I am so happy you liked them!

    Mary, merci.

    Chris, thanks so much.

    Ivonne, ah yes, I am like you. I so much want Spring to come and settle now. Enough of this winter. Wet here today.

    Rasa Malaysia, thank you!

    Snow, ah yes, and I am a charlotte amateur too. Gives me ideas to make some soon again!

    Sha, thank you!

    Sylvie, merci.

    Peabody, yes you can see that my love affair with these cakes is large, isn’t it? Perhaps because I was born in May!

    Oh yes Sally, I loved Keiko’s post!

    Patricia, thank you! It is not difficult and I am sure you could easily make them too!

    Carol, ahah, well let me think about this ;-)

    Gilly, thank you! It is “cooking”….

    J., très contente que tu aies aimé. Mais dis-moi, tu parles français alors???

    Ingrid, merci beaucoup.

    Veronica, ravie de te voir de retour, et que cela te plaise!

    Veron, thank you!

    Jeff, oh she cannot? Why??

    Eva, merci.

    Catalyst, thanks a lot.

    Christine, oh yes you could, I am convinced ;-)

    Thanks everyone again for your generous comments!

    Comment by Béa — On April, 17th, 2007 at 2:49 pm

  52. Comme c’est beau, Bea

    Comment by tarzile — On April, 19th, 2007 at 11:43 am

  53. Ohhh… Thank you very much for this (Fantastic Fraisier). No matter how much calories it contains, i used to try it with mascarpone cheese as you mentioned, it is so tasty for sure i will follow it always.

    Comment by ALI — On April, 21st, 2007 at 9:24 am

  54. That looks just too delicious and too pretty :) If such a thing is possibly because knowing you, you will easily top it with your next post! I have a question: after layering everything in the mold, how do you unmold it so neatly and cleanly?

    Comment by joey — On April, 22nd, 2007 at 10:08 pm

  55. Those are absolutely gorgeous!

    Comment by Shawnda — On April, 24th, 2007 at 5:36 pm

  56. Great entry Bea. They look wonderful. Thanks for joining in at HHDD.

    Comment by barbara — On April, 24th, 2007 at 10:41 pm

  57. no recette? oui béa, i’m outraged :) i want to know how you unmoulded it so perfectly. magnifiques photos!

    Comment by Anna — On April, 24th, 2007 at 11:08 pm

  58. Gorgeous, indeed!! I love it!

    Comment by arfi — On April, 25th, 2007 at 2:31 am

  59. This is just the most beautiful presentation of mousse ever. It is picture perfect.

    Comment by cheryl — On April, 25th, 2007 at 8:29 am

  60. I don’t know anything about cooking with rhubarb - but your dish makes me want to learn! Thanks!

    Comment by Katie B. — On April, 25th, 2007 at 9:36 am

  61. I haven’t tried rhubarb since I was a kid, so clearly, I’ve got to try this. Gorgeous.

    Comment by kellypea — On April, 25th, 2007 at 2:32 pm

  62. I love strawberry and rhubard! Your pictures are gorgeous! Well done.

    Comment by Lolotte — On April, 26th, 2007 at 2:40 pm

  63. Stunning presentation… and I love the creative combination of strawberries and mousse. Pl-eeease provide a recipe soon?

    Comment by Dolores — On April, 26th, 2007 at 5:22 pm

  64. er… combination of strawberries and rhubarb, even.

    Comment by Dolores — On April, 26th, 2007 at 5:22 pm

  65. This is so beautiful! Lovely.

    Comment by Claire — On April, 27th, 2007 at 7:56 pm

  66. Am looking forward to a recipe when it comes - though I guess it might mean waiting for next year’s rhubarb season instead!

    I did try a version with a cheesecake style base, but the mousse on top just *wasn’t* quite right!

    Comment by Richard Gillin — On April, 30th, 2007 at 11:30 am

  67. wow, the pictures are just amazing!

    Comment by valet parking — On May, 1st, 2007 at 2:43 pm

  68. i keep checking back! where is that recipe?

    Comment by pessy — On June, 4th, 2007 at 11:20 am

  69. vraiment beau

    Comment by m.licorne — On June, 7th, 2007 at 1:58 pm

  70. Where is this fantastic recipe?! I’ve been drooling for two months now! :o)

    Comment by Madeleine — On June, 18th, 2007 at 7:54 am

  71. wow..looks so delicious…

    Srivalli
    http://www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com

    Comment by Srivali — On July, 10th, 2007 at 7:23 am

  72. what kind of camera was it used to take these pictures?
    The pictures look just great!

    Comment by wedding cake pictures — On October, 12th, 2007 at 1:08 am

  73. [...] wedding cake pictures wrote a fantastic post today on “Comment on Revisiting the Idea of a Fraisier — Idée de fraisier …”Here’s ONLY a quick extractwhat kind of camera was it used to take these pictures? The pictures look just great! [...]

    Pingback by www.topweddingadvice.info » Comment on Revisiting the Idea of a Fraisier — Idée de fraisier … — On October, 12th, 2007 at 3:31 am

  74. Is it at all possible for you to write this recipe down. I hunted all around (even on a visit in July to France) to find the mini spring form pans and have to my delight. I’m excited to try and do these. Do you also have recipes for doing salmon or other layered food in the mini spring form pans…. You are amazing and I’m so inspired by what you do!!!!!

    Comment by Diane — On October, 15th, 2007 at 8:13 pm

  75. Hello Diane,

    I bet you must be excited to have purchased these molds! Wonderful. Thanks for your very nice note! I have actually a recipe for salmon which I have to redo and post, so stay tuned ;-) As to this recipe, patience ;-) Sorry not yet ready!

    Comment by Béa — On October, 18th, 2007 at 5:26 am

  76. please…adopt me!

    Comment by ch — On November, 3rd, 2007 at 4:40 pm

  77. [...] idea is not necessarily new, but I enjoy revisiting the idea of a successful cake to create variations with new flavors. Since they are in season — Sam and national papers [...]

    Pingback by Deliciousness in Tonka Bean and Meyer Lemon — Gâteau léger à la fève tonka et citrons Meyer by La Tartine Gourmande — On February, 5th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

  78. C’est vrai que l’association fraise-rhubarbe fonctionne toujours très bien. Ton fraisier est vraiment superbe, dommage que tu n’aies pas mis une recette pour la mousse légère à la rhubarbe (à moins que je l’ai loupée?). A force de surfer sur ton blog, ma liste de recettes ‘à tester’ rallonge à vue d’oeil! En tout cas, merci pour cette magnifique idée de fraisier revisité!

    Comment by Botacook — On April, 22nd, 2008 at 3:39 am

  79. Ah Botacook, non no, tu ne l’as pas loupee. Je ne l’ai pas encore publiee, malheureusement ;-) Jamais assez de temps pour tout faire !

    Comment by Béa — On April, 22nd, 2008 at 6:45 pm

  80. Its June and where is this recipe? Rhubarb will be gone and I wont be able to try and make this. I think I will cry. Please post the recipe!!

    Comment by Lori — On June, 8th, 2008 at 5:37 am

  81. Sorry, I am just behind with posting recipes!

    Comment by Béa — On July, 18th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

  82. I want the recipe for rhubarb mousse and strawberry cake.
    Thank you

    Comment by Eileen Cyr — On July, 21st, 2008 at 7:42 am

  83. In your little springform pans I see a clear plastic film lining. What is this? Where can I get some?

    Comment by Julie — On August, 13th, 2008 at 5:06 pm

  84. Hi Julie,

    These are plastic liners. I ordered mine from jbprince.com

    Comment by Béa — On August, 13th, 2008 at 5:09 pm

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