Strawberry shortcake. Francois Perret. RitzParis. What more could I say? This cake, simple and traditional with its big chunks of fresh strawberries and its rich mousseline cream is deliciously comforting. And if that wasn’t enough, the chef also generously shared his secret for a red powdery finish which I know had you wonder “what’s that red powdering powdery powder thingy on top??!”. Well… if I say “over-baked colored cake batter left over” does the magic die? Yeah I didn’t think so either, it’s genius! And delicious too of course. The mousseline, the biscuit joconde and the custard cream can all be made ahead of time and the cake itself should actually be assembled and refrigerated the day before you intend to eat it. If that doesn’t scream PUH-LEASE get bakin’ I don’t know what does… Before diving into the recipe, a side note: I am well aware that no one ever counts in grams here (except when counting micronutrients -get the fitness trainer thing outta hereeeee, it isn’t called the fit whisk for nothing but ok anyways-). You may soon realize that it is way more precise scaling everything than measuring in cups. So come on press that oz-to-grams- button on your scale and let’s get baking!

Pour the milk onto the yolks/sugar mix while whisking. Mix well then pour the cream back into the saucepan before returning it to the stove on medium high. It will cook pretty fast because there is a lot of egg yolks and not too much milk so stay in front of it stirring gently with a spatula. Cook the cream to 82°C, you should see some bubbles forming on the sides of the saucepan and the cream should have thickened. Leave it in the saucepan and set aside.

For the meringue, combine in a saucepan 100g of sugar and 20g of water. Cook this syrup to 120°C (248°F) stirring occasionally until the sugar is melted. Once the syrup enters the boiling stage, leave it alone. You may clean the sides of the saucepan with a brush and a little water should you see any sugar crystals climbing their way out.

Meanwhile, whisk 50g of egg whites so that they are at the right consistency when the syrup reaches 120°C. You want your egg whites to be somewhat whisked but to very soft peaks, not even peaks more like a dense white foam like this:

Now that the syrup is ready lower the speed of the stand mixer (speed 4 out of 10) and start pouring the syrup, not too slowly but not too fast. It has to be a gentle twinkle between the bowl and the eggs. Once all the sugar is in, quickly send the mixer to full speed and let it whisk until the bowl has cooled down and barely feels warm to the touch.

Add the reserved English cream on medium speed and beat until well incorporated.

Meanwhile whisk 500g of butter that you will have taken out of the fridge ahead of time. It should be soft but NOT melted. Add the butter little by little to the previous mix.

My buttercream had a hard time whisking up, the kitchen was just too HOT. If this happens to you (but I know it won’t because yours will be perfect), don’t insist, as long as it is homogenous and not liquid it will be fine. Put it in a container and send it to the refrigerator. The butter will harden and we’ll be able to whisk it more after it has chilled to get the perfect texture so don’t worry.

The custard cream

The process for the custard cream is exactly the same than for the custard sauce we made earlier. The only difference is that there is flour in the custard cream which will make for a thicker cream hence the name. Clean wrap a plate or a similarly flat surface so that the cream can be poured on and refrigerated until cooled.

Warm up 250g of milk with the vanilla bean. Whisk 60g of egg yolks with 50g of sugar. Add 10g of flour and 10g of corn starch. When the milk is boiling pour it onto the previous mix while whisking. Pour the cream back into the saucepan and return it to the stove on medium high. Cook the cream to a boil and no matter what, DON’T STOP THE PARTY WHISKING. Once the creams is actively boiling, count a minute or so and remove from the stove.

Transfer onto the prepared plate and film it right away. This product does not like to wait exposed. Leaving it exposed to the air will dry it out and a nasty crust will start forming so don’t wait. Send it to the fridge to cool down.

The biscuit joconde

Preheat the oven to 220°F. In the microwave, melt 35g of butter and set aside. In the bowl of the stand mixer, start whisking 140g of egg whites adding the 25g of sugar progressively. If you don’t have a stand mixer whisk the eggs after having prepared the cake batter.

Meanwhile mix 200g of eggs with 165g of powdered sugar.

Add 165g of almond powder and 45g of corn starch and whisk.

Add the butter which should be cooled down by now and mix.

Add 1/3 of the egg whites and whisk. With a spatula add the remainder of the egg whites and mix very VERY gently. The biscuit should be light and airy.

Pour some batter into your chosen ring or mold (greased and floured) to about 1cm thick and bake for 22 minutes or until lightly golden.

Color the rest of the batter red for the decoration.

Pour it onto a baking tray and set it aside. It will need to go in the oven on the lowest setting for 4 to 5 hours. It needs to be dry enough that it can be blended into a powder. I was rushed by time so I baked it at 170 for a couple hours and it browed a little in the oven… Not horrible but the color could have been better had the oven temperature been lower.

Once the biscuit is all dried up, break it up in pieces and blend until you get a fine powder and set aside.

The assembly

Take the buttercream and the custard cream out of the fridge and let them come back a little to room temperature. Meanwhile prepare the strawberries. The chef cuts them in round slices. I chose to cut them the traditional way… Line the cake ring with a piece of acetate. Prepare the cake disc which can be of the same diameter than the chosen ring to be visible (like the big cake here) or slightly smaller to be covered by the cream (like the small cake). You will need to place the cake on the serving dish or on a piece of cardboard beforehand. It will be very very very delicate to move it once assembled because it won’t be frozen (unlike me here… Yes this post almost never happened).

Place your strawberries in.

Whisk the buttercream to make it souple.

whisk the custard cream for the same reason.

Mix 500g of buttercream with 200g of custard cream.

Transfer in a pipping bag and pipe all around the strawberries.

With an offset spatula smooth the edges pushing the cream so that there are no air bubbles.

Add cream and big chunks of strawberries.

Cover with the rest of the cream and let it set in the fridge until the next day. Once the cream is a little set, clean film your cake to protect it while in the fridge.

The next day, remove the ring but leave the acetate. Use the red powder to powder the top of the cake with a strainer. Remove the acetate and take the cake out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy…