Ray Ventura Cake.

This is a complicated cake named after an American bandleader. The recipe that I found also made a fondant to spread over the top, but I deleted that part. I think a fresh whipped creme would be just fine.


Ray Ventura Cake


Classic Génoise
3/4 cup cake flour; or 9 tablespoons all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla


Place a rack on the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease, line the bottom with parchment, and grease again an 8" springform pan, 8" cake pan, or 8" cake ring over a heavy baking sheet lined with parchment. Sift together the flour (or flour+cornstarch as the case may be), 1 tablespoon sugar, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper and set aside. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl set over hot tap water. Whisk for a few minutes, or until the eggs reach body temperature and no longer feel grainy when rubbed between the fingers. Transfer the bowl to a mixer and beat at high speed for about 5 minutes, when the eggs have tripled in volume and falls in ribbons from the beater that take a few seconds to sink into the surface. Since I have a handheld mixer, I just beat the eggs over the hot water bath for 7 minutes. Sprinkle a third of the flour mixture over the eggs and fold gently. Repeat twice more with the remaining flour mixture. Take a cup of the batter and fold it into the butter. Return the batter-butter mixture and vanilla to the rest of the batter and fold until just combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 25-27 minutes, or until the top feels spongy. Let it cool to room temperature.


Kirsch Brushing Syrup
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Kirsch


Combine the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and place over high heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature then stir in the Kirsch.


Crème Mousseline
1 cup whole milk
1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
5 large egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
14-1/2 tablespoons; or 2 sticks minus 1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened


Bring the milk to a simmer in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until smooth and pale. Sift together the flour and cornstarch over the eggs and whisk in. Pour in about half of the hot milk, whisking constantly, then pour everything back into the saucepan with the milk and whisk thoroughly until blended and smooth. Turn on the heat to medium and bring the custard toa boil, whisking constantly all the while. Continue boiling for 1 more minute. Strain using a fine sieve into a stainless stell bowl and whisk in 3 tablespoons of the butter. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally.

Cream the remaining butter (using a flat beater if you have one) and gradually beat in the cooled custard. Continue beating for a minute more to lighten the crème mousseline. It can be used right away, refrigerated with cling film flush to the surface for a week, or frozen up to 3 months. If frozen, defrost overnight in the refrigerator and beat with a flat beater or spatula until smooth.


Assembly:


17oz) small to medium strawberries, hulled


Cut a piece of matt board into an 8" circle. Place this at the bottom of the springform or cake ring if you used one, or directly on the serving platter if not.


Cut the cooled génoise horizontally into two layers and replace the bottom layer on top of the matt board. Brush with half the kirsch brushing syrup. Spread a thin layer of crème mousseline using an offset spatula.


If you used a springform or cake ring, cut a few strawberries crosswise and use them to line the circumference of the cake. If not, just decorate the border with strawberries. Fill the rest of the interior of the cake with more strawberries, making sure it is more or less even throughout. Spread crème mousseline over the berries, filling the gaps and covering them to make a layer of uniform thickness. Brush the cut surface of the top layer of génoise with kirsch brushing syrup and replace this cut side-down on the strawberries. Spread the top with a thin layer of crème mousseline and smooth the top with an icing spatula or straight edge to make a flat surface (I forgot this step, obviously). Refrigerate for at least an hour to firm the filling.

Spread fresh whipped creme over the top and serve.