Retro Valentines Cake Recipe

 

This Valentines Cake is truly delicious as it includes a mouth-watering Strawberry crème au beurre icing. This fabulous recipe comes from a 1976 recipe book called Woman’s Realm Cake Icing by Christine France. Spoil your Valentine or yourself with this 'retro' bake!

Retro Valentines Cake

1 quantity Genoese sponge mixture
1 1/2 quantities Strawberry crème au beurre
175g fresh strawberries
1 (25cm) heart-shaped or round cake board
75g plain dessert chocolate

Strawberry Crème Au Beurre (1 Quantity, adjust for extra 1/2)

75g castor sugar

4 tablespoons water

2 egg yolks

175g unsalted butter

50-100g strawberry purée 

Put the sugar and water in a heavy-based pan and dissolve over a gently heat, stirring occasionally without allowing the mixture to boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to a rapid boil and boil without stirring for 2-3 minutes until the temperature reaches 107C on a sugar thermometer. Beat the egg yolks lightly in a bowl and pour the hot syrup into them in a thin, steady stream, whisking hard all the time. Continue whisking until the mixture is thick and cold. Cream the butter until soft and beat into the mixture with the strawberry purée.

Genoese Sponge

40g unsalted butter

65g plain flour

1 tablespoon corn flour

3 large eggs

75g castor sugar

Melt the butter very gently and allow to cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile sift together the flour and corn flour.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl over a pan of hot water until light and creamy and the whisk, when lifted, leaves a ribbon trail for a few seconds into the mixture. Then remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking until cool. Fold in half the flour using a metal spoon. Pour the butter around the inside of the bowl while folding in the remaining flour as quickly as possible, as the sponge will soon lose volume after the butter is added.

Baking & Assembling

Set the oven at moderately hot (190C). Grease and base-line a 1.15 litre heart-shaped tin and bake the cake mixture in it for 20-25 minutes. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
Divide the crème au beurre into four equal portions. Slice the cake in half horizontally and spread one portion over the bottom half. Reserve two strawberries for decoration and roughly chop the rest.
Arrange the chopped strawberries over the layer of crème au beurre and sandwich the two halves together.
Place the cake on the board. Spread the top and sides of the cake with two more portions of crème au beurre, swirling in circles with a palette knife.
Melt the chocolate and dip each reserved strawberry into it until half-coated. Leave to dry.

Pour the remaining chocolate on a sheet of waxed or non-stick paper and allow to cool. Cut out small hearts with a heart-shaped aspic cutter.

Place the remaining crème au beurre in a piping bag fitted with a No. 12 shell nozzle and pipe a border of shell around the top edge of the cake.

Decorate with the strawberries and chocolate hearts. 

Enjoy!

 With love from,