TWD: French Strawberry Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie featured a recipe for a gorgeous, beautiful three-layer cake filled with sweetened strawberries and fresh whipped cream.  This cake was beautiful, refreshing and so much fun to make.

The cake layers were composed of a basic genoise batter which utilizes whipped egg whites to provide height.  The genoise was baked in a 9-inch springform pan, allowed to cool completely, and then split into three layers, topped with chopped fresh strawberries, and slathered with a lightly sweetened whipped cream.  The end result was not-too-sweet and the berries really were the star of the show.  I did branch a bit from the decorating technique detailed in the book, choosing instead to spread the whipped cream between the layers and on top of the cake, leaving the sides exposed.  I lined halved strawberries along the outer edges of the cake and filled the centers with the macerated berries and whipped cream.  Because I love the combination of kirsch and berries, I could not resist adding a few tablespoons to the macerated berries.  Divine!

I had a couple of college friends visiting and we devoured this cake between the six of us.  My husband did cut us some gigantic pieces, but the cake was really light, making it easy to consume a large portion.  Matthew loved it, declaring:  "Mommy!  It's good!"

If you would like to try making this excellent summertime dessert, our hosts for this week have the recipe posted on their blogs or pick up a copy of Baking with Julia.