Strawberry Fraisier

For the sponge cake

1. Preheat your fan oven to 135ºC/275ºF/Gas Mark 1.
2. Sift the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Add the vanilla and lemon zest. In another bowl, mix the milk, vegan egg and sunflower oil.  Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until they form a smooth batter.
3. Grease the tin and flour it lightly. Pour the batter into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 20 minutes. Once the sponge has cooled, use a 16cm ring to cut a base that is 1cm high and 16cm wide.

For the vanilla syrup

1. Place all of the ingredients in a small pan and heat until boiling. Take the pan off and set aside. Allow the syrup to cool to 50ºC and then, using a pastry brush, spread some of the syrup over the cooled sponge.

For the crème diplomate

1. Begin by preparing the crème pâtissière. In a small pan, combine the oat milk, seeds from 1 vanilla bean and the empty vanilla pod. Heat until the milk reaches about 70ºC. Place the sugar, agar agar and cornflour into a bowl and whisk throughly. Pour the heated milk over the sugar mixture and stir. Put the mixture back into the pan and cook over a low heat until it thickens. Remove the vanilla pod, transfer the crème to a bowl and place a piece of cling film directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until you are ready to complete the cake.
2. The crème diplomat cannot be made in advance. Do not complete it until you are ready to assemble the cake. At that time, remove the crème from the refrigerator and whisk it to create a creamy consistency. Beat the coconut whipping cream at high speed for 2 minutes and then gently fold it into the crème pâtissière.

For the strawberry compote

1. Mix the sugar and the pectin in a small bowl. Cut the strawberries into 1cm cubes and place them in a small pan. Add the strawberry purée and heat the berry mixture to 40ºC. Add the sugar and pectin, whisking constantly and continue cooking until the temperature reaches 82ºC. Transfer the compote to a bowl, cover it with cling film so that it is directly touching the top of the compote and cool in the refrigerator.

Assembling the cake

1. Line a 16cm cake ring with an acetate sheet or a strip of baking paper ( this will make it easier to remove the cake).  Place the sponge cake, moistened with the vanilla syrup, into a cake ring.  Spread half of the strawberry compote over the cake.  Halve the fresh strawberries lengthwise and place them around the edge of the cake with the pointed tips facing up and the cut half facing out agains the ring.  It’s important that the strawberries do not extend past the top edge of the ring.  Spread about two-thirds of the crème diplomat onto the cake, high enough to fill the gaps between the strawberries.  Make a small well in the centre of the crème and spoon the rest of the strawberry compote into it.  Smooth the top of the cake with the remaining crème and refrigerate for 4-5 hours.

For the crème Chantilly

1. In a kitchen mixer bowl, pour the flora plant based cream or coconut whipping cream. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and start whipping until soft peak. Use it straight away to decorate the top of the cake.

To finish

1. Just before serving, remove the cake from the ring and decorate the top with fresh fruits. You can add some edible flowers to jazz it up or other decorations made out of icing paste for example