GENOISE LAYER
4 lg Eggs
1 pn Salt
2/3 c Sugar
1/2 c Cake flour
3 tb Cornstarch
LEMON KIRSCH SYRUP
1/3 c Water
1/4 c Sugar
2 tb Lemon juice
2 tb Kirsch
STRAWBERRY FILLING
2 pt Strawberries
1/2 c Sugar
1 tb Lemon juice
1 tb Kirsch
2 tb Cornstarch
COVERING MERINGUE
6 lg Egg whites
1 c Sugar
1/4 c Toasted, sliced almonds
GENOISE LAYER: Preheat oven to 350F. Break eggs into bowl of electric
mixer. Whisk in salt, then sugar. Place bowl over pan of simmering
water. Whisk until just lukewarm. Whip by machine until cold and
increased in volume, about 4-5 minutes. Mix cake flour and
cornstarch. Sift over the egg foam in 3 or 4 additions, folding in
with a rubber spatula. Pour batter into buttered and paper-lined
10-inch round pan and level. Bake about 30 minutes until well-risen,
golden and beginning to shrink from sides. Unmold immediately and
cool on a rack. Divide the cooled Genoise into 3 layers with a sharp,
serrated knife. Place 1 layer on a cardboard or platter and moisten
with 1/3 of the syrup, using a brush. Spread with 1/2 the filling.
Repeat with the second layer. Place the last layer on and moisten
with the remaining syrup. LEMON KIRSCH SYRUP: For the syrup, combine
water and sugar in a small pan, bring to a boil and cool. Stir in
lemon juice and kirsch. STRAWBERRY FILLING: For the filling, reserve
6 of the best strawberries as a decoration. Rinse, hull and slice the
remaining berries. Place 1/4 of the berries in a saucepan with the
sugar and bring to a boil. Combine lemon juice, kirsch and corn-
starch and stir into the strawberry mixture off the heat. Return to a
boil, stirring and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and stir in
remaining sliced berries. COVERING MERINGUE: Preheat oven to 400F and
set rack in the middle level. Combine egg whites and sugar in bowl of
an electric mixer. Whisk over simmering water until egg whites are
hot and sugar is dissolved. Beat on medium speed until cold and risen
in volume, but not dry. Spread cake with meringue. Pipe decoration on
top of cake, using a pastry bag fitted with a star tube. Press
toasted, sliced almonds against the side of the cake. Place the cake
on a cookie sheet and color the meringue in the oven for about 3-4
minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cool. Decorate with the
reserved strawberries.
Yields
10 Servings