Ever since I watched the Finale of the Great Canadian Baking Show last year, I knew my challenge would be to make a fraisier cake. But I had to wait until strawberries were in season, because I was not about to buy them in November, and you need fresh fruit for a fraisier. So, I finally baked this beautiful Ruby Fraisier this weekend, which makes a lovely Mother’s Day dessert; but it is so full of delicious ruby red fruits, I can absolutely picture it as a Canada Day cake, eh?

Ingredients (serves 8 to 12):

50 grams/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

275 grams/2 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup caster sugar

6 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 leaf gelatin

500 millilitres/2 cups semi-skimmed milk

1 plump vanilla bean

4 large egg yolks

8 tablespoons caster sugar

4 level tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)

1 leaf gelatin

1/2 cup Rhubarb Cordial

1/4 cup water

1 cup double cream

3 tablespoons Rhubarb Cordial

about 20 beautiful fresh strawberries, rinsed

1/2 cup fresh raspberries, rinsed

1/2 pomegranate

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over a low flame. Once melted, remove from the heat. Genrously brush the bottom and sides of a 24cm/9.5″ springform pan with melted butter; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and caster sugar; give a good stir. Dig a well in the middle, and break in three of the eggs. Separate three remaining eggs, adding yolks to the well, and reserving whites in a medium bowl. Stir eggs into the flour mixture, gradually adding buttermilk and melted butter, until just blended.

Beat egg whites with an electric beater, gradually increasing speed to high, until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold egg whites into the batter, until no white streak remains. Pour batter into prepared pan, and place in the middle of the hot oven. Bake, at 190°C/375°F, 30 minutes, until cooked through and just golden brown. Remove from the oven. Let cool, 15 minutes, before removing from the pan. Then, let the sponge cool completely.

Make the bavaroise: place gelatin in a bowl of cold water, to soak. Pour milk into a medium saucepan. Scrape off the seeds of the vanilla bean, and add seeds and pod to the milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, caster sugar and cornflour into a medium bowl, and whisk energetically until mixture becomes pale yellow and fluffy, and falls off the whisk like a ribbon. Carefully, and gradually whisk in hot milk, until well-blended; and pour mixture into the saucepan. Return over medium heat, and cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon until crème pâtissière is thick, smooth and shiny. Remove from the heat, discard vanilla pod, and cover with cling film, directly on top of the pastry cream, to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator.

To make the ruhbarb glaze, soak gelatin leaf in a bowl of cold water. In a small saucepan, combine Rhubarb Cordial and water, and bring to a slow boil over medium heat. Once boiling, remove from the heat. Squeeze water out of gelatin leaf, and stir it into the Rhubarb mixture until completely dissolved. Chill mixture in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Once the crème pâtissière is chilled, beat double cream until stiff peaks form, gradually beating in Rhubarb Cordial. Whisk a third of the Rhubarb whipped cream into chilled crème pâtissière, and then, gently fold in remaining Rhubarb whipped cream. Place in the refrigerator until using.

Place a disc of baking paper at the bottom of the springform pan you used to bake the sponge, and line the sides with cling film. Set aside.

Carefully slice the cooled sponge horizontally, into two even layers. Place bottom layer into prepared pan.

Cut all but four of the strawberries in half, and arrange strawberry halves of roughly the same size all around the pan, cut side against the cling film. Dice remaining strawberries.

Spoon half of the bavaroise in the middle of the strawberry circle, spreading into an even layer. Scatter half of the diced strawberries and half of the rapsberries all over. Cover with remaining bavaroise, and scatter remaining diced strawberries and whole raspberries on top. Level with a spatula, and sit second sponge layer on top, pressing very gently.

Release about 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds. Slice remaining four small strawberries, and arrange pomegranate seeds and strawberries on top of the cake. When the  Rhubarb glaze just start thickening, carefully pour over the cake in an even layer. Place in the refrigerator to chill, at least 4 hours.