My absolute favorite cake is a Danish strawberry tart. I can never get enough of it, so when I turned 30 a week ago, of course I had to celebrate with a strawberry tart. Since it was a big birthday, I wanted to give my favorite tart a little twist, so I made it as a layer cake instead.
Sweet strawberries, vanilla, chocolate, and a buttery cake base come together in all the ways I love. There’s just something about the combination that never gets old, and this presentation makes it feel extra special.
The vanilla cream is inspired by the talented Nip.
Happy baking <
Tips & Notes:
If the pastries are made over several days, everything except baking the Pâte Sablée bases and combining the vanilla cream with the whipped cream can be prepared in advance. These two steps are best done on the day of serving.
Pâte Sablée:
- 320 g butter (cold)
- 60 g icing sugar
- 565 g all-purpose flour
- 70 g egg yolks (approx. 3.5 medium egg yolks)
- a pinch of salt
- Place the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and butter (cut into cubes or grated) in a food processor and pulse quickly until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl and quickly incorporate the egg yolks. Be careful not to overwork the dough.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions, one for each layer of the number/letter. Roll out each portion between two sheets of parchment paper and let them rest on separate baking sheets in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. The dough should be very cold when you take it out.
- Cut out the letters (you may want to use a serrated palette knife to remove the cut-out dough from the parchment paper) and place each one on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or an Air Mat. If you have multiple Air Mats, place one on top of the dough as well, as this will ensure more even baking.
- Bake one letter at a time for 15–18 minutes at 175°C / 347°F until the letter is a deep golden brown.
- Let the letter cool on the baking sheet. Wait to move the letter until it has cooled completely; otherwise it may crack.
- Place the cooled letters on the plates on which the cookies will be served.
Tips & Notes:
- Grate the butter or cut it into smaller cubes, as this makes it easier to mix with the dry ingredients.
- Be careful not to over-knead the dough. Only combine until it has a sandy texture and no big pieces of butter remain.
- Quickly combine the dough with the egg, stopping as soon as it comes together into a ball and the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- It’s important to let the dough set in the fridge as the cake bases otherwise will spread and lose their shape during baking.
Marzipan Filling:
- 450 g butter (softened)
- 450 g caster sugar
- 330 g marzipan (grated)
- 150 g eggs (approx. 3 medium eggs)
- 80 g all-purpose flour
- Beat softened butter, sugar, and grated marzipan until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then gently fold in the flour.
- Divide the dough into two portions. They should be baked one at a time.
- Spread half of the marzipan mixture into a baking pan (24×35) lined with parchment paper
- Bake one marzipan base for 15–18 minutes at 175°C / 347°F until the surface is golden and the dough is firm.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Let the marzipan filling cool on the kitchen counter on the parchment paper. Then place them in the refrigerator to set. The marzipan must be completely cold and firm before the letters can be cut out.
- Cut out two letters from the marzipan filling (if needed, use a serrated palette knife to remove the cut-out marzipan from the parchment paper).
- Place the marzipan filling on top of the Pâte Sablée letters.
Dark Chocolate Layer:
- 150 g dark chocolate (54%)
- Gently melt the chocolate (if needed, over a double boiler).
- Using a pastry brush, spread an even layer of chocolate over the top of each marzipan layer.
- Place the cookies in the refrigerator so the chocolate can set.
Vanilla Whipped Ganache:
- 2 vanilla bean pods (or 2 tsp vanilla paste)
- 375 ml whole milk
- 75 g egg yolks (approx. 4 medium egg yolks)
- 45 g caster sugar
- 40 g cornstarch
- 300 ml whipping cream (whipped to soft peaks)
- Whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and 75 ml of whole milk in a bowl.
- Heat 300 ml of whole milk, the vanilla seeds, and the vanilla bean to a boil in a saucepan.
- When the milk reaches a boil, pour it over the egg yolk mixture while whisking.
- Pour the cream back into the saucepan and bring it to a boil, whisking constantly.
- Once the cream has thickened well, remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Transfer the cream (now, ganache) to a bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap. Let it cool completely in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight
- Once the ganache is thoroughly chilled, remove the vanilla bean and briefly whisk the ganache.
- Whip 300 ml of heavy cream until medium-stiff peaks are formed.
- Fold the whipped cream into the vanilla ganache and transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a round tip (I used a size 18).
- Pipe the whipped ganache onto the cakes.
Decoration:
- 2 large trays of fresh strawberries
- flowers (edible or secured with safety seal / edible wax)
- Garnish with fresh strawberries and, if desired, edible flowers.
