From A Past Edition Of The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Andrea's Strawberry Cake Lonnie Knisley, the talented pastry chef at Andrea's and many other restaurants until he died young, made an incredible strawberry cake made with layers of genoise, whipped cream, and strawberries. It gets the same job done that a strawberry shortcake does, but in a lighter, more visually interesting way. I originally wrote this recipe for Andrea's cookbook from Lonnie's recipe. 1 pint strawberries 1/2 cup sugar 1 oz. Kirschwasser (a cherry brandy) 3/4 cup whipped cream 1 genoise cake, cut into three layers (see recipe) 1. Wash the strawberries. Cut off the leaves and the white part right next to the leaves. Slice the strawberries about 1/4 inch thick, slicing from top to bottom. Set aside the end slices for garnishing the top. 2. Make a simple syrup by dissolving the sugar in 1/4 cup of warm water. Stir in the Kirschwasser. 3. Brush the top of the bottom third of the cake with the Kirschwasser syrup. With a spatula, spread about a half inch of whipped cream on top. Place strawberries generously on top of the whipped cream. 4. Brush one side of another layer of the cake with the Kirschwasser syrup and place it on top of the first. Brush the top with syrup, then lay down another layer of whipped cream and strawberries. Repeat the procedure for the third layer. Smooth the whipped cream around the sides and top. Use the round-end strawberries to decorate the top. Serves eight to ten. Genoise (Basic Sponge Cake) This is the basic cake to use for light layered cakes, like the strawberry cake above. 5 eggs 2 egg yolks 6 1/2 oz. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 6 1/2 oz. cake flour 1/4 tsp. cornstarch Pinch salt Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 1. Blend the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a mixer bowl with a wire whip attachment until the mixture doubles in volume--about 15 minutes on high speed. Just before stopping the mixer, add the vanilla and mix in. 2. Sift together the cake flour, cornstarch and salt. Fold the dry mixture into the egg mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, just until blended. 3. Coat two 10-inch round cake pans with shortening. Pour the batter into the pans and put them immediately into a preheated 350-degree oven. Bake until tops are springy to the touch--about 45-50 minutes. 4. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool on a wire rack. When cool, use a long serrated knife to slice off the tops of the cakes, and then into as many as three layers. Makes two cakes. Click here for an index of recipes from past editions. © 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com