Strawberry & vanilla choux cake

This cake is a simpler and more rustic version of a Polish karpaka and it is truly wonderous. It’s a great way to use strawberries and would be a good choice for the Christmas menu.

Serves 6-8

For the choux

75ml milk

75ml water

75g butter

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

100g plain flour sifted

3 large eggs (about 170g) at room temperature, beaten lightly. The eggs should be weighed without shells

For the filling

300mls cream

1 big tablespoon of icing sugar + extra for dusting

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

1 cup store-bought custard (I use Meadow Fresh Thick & creamy as it is the thickest and so holds well)

1-2 cups sliced strawberries

For the dough

Preheat the oven to 200 C fan. Line the bottoms of two 23cm springform tins with baking paper and grease the sides with butter. If you have only one springform, you will need to bake one layer of the cake and then prepare the form again to bake the second layer.

In a pot combine water, milk, butter, sugar and salt and heat over medium heat until it starts simmering. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Mix until no dry flour is left, bring back to the heat set to low and stir continuously cook until it forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the pot. It will leave some residue on the base of the pot too. Remove from the heat then beat it hard with a wooden spoon, hand beaters or in a standing mixer until it cools some. Start adding the eggs a third at a time and beating until you have a mixture that is glossy and smooth. I add the final third of egg more slowly to get the right consistency – you may not need it all. The dough should be firm enough to hold its shape, just shy of dropping consistency. 

Split the dough between both tins and spread it over the base and scrape it up the sides a bit too. Make sure the surface is a bit uneven as this will create random hills and valleys on the surface once cooked which is what we want. 

Bake for about 25 minutes or until reaching a deep, even golden-brown colour on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down for 10 minutes before removing it from the tin onto a cooling rack to cool down completely. Repeat the process if using only one spring form tin.

Whip the cream with icing sugar and vanilla until quite stiff. Fold in the custard

To assemble the cake:  Place the springform ring only on a serving plate and place one of the choux discs, perhaps the one least puffed up, into it. Spoon over half the custard cream mixture, scatter over strawberries (some can be left to serve alongside the dessert) then the remaining custard cream. Cover with the second choux disc press a little bit to secure it.  Chill for 2-3 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve remove the ring, dust with plenty of icing sugar and serve in lovely big wedges. 

Note: 

When you spread the dough into the tins you won’t think you have enough but it puffs magically!