Delightful Strawberry Dessert Recipe

Preheat your oven to 210°C (fan mode).

The Joconde sponge. In a mixing bowl, sift the almond flour, powdered sugar, and flour. In another mixing bowl, whisk the whole eggs and then add the mixture of almond flour, powdered sugar, and flour. Whisk for 2 minutes. Melt the butter and set aside. Whip the egg whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar. Add the melted butter to the egg and flour mixture. Then gently fold in the whipped egg whites. Spread the batter onto a baking tray to a thickness of 1 cm and smooth the surface with a spatula. You should be able to cut out 2 circles of 16 cm. Bake the sponge for 10 to 12 minutes. The sponge should be golden and soft. Remove the sponge from the tray and let it cool. Then cut out your 2 circles of 16 cm, wrap them, and store at room temperature.

The soaking syrup: In a saucepan, pour in the water, sugar, and roughly crushed strawberries. Bring to a boil, then let the strawberries infuse in the syrup for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve to remove the strawberry pieces. Cover and place in the fridge. The syrup must be completely cooled before use.

Diplomat cream: Start by making a pastry cream: heat the milk with liquid vanilla and vanilla sugar. Bring to a boil. In parallel, rehydrate the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Add the cornstarch and mix. Pour the hot milk over the eggs, mix vigorously, and return everything to the saucepan. Over medium heat, whisk until the cream thickens. Place the cream in a wide-bottomed container, cover directly with plastic wrap, and let cool for 2 hours in the refrigerator. After 2 hours, whisk the pastry cream to make it smooth again. In a very cold bowl with a very cold whisk, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold it into the pastry cream using a spatula.

The assembly: Assemble directly on the serving dish. Place the 18 cm ring on the serving dish. Place the film all around the ring. Cut the fresh strawberries in half lengthwise and arrange them around the ring, cut side against the ring. Next, place the first 16 cm cake disk at the bottom of the ring. The cake should be in contact with the back of the strawberries. Using a brush, soak the cake with the cooled syrup. Now, pipe diplomat cream between each strawberry to avoid gaps or holes. Also pipe cream in the center on the cake. With a spatula, smooth the diplomat cream up along the ring to stretch it and spread it evenly. In the center, place small pieces of strawberries, pressing them lightly into the cream. Then cover with a bit of diplomat cream to hide the strawberries. Next, place the second cake disk on top of the cream, ensuring it is well centered, and press it slightly into the cream. Soak it with the syrup using a brush. Cover the cake with diplomat cream up to the height of the ring. Smooth the top with a large spatula or the back of a large knife.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

To finish, decorate to your liking; you can slice strawberries horizontally and then arrange them flat on the dessert. Enjoy!