This strawberry torte is simple; and by this I mean, not fancy, nearly rustic in appearance and suitable for a picnic table. I left the sides uncovered so that everyone could see all the layers that make up the cake, like a trifle without the bowl. I just had to let the dacquoise poke out because I thought it was a terrible shame to trim it into obscurity. Perhaps the piping on top is a bit fanciful, but I made it for Nana’s (my step mother, my boys call her Nana so now we all do!) birthday party and I wanted it to be fun and whimsical.
All of the components to this strawberry torte are simple to make, but there are 3 of them: the orange scented sponge, toasted almond dacquoise and a stabilized strawberry whipped cream. Nothing challenging, but planning and time are required to get all these things prepared. Here is how…
You will need to make these elements ahead:
Strawberry Jam, preferably some that your friend has made from the fresh strawberries she picked from an organic farm. My friend Jen did exactly that and gave me several jars. The first one the boys and I ate out of the jar with 3 spoons. The next jar I created this cake with and I have one more precious jar hidden for a rainy day!
Trim the top off of the sponge cake and spread the jam over the entire surface of the cake.
Place a layer of the dacquoise and then spread the strawberry cream on top.
Repeat so that you have as many layers as you want and the cake remains stable.
Finish the last layer of sponge cake with more jam and then pipe the strawberry cream on the top. Or you can spread the cream on as before and then decorate with fresh strawberries and edible flowers.
Vanilla ice cream, some candles and you have a party! Happy Birthday Nana!!!!
Hi Zoë –
What a beautiful cake. I can’t wait to make it with my raspberry jam.
As an aside what fun it was to assist you at your Bread Class at Cooks of Crocus Hill based on your book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Regardless of how many times I work with you I always learn something new.
One question, how does dacquoise hold up in this Minnesota humidity?
Thanks so much,
Bret
Hi Bret!
Fabulous to see you in class, and what a treat to see your name in the comments!
Yeah, the MN humidity is not kind to anything crispy, including dacquoise. You really need to make it and use it on the same day. In our long drawn out winters it will last for a couple of days. An upside to winter I suppose.
Thanks!
Zoe
What gorgeous flavors! And the layers look out of this world! Fantastic job!
A fabulous torte! Very pretty and delicious looking!
Cheers,
Rosa
Love the puff decorations on top!
Nana is one lucky lady! It’s wonderful.
Thanks! Nana deserves it and more!
Zoë
What a lovely cake!It looks pretty.I followed your recipe and made this for X-mas.Thanks a lot..
I couldn’t make it as adorable as u did..you can check it out in my blog..
Love,
Madhu
Hi Zoe
I absolutely love your site and the clarity of your instructions and pics. I just fell in love with baking and taking a chance on making some of the more exotic cakes. I am usually making banana breads, corn breads or some kind of muffins etc. I first tried your Ultimate Carrot Cake, a few errors with the placement of the layers but overall, came out lovely…especially liked the added coconut. I am Caribbean so coconut is a very nice touch for me.
Question… which tip would I use to pipe the strawberry cream?