Fraisier Parfaits

Strawberry Gelee with a Chocolate Custard over Black Magic Cake

This is the most moist and tender crumbed cake that ever reigned. This recipe was given to me by my best friend's mom “Medo”. I have layered it with a topping of strawberry gelee and chocolate custard. This is a most amazing and refreshing dessert. Chocolate Custard is inspired by Dini at The Flavor Bender.

Black Magic Cake:

1 ¾ cups flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup strong coffee (or 1 cup water with 1 Tbsp instant espresso powder or 3 Tbsp instant coffee)

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice)

½ cup vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

1 tsp vanilla

Spray oil

Cinnamon sugar mixture

Preheat oven to 350*  Spray oil 3 round 9“ cake pans and sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon sugar. Whisk dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Whisk eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla together and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix together with a wooden spoon until just incorporated. Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a tester/toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Gather parfait cups or small glasses. Cut a cake into rounds the size of your parfait cup and place on the bottom. Save cake scraps for the top and freeze any leftover cakes for another use. Make Frasier Gelee.

Frasier Gelee:

1 1/4 cups strawberries, pureed

1 lemon juiced

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 envelope knox gelatin

In a blender, puree the berries, lemon juice and sugar. In a 2 cup measurer, pour the gelatin over the water and let bloom one minute. In the microwave cook the bloomed gelatin for one minute. Pour the berry mixture in a bowl and add the gelatin, let set for a few minutes (about 15). The berries will still be pourable but also gelled a bit. Pour over the cake layer in your parfait glasses and chill in the fridge (I placed a spoon over a couple of cake rounds that wanted to float until the gel is slightly set). Make chocolate custard.

Chocolate Custard:

2 ¼ cups milk 

2 tbsp cocoa powder

½ cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

3 eggs

6 oz chocolate chips

2 tbsp butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla 

Cook milk in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt together with the eggs. Add a ladleful of hot milk over the egg mixture while whisking to temper the eggs. Keep ladling/whisking until you have half of the milk in the bowl. Whisk back into the milk pan and stir until it is slightly thickened. Add chocolate chips until melted and custard is thick. Take off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Let cool before spooning over the gelee. Spoon a tbsp of custard into the leftover cake scraps and stir into moist crumbs. Top the parfaits and add some small strawberries decoratively on top.