Friday, April 4, 2014

FFWD - Visitandine


For French Fridays with Dorie this week, our assignment is to make a cake named after an order of French nuns - the Visitandine (recipe here).  This is a very simple white cake made with egg whites. 

Dorie suggested using the cake as a base for strawberry shortcake to dress it up.  The photos in her book of the "strawberry shortcake" Visitandine were so enchanting that I decided this was the route I had to go.  I split the batter between two 9" pans for baking, then sandwiched a slice with Greek yoghurt, raspberry curd and fresh raspberries.  It was the perfect treat for a sunny, warm autumn day. 

For the rest of the cake, which was travelling to work, the  strawberry shortcake version was not really an option, so I sandwiched the remainder of the two cakes together with raspberry curd and spread the top of the cake with yoghurt icing: 


Both versions were great, though of course the "raspberry shortcake" version was the best.  The cake is light and vanilla-tasting, so would complement a variety of flavours.

To see what the other Doristas thought of Visitandine, visit the LYL section of the website.

31 comments:

Kari said...

I love how the first picture looks like a sandwich :) Definitely better than a standard bread variety!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I love the sound of this yogurt icing! I'll definitely have to give that a go :)

Johanna GGG said...

I love all these recipe titles that dorie comes up - so many are new to me - I could just imagine visiting the convent and being offered a slice of this cake (alongside convent lemonade which is a strong memory of my childhood)

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

Classy and delicious, lovely recipe :D
I can feel the spongey!

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

2paw said...

Oh, how delicate and delicious. I have to ask: raspberry curd???

Mardi Michels said...

Oh the yoghurt icing! YUMMMMM!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Oh, my. TWO winning options!! I'm sure the work crew was thrilled :)

EmilyC said...

Both presentations look great!

Cher Rockwell said...

Smart to use two pans & I really like the idea of a raspberry curd. Yum...

Cakelaw said...

Bought on sale from DJs food hall - kind of like jam, but not.

Diane Balch said...

Wow... you were busy. I never made yogurt icing. Could you post a link for a recipe. I would really like to try it.

Susan said...

Yum! I love both versions. Raspberries and lemon are a particular favorite of mine! And, I'll bet your frieds were thrilled.

Evelyne CulturEatz said...

Wow the cake looks great, I would vote for the raspberry version too.

mou said...

Yogurt icing sounds really delicious.

Betsy said...

I love how you took slice for yourself to make the shortcake before icing the rest to take to work! Way to take care of yourself!

Diane Zwang said...

You are so nice to take a cake to work. Looks good.

Kathy said...

Love both of your versions…the raspberry curd sounds luscious! Very pretty cake, Gaye!

~~louise~~ said...

If there is one thing I have learned about Visitandine, beside the Nun connection, is, it is one versatile cake!

You have made it your own, Cakelaw and have done a wonderful job of it too!!! Thank you so much for sharing...

Anonymous said...

Very clever! Both look really good.
I am very appreciative when people bring cakes to work :)

Andrea_TheKitchenLioness said...

Both your "sandwiched" versions look delightfully delicious - like the sound of a yoghurt icing - it certainly makes the cake look very pretty. This was a wonderful easy recipe that we also enjoyed quite a bit.
Have a lovely weekend!

Teresa said...

Both your uses of this cake sound fantastic. The yogurt icing sounds especially intriguing!

Rose said...

Both versions looks wonderful, but of course that raspberry shortcake version sounds dreamy. Looks like yours rose a bit better than mine did if you were able to get two cakes out of it.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't this a fun recipe? Loved it. Yours looks delicious too! I shared mine - but plain. You have lucky co-workers!!

Unknown said...

I was also enchanted by the picture in the book! The fresh strawberries and cream mmm yum! I love that you iced it with yoghurt icing It must have been so fresh!

Trevor Sis Boom said...

I'd say you did very well to get two 9" ers out of it! You really made up a nice dessert here! Yum.

Cakelaw said...

Hi Diana, I used this recipe for sour cream icing and substituted yoghurt for sour cream:
kitchenlaw.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/black-vinegar-cake-with-sour-cream.html?m=1

Adriana said...

Thanks for sharing the icing recipe, Gaye. Raspberries and raspberry curd? Oh my. Your choices were super inspired.

One of my coworkers is on holiday in Australia and New Zealand. I'm jealous!

Mary Hirsch said...

The yogurt frosting sounds intriguing. I suspect your colleagues loved the treat. This seems to have been a winner for all of us. Both versions of yours - very pretty.

Cakelaw said...

Lovely - I hope they have a great time down under.

yummychunklet said...

Your cake looks fantastic!

Unknown said...

Yogurt icing sounds terrific. I can totally see that happening! Your raspberry filling sounds great too!