Japanese Sponge Cake Recipe 445 Food

JAPANESE STRAWBERRY SPONGE CAKE (STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE)

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C/356°F.
• Coat the inside of an 18cm/7" cake tin (note 6) with butter, dust with flour, then shake off the excess flour.
• Put the egg yolks in a bowl, add ⅔ of the sugar and beat the egg yolks until they become whitish and thick. Draw a ribbon with the whisk and if the ribbon disappears slowly (see the Video), it is ready.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites. When the small bubbles form and the volume of the egg white doubles, add the remaining sugar in 2-3 batches and beat further to make meringue.
• When the meringue becomes firm and it can form a peak when you lift the whisk (see the step-by-step photo and video in the post), it is ready.
• Put the flour through the sifter and add to the beaten egg yolk. Fold the batter with a spatula.
• Transfer ⅓ of the meringue to the batter and mix with a whisk until the batter becomes smooth.
• Add the remaining meringue to the batter in 2-3 batches and fold.
• Pour the melted butter into the batter and fold several times. It's OK even if the butter is not completely mixed.
• Pour the batter into the cake tin. Drop the tin onto the work bench to settle the batter in the tin.
• Cook in the oven at 180°C/356°F for 25 minutes. Insert a thin bamboo skewer in the centre of the cake to see if the skewer comes out dry. If the skewer is a bit wet, cook further 5 minutes.
• Take the tin out of the oven and drop the tin onto the workbench a couple of times to detach the cake from the tin. Remove the cake from the tin and place it on a rack, upside down (bottom side up). Let it cool completely.
• If making syrup, put the Syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. When the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat off. Let it cool.
• Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Wipe the strawberries with a wet kitchen paper, remove the stems and halve 10 strawberries.
• Leave the sponge cake upside down as is and slice it horizontally in half (note 7), remove the top half and place it next to the bottom half of the cake, cut side up.
• Using a brush, coat the cut surface of the two sponge cakes with the syrup gently.
• Drop about 3 heaped tablespoons of the whipped cream on the bottom half of the sliced cake and spread it to cover the entire surface. Fill the surface with the halved strawberries, without a gap as much as possible.
• Drop about 4 heaped tablespoons of the whipped cream on and spread it to cover the strawberries and the round edge.
• Place the top half of the cake on it, syrup side down. Gently press down, making sure the top and bottom cakes are aligned. Fill the gap around the strawberry filling on the side with whipped cream.
• (Optional) thinly coat the top and the side of the cake with whipped cream. It is OK not to completely cover the sponge. Leave the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes (note 8).
• Using a cake spatula or a long flat spatula, fully cover the top and the side of the cake with the remaining whipped cream, leaving some (about minimum of 4-5 tablespoons) for piping.
• Put the remaining cream in a piping bag with a round nozzle. Squeeze out the cream to make a mound of cream in 8 positions around the edge of the surface. Place a strawberry on each mound.

JAPANESE SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Grease and line a 7-inch (18 cm) round cake pan with parchment paper.
• Whisk eggs very well in a bowl. Place bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with warm water to make a warm water bath. Continue to whisk eggs. Add sugar a little at a time, whisking all the while.
• When the egg mixture is a light yellow color, sift the flour and add it to the eggs along with the baking soda (if using) and mix in lightly.
• Warm the milk in the microwave; add butter and stir until melted. Add milk mixture and vanilla (if using) to egg mixture and stir in gently.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350° F for 25-35 minutes (cake should be springy in center when gently pressed with fingers).
• Remove cake from pan and cool on wire rack.
• When cake is cool, slice in half horizontally to make 2 layers.
• In a large bowl, whip cream and sugar together until fairly stiff. Divide whipped cream into two portions; set one half aside.
• To remaining half of whipped cream, add chopped fruit as desired. Spread fruited whipped cream over the bottom half of the cake. Top with upper half, and spread whipped cream over top, and sides of cake if desired (or leave them uncovered if preferred). Garnish top with additional fresh fruit and serve.

JAPANESE SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Measure the plain flour and sieve a least once.
• Add the flour to the melted butter after the butter is cooled. Mixed well.
• Add the milk. Mix well.
• Lightly beat the egg yolks and add to the flour-butter-milk mixture. Mix it thoroughly.
• Beat the egg whites with a hand-held mixer at low speed.
• Add the sugar into the egg white after about fifteen seconds of beating.
• Continue beating the egg whites until it can form a stiff peak.
• Add a quarter of the meringue to the batter to dilute the batter so that it is easier to mix, then add the diluted batter back to the bulk of the meringue. Fold the meringue into the batter slowly until it is almost homogenous.
• Line the cake pan with a large piece of baking paper. Brush the paper with some melted butter.
• Pour the cake mix into the pan.
• Gently tap the cake pan a few times to break the large bubbles.
• Place the cake on the lowest rack, with the hot water bath. Bake at 160 °C/320°F for sixty minutes.

JAPANESE SPONGE CAKE (KASUTERA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Beat eggs until frothy; gradually add in confectioners' sugar and honey; beat until mixture leaves ribbons (12 minutes).
• Sift baking powder and flour together; sift into bowl.
• Gently fold in dry ingredients until just combined.
• Carefully pour into greased cake tin.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• You can also steam this cake for a traditional cake that is springy and light.