Japanese Strawberry Sponge Cake Strawberry Shortcake Food

JAPANESE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients.

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.

CHINESE STEAMED SPONGE CAKE (PERFECT FOR STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE)

Steps:

• SPONGE CAKE: Sift the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda together.
• Melt the shortening in a double boiler. Stir in oil and allow to cool.
• Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is thick and foamy Stir in the milk and oil. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts. Gently stir flour mixture into the egg mixture. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Pour into a greased 9 inch round cake tin, and spread evenly across tin with back of spoon.
• Place cake tin into a steamer and cover. If you do not have a steamer, you can place the cake tin on top of a vegetable steaming rack, a cookie cooling rack, or criss cross several large spoons in the bottom of a large pot. I place my cake tin on top of a cookie cooling rack in the bottom of a large pot filled with a half inch of water, and this works fine.
• Cover with a lid and steam for 25 minutes. When removing the lid, do not allow the condensation from the lid to drip on the cake. The top of the cake may be moist in the center from the condensation dripping from the lid while cooking. This is fine and the center of the cake will air dry once you remove the cake from the steamer.
• Carefully remove cake tin from steamer. Remove the cake from the tin while it is still hot to a plate. Cut into 6 to 8 wedges and serve hot or cold. Can be eaten by itself or topped with Strawberry Topping and Sweetened Whipped Cream.
• STRAWBERRY TOPPING: To make Strawberry Topping, drain strawberries, reserving 3/4 cup strawberry juice.
• In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in reserved strawberry juice.
• Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, boil for 1 minute.
• Remove from heat, and cool slightly. Stir in strawberries. Cool completely. Makes 3 cups.
• SWEETENED WHIPPED CREAM: To make Sweetened Whipped Cream, beat heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons sugar in chilled bowl with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Makes 4 cups.