Strawberry Cake
A classic sponge cake decorated with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, made with a sponge cake base, filling layer, and smooth frosted topping.
Ingredients
whole egg
100 g
fine granulated sugar
75 g
low-gluten flour (sifted)
55 g
milk (heated in a water bath to 40°C)
10 ml
unsalted butter (melted in a water bath)
10 g
strawberry (for sandwich, hulled and cut in half)
100 g
powdered sugar (for sandwich)
15 g
white curaçao (for sandwich)
5 ml
heavy cream (42% fat) (for decoration)
200 ml
fine granulated sugar (for decoration)
15 g
white curaçao (for decoration)
10 ml
strawberry (for garnish)
to taste
pectin (store-bought) (for garnish)
to taste
vegetable oil (for greasing mold)
to taste
Instructions
1
Preparation
Grease the bottom and sides of the mold with vegetable oil, then line with baking paper. Sift the low-gluten flour. Place milk and butter in a mixing bowl, melt in a water bath, and maintain the water temperature at around 40°C. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2
Making the batter
Add whole eggs and fine granulated sugar to a mixing bowl, whisk on high speed while heating in a water bath. When the egg mixture reaches around 40°C, stop heating and switch to low speed to mix. Whisk until the batter forms a ribbon-like strand that holds its shape and does not drip when the whisk is lifted.
3
Mixing ingredients
Add the sifted low-gluten flour in 2 to 3 batches, mixing with a spatula. When no flour is visible, add the heated milk and unsalted butter, and mix until the mixture is smooth, glossy and fine in texture.
4
Baking
Pour the batter into the mold, gently tap the mold 1 to 2 times to release air bubbles. Place in the preheated 180°C oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Once done, remove from the mold together with the baking paper, and cool on a wire rack.
5
Preparing strawberries and cake base
Hull the sandwich strawberries and cut them in half, then mix with powdered sugar and white curaçao. Remove the baking paper from the cooled cake, trim the top and bottom surfaces flat, cut the cake horizontally into two even layers, and label the top layer as (A) and bottom layer as (B).
6
Making decorative cream
Place heavy cream, fine granulated sugar and white curaçao in a bowl set over ice water, and whip to about 80% stiffness.
7
Assembling the filling
Place the bottom layer (B) on a cake turntable, spread a layer of whipped cream, arrange the prepared strawberries (leave the center empty), spread more cream over the strawberries and in the gaps, then cover with the top layer (A) and press lightly.
8
Icing and decorating
Spread the remaining whipped cream evenly over the top and sides of the cake, and smooth the surface. Make light marks on the cake, then pipe cream into the marks using a piping bag. Place the garnishing strawberries (coated with pectin) on top of the piped cream.
