Delicious Mango Green Tea Shortcake Recipe: A Refreshing Twist on a Classic Dessert!

VIDEO

If you have landed on my previous post on Soft Sponge Cakes, here is a follow up on what you can do with the green tea sponge. Fruits that are used in this post are of season when I made them, but you can definitely find other variations of fruits to use that suits you. Mango, raspberry and green tea is a classic combination that just works really well together.

MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM

If you are not sure what type of cream to use for the purpose of covering the cake, it is reccomended that you find a thickened cream or whipping cream that have atleast 35% fat. The fat content will allow for the cream to hold better after being whipped with more stability. In Australia, I like using Bulla's thickened cream that has added stabiliser, which gives it a better hold.

Alternatively, you can use any type of cream with the reccomended fat content with the addition mascarpone cheese. Due to it high fat content at around 60% - 70% and its smooth silky texture, mascarpone cheese is a good combination to add to the the task for covering cakes and not to mention the creamy taste to your dessert.

CAN I SUBSTITUTE MASCARPONE CHEESE WITH CREAM CHEESE

Although somewhat similar, with both being made from the coagulating process of acidic reaction, cream cheese is made from milk and cream and has a more acidity flavour in comparison to mascarpone, which is made from purely cream and has a sweeter flavour. If you like that tangy flavour in your cake, cream cheese can be used instead.

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To make the mango green tea shortcake...

RECIPE

GREEN TEA SPONGE RECIPE

Equipment: 1 x (15cm diameter x 6.5cm depth) removable base cake pan (The cake pan needs to be the non non-stick type)

INGREDIENTS	QUANTITY
Egg Whites	90g
Cream of tartar	pinch
Caster Sugar	90g
Egg Yolks	60g
Cake Flour	80g
Green Tea Powder	10g
Baking Powder	1/4 teaspoon

TO MAKE THE GREEN TEA SPONGE CAKE

1. Pre heat the oven to 170˚C. 

2. Place the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until soft peak and there are no liquid egg whites remaining.

3. Stream in the caster sugar while continuously whisking. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and continue whisking until you achieve a stiff peak.

4. Add the egg yolks in the meringue and whisk to combine. Once you can drop and 8 figure with the cake batter on top without it disappearing for 5 seconds, the batter is well whipped and ready for the next step.

5. Mix the cake flour, green tea powder and baking powder together in a bowl. In seperate additions, sift in the dry mixture over the top of the egg foam and gently fold through. Continue with more sifted flour and fold until you have added all of the rest of the dry ingredients.

   Note: It is important to not add too much dry ingredients each time to prevent them from sinking in and collapse the air in the egg mixture. Gently fold through without being too vigorous will ensure that your sponge cake is light and fluffy. Take your time and be gentle with the mix.

6. In a seperate bowl, mix the room temperature milk and oil together. Scoop our a generous amout of the foam mixture into the liquid and gently stir. Add more foam mixture if needed until the liquid base is a similar lightness with the foam mixture. Add in the foamed liquid mixture back into the egg base and gently fold again until they are well mixted through.

   Note: The liquid base needs to be the same lightness to the egg foam base otherwise they can be too heavy and when added back to the egg foam base, can collapse all the air pockets and cause the base to be overly dense after baking.

7. Transfer the sponge mix into two seprate removable base cake tin, approximately 330g each pan.

8. Place the cake tin onto a baking tray and bake at the lowest part of your home oven for approximately 35 minutes or until when tested with a skewer, it comes out clean.

9. Once bake, drop each cake tin down gently to tap the cake down to prevent excessive shrinkage. Then, turn the cake upside down over a wire rack to cool completely.

10. Once cooled, run a sharp pairing knife on the edges to realease the cake, gently pull the base off from the cake.

11. Wrap each sponge cake in cling wrap to prevent from drying out.

12. You can either reserve them at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze them for future use.

    The sponge cake will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

    
    

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VANILLA MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM

INGREDIENTS	QUANTITY
Thickened Cream 35% Fat	500ml
Icing Sugar	50g
Mascarpone	80g
Vanilla Bean Paste	10g

TO MAKE THE VANILLA MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM

1. Place all the ingredients cold into a standmixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

2. Whisk to a spreadable consistency on medium speed.

   
   

Note: It is important to not whisk on high speed to prevent too much large air pocket. The consistency of the cream is best when it is not too stiff but just viscous enough to spread.

I like to divide the whip cream recipe to 2 parts and whisk them seperately so that they do not lose too much of its form for the final masking but if you are a fast, doing them all at once is fine too.

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ASSEMBLY

INGREDIENTS	QUANTITY
Fresh Mangoes	4 - 5

1. To assemble, gently rub the sponge cake to remove as much crumbs and skins as possible. This will allow for a cleaner masking

2. Slice the sponge cake to THREE equal slices horizontally. I have sliced them to approximately 1.5cm thick each.

3. Place the first layer of sponge onto turntable.

4. Whisk the mascarpone whipped cream as instructed.

5. Top with a small amount to of the whipped cream and smooth out with a smoothing pallette knife. Top with some cubed mangoes then place another small amount of cream on top of the mangoes and smooth out. Make sure to fill out any gaps with the cream between the sponges.

6. Place the second sponge on top and repeat step #5.

7. Place the third and final slice of sponge on top.

8. Starting from the edges, add some cream and give the edges its crumb coat, filling in any gaps between each layer of sponge. Then add a small amount of the whipped cream on top and smooth out the top.

9. Starting from the edges again, scoop some of the whipped cream onto the edges and smooth out with the palette knife and do the same for the top once again. Remove any uneven edges by pulling a small offset palette knife from the edge towards the center.

10. With the reserved whipped cream cream, pipe on top to decorate and top with some fresh mangoes and raspberries.

11. Place the finished cake into the fridge to firm up again for an hour before cutting and serving.

Slice up and enjoy:)

This shortcake will keep in the fridge to up to 2 days depending on your storage quality.