If you are looking for the ultimate soft and spongy recipe to make a great Asian style strawberry shortcake, you have come to the right space. :)
Before you dive in to baking the recipe, below are some of the things you may want to pre-empt and prepare ahead of time.
PREPARATIONS
It is recommended that you use a removable base non non-stick tin. As the sponge is really light and delicate, a non-stick tin can cake the cake to come off the sides and start shrinking inwards during cooling.
I know the traditional way of making an asian cream cake is to get a stabalised whipping cream (Cream that usually as added stabiliser or sometimes gelatine in them) and whipping them with some icing sugar. I prefer to use the vanilla white chocolate whip cream (recipe below), as the chocolate sets upon cooler temperature, which gives the cream a better stability. This means that you can cut through the chilled cake after masking without squashing them!
If you opt for the white chocolate whip cream I am providing you in this post, it is important that you prepare them ahead of time as the cream needs time to rest and chill before they can be whipped up. The time for resting the cream base is at least 6 hours in the fridge or preferably overnight for better stability when being whipped.
Once you have the correct baking pan and have your chocolate whipped cream ready and chillin', it is then time to make the sponge cake!
STEPS BY STEP IN MAKING OF THE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
This is a summary of what to expect in preparation of the strawberry shortcake. But if you are an experienced baker, you can skip this part and jump straight to the recipe.
Prepare everything a day ahead. Most of the steps requires a resting and chilling time. By having all the components ready a day ahead will make the composition of this shortcake a breeze and more stress free.
First Step: White Chocolate Whipped Cream
Prepare the Vanilla White Chocolate Whipped Cream ahead of them and chill them in the fridge for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. The chocolate whip cream base can keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Second Step: Sponge Cake
Next, it is time to prepare the sponge cake. The sponge cake once baked, will require some time to chill. I often like to prepare the sponge cake a day ahead together with the Vanilla White Chocolate Whipped Cream so that in day 2, I can just go ahead and assemble.
The sponge cake, once cooled, can be wrapped and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days or keep in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Third Step: Quick Strawberry Jam
This is an optional component but I do feel that add a little extra flavour to the cake itself. This quick jam requires time to fully cool and will set firm. Before using, emulsify with a stick blender until smooth.
RECIPE
VANILLA WHITE CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM
Note: You will need to prepare the whipped cream base several hours ahead or preferably a day prior for better whipping stability.
This recipe is enough to fill and mask one complete strawberry shortcake. If you wish you make two complete cakes, you will need to double the recipe.
INGREDIENT | QUANTITY |
Thickened Cream 35% Fat (A) | 210ml |
Vanilla Bean Paste | 10g |
Glucose | 30g |
White Coverture Chocolate | 210g |
Thickened Cream 35% Fat (B) | 300ml |
TO MAKE THE VANILLA WHITE CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM
Place the Cream (A), vanilla bean paste and glucose in a saucepan and bring to a mere boil.
Place the white coverture chocolate in a deep jug then pour the hot cream over. Emulsify with a stick blender and leave to cool to below 35˚C.
Finally, add in the Cream(B) and emulsify again with a stick blender.
Cover the whipping cream base with cling film touching to prevent from forming a skin.
Store in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or preferable overnight.
Note: The chocolate whipped cream will not whipped well if they have not chilled and rested enough.
VANILLA SPONGE CAKE
Equipment: 2 x (15cm diameter x 6.5cm depth) removable base cake tin (The cake pan needs to be the non non-stick type)
NOTE: This recipe makes two sponge cakes. I often like to make one extra sponge cake to reserve for later use. Since you are going through all the effort of making them, it never hurts to make some extra to save time for the future :)
INGREDIENT | QUANTITY |
Egg Whites | 180g |
Cream of tartar | pinch |
Caster Sugar | 180g |
Egg Yolks | 120g |
Cake Flour | 180g |
Baking Powder | ½ teaspoon |
TO MAKE THE VANILLA SPONGE CAKE
Pre heat the oven to 170˚C.
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.
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.
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.
Mix the cake flour 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.
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.
Transfer the sponge mix into two seprate removable base cake tin, approximately 330g each pan.
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.
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.
Once cooled, run a sharp pairing knife on the edges to realease the cake, gently pull the base off from the cake.
Wrap each sponge cake in cling wrap to prevent from drying out.
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.
STRAWBERRY JAM
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Strawberry Puree | 200ml |
Caster Sugar (A) | 70g |
Pectin NH | 4g |
Caster Sugar(B) | 30g |
Lemon Juice | 10ml |
TO MAKE THE STRAWBERRY JAM
Place the strawberry puree and caster sugar (A) into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, in a seperate bowl, mix together the pectin and Caster sugar (b).
Once the puree has come to a boil, sprinke in the pectin mixture while continously whisking, then continue to boil for another 1 minute.
Add the lemon juice then remove from the heat.
Transfer the jam into a jug and leave to completely cool.
Upon cooling, the jam will start to firm up. Before using, simply emulsify until smooth.
Store in the fridge until ready to use.
ASSEMBLY
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Fresh Strawberries | 250g (1 x punnet) |
Note: We will be dividing the chocolate whip cream to two parts. One will be whipped to a firmer consistency for layering and the other to a firm but softer consistency for masking.
To assemble, gently rub the sponge cake to remove as much crumbs and skins as possible. This will allow for a cleaner masking
Slice the sponge cake to THREE equal slices horizontally. I have slice them to approximately 1.5cm thick each.
To prepare the white chocolate whipped cream, transfer 1/2 of the base into a standmixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Place the other half of the whip cream base back into the fridge for the second part of the assembly.
Whip the cream on medium peak until you get a semi firm consistency.
Place the first layer of sponge onto turntable.
Spread a small amount of the strawberry jam on top, ensuring you scrape off any excess. Too much of the jam can cause the cream to slide too much making it hard to spread.
Top with a small amount to of the whipped cream and smooth out with a smoothing pallette knife. Top with some washed and sliced strawberries then place another small amount of cream on top of the strawberries and smooth out.
Place the second sponge on top and repeat step #8 & #9.
Place the third and final slice of sponge on top.
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.
Clean off the edges and transfer the crumbed coated cake onto a cake base. Place in the fridge for about 30 to 40 minutes to firm up slightly before proceeding to the final masking with the rest of the Whip Cream Base.
NOTE: with the remainder of the firm whipped cream, transfer into a piping bag fitted with your desired pastry tip. Place in the fridge until ready to use for final piping as decorations.
When the cake has chilled enough, you can now remove the remainder of the whip cream base from the fridge, only this time, whip it up to a firm but slightly softer consistency for a smoother finishing.
Start from the edges again, scoop some of the medium whipped cream onto the edges and smoothe out with the palette knife and do the same for the top. Remove any uneven edges by pulling a small offset palette knife from the edge towards the center.
With the reserved whipped cream from step #9, pipe on top to decorate and top with some strawberries.
Place the finished cake into the fridge to firm up again for an hour before cutting and serving.
Slice up and enjoy:)
The shortckae will keep in the fridge to up to 2 -3 days depending on your storage quality.
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