japanese strawberry shortcake 1

Recently, I was introduced to strawberry souffle a wonderfully soft and luscious strawberry shortcake/cheesecakee by Chef Yamashita of Flor Patisserie. This started a little experiment of me desperately trying to re-create the cake. After some research on the net, I decided to use a combination of the sponge cake recipe from Corner Cafe and La Fuji Mama. However, the results were not what I was looking for. The cream and strawberry mix was good. The cake was soft and fluffy but a little on the dry side. I baked the sponge cake twice, and even adjusted the ingredients but still ended up with the same results. After revisiting the website, I concluded that the cake is supposed to be a little dry, hence we are back to the drawing board.

Basic Sponge Cake (modified from Corner Cafe)
4 eggs at room temperature
1/2 tsp fine salt
100g caster sugar
120g cake flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
30g unsalted butter, melted
30ml hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 170-180°C. Grease a 20cm x 6cm deep round cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Sift cake flour and baking powder three times, set aside. Mix melted butter and hot water together; set aside.

2. Beat eggs and salt for about 1 minute on medium high speed. Start adding sugar gradually as you continue to beat the egg mixture. Beat until the mixture leaves a trail of ribbon when you lift the egg beater; total beating time can be 6 to 10 minutes depending on the power of your beater.

3. Sift the flour mixture in about 3 to 4 batches onto the egg mixture. Fold in with a big metal spoon after sifting in each batch of flour mixture. Once all the flour is folded in, add vanilla, and pour the melted butter and hot water mixture along the outer edges of the mixing bowl and fold in until thoroughly combined; do this as lightly and quickly as you can.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and give the tin a tap on the bench to get rid of any large bubbles in the batter. Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until cooked. The cake is done when it is golden brown and springs back when pressed lightly.

5. Remove from oven and give the tin another tap on the bench. Turn out immediately on to a clean tea towel placed on top of a wire rack; tea towel prevents wire rack marking top of the sponge. Immediately turn right side up on to another wire rack to cool completely; cool away from draughts to avoid shrinking.

Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting (modified from La Fuji Mama)
300ml whipping cream
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp gelatin
4 tsp cold water

1. Put the cold water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and let stand for 5 minutes (do not stir). Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon just until the gelatin dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool to room temperature.

2.In a mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until slightly thickened. Then, while beating slowly, gradually pour the gelatin into the whipped cream mixture. Then whip the mixture at high speed until stiff.

For the simple syrup
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water

1. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and water. Bring the water to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

To assemble the cake

1. Reserve 4-6 strawberries for decorating the cake. Dice up 6-8 strawberries.

2. Slice the sponge cake horizontally into 2 layers.

3. Place one sponge layer cut-side up on a cake board or serving plate and lightly brush the surface with the simple syrup. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream over the cake layer and arrange the diced strawberry over the surface. Spread an additional layer of whipped cream over the strawberries. Brush the cut-side of the second layer with the simple syrup and place it over the first layer. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining whipped cream. Decorate as desired and garnish with the reserved strawberries.