Strawberry and Cream Sponge Cake
Yields: 2 9-inch layer cakes
Ingredients:
SPONGE CAKE:
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6 eggs, separated *at room temperature
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1 cup castor sugar
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1/4 cup water
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1 cup cake flour1
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1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar2
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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½ kilo fresh strawberries, washed, stemmed and sliced
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a tin of pineapple chunks
WHIPPED CREAM:
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2 cups very cold whipping cream3
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1/2 cup powdered sugar
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
For the Sponge Cake:
Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks until very thick and lemon colored. Beat in sugar gradually. Add water and vanilla extract. Beat again. Mix in the flour.
In another clean bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. Then add cream of tartar and salt. Beat mixture until glossy and stiff peaks form.
Fold the whipped egg whites mixture into yolk mixture, gradually and very carefully, so as to not deflate the egg whites.
Pour the batter into two ungreased 9 inch pans lined with parchment paper.4
Bake for 60 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool completely before inverting.
For the Whipped Cream:5
In a large metal bowl, pour the cream and mix on low-medium speed for several minutes. Once the cream starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip on medium-high until soft peaks form.
Assembling:
Place one of the layers on a serving plate. Brush on the pineapple syrup, that comes in the can of pineapples, evenly and quite liberally onto the first layer. Spread spoonfuls of the whipped cream and spread evenly over the cake layer. Arrange the pineapple chunks over the cream. Top with another spoonful of cream and spread once again.
Top with the second layer of sponge cake, and brush with more of the pineapple syrup. Now, using an offset spatula or a plain knife, cover the entire cake completely with the remaining whipped cream.
Decorate with sliced strawberries. Slice and serve. Store any leftover cake, covered, in the fridge. This cake is best served chilled.
Enjoy!
Notes:
1. DIY Cake Flour: Measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and place it back in your flour jar. Replace the removed flour with 2 tablespoons of cornflour. Sift 2-3 times.
2. Cream of Tartar substitute: ¼ tsp lemon juice or vinegar. You can also completely omit the cream of tartar, it just helps to stabilize the egg whites.
3. I used and recommend Olpher’s Cream. 2 packs of it; 400ml in total.
4. Spray a bit of oil on the bottom of you pan, so that the parchment paper sticks to it. But DON’T grease the parchment paper.
5. The colder the cream, the faster it will whip. See tips above in the description on how to whip cream the right way.
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