Hello my lovelies.

Today I have bad news… I accidentally deleted a whole album of photos that are embedded to this blog. So if you see that photobucket icon that says the photo doesn’t exist, my bad. I spent one whole day trying to find the photos but unfortunately, not all of them are back where they belong. But I suppose I can only look forward to creating more images to compensate for the lost. *Sobs*

Lately a lot of people have been eating/talking about/asking me about strawberry cakes. And those people have one thing in common.. they really really love the Japanese strawberry cake!I don’t know why but I’m not a big fan of it. Maybe it’s all the cream or maybe it’s a bit too light for me. But one thing is for sure, I love looking at it.

Here’s the recipe I used from OKASHI by Keiko Ishida

Makes one 18cm cake

• 3 Tbsp Sugar syrup (made using 25g sugar and 50g water)
• 300g hulled and sliced Strawberries
• A portion of Whipped Cream
  >200g whipping cream (35% fat)
  >15g castor sugar
  >1/2tsp vanilla extract
  1. Combine ingredients in a clean bowl. Place bowl over a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and water.
  2. Using an electric mixer, whip cream at medium speed until stiff peaks form but cream is still smooth. Do not over-whip or the cream will become grainy and separate to form butter

  SPONGE

• 115g Pastry flour or top flour
• 170g Eggs
• 130g Castor Sugar
• 15g Glucose
• 30g unsalted butter
• 45g Fresh whole milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

  VANILLA CREAM

• 150g Whipping cream (35% fat)
• 20g Fresh whole milk
• 15g Castor sugar
• 1/2tsp Vanilla extract
• 4g Gelatin sheets, soaked in iced water to soften

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Line an 18-cm round cake pan with a removable base with parchment paper. Sift flour twice. Using a clean heatproof bowl, beat eggs with a whisk, then add sugar and glucose. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and mix well.
2. When egg mixture is warm, use an electric mixer to beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and continue beating for about 1 minute.
3. Place butter, milk and vanilla in a heatproof bowl and place over a pot of simmering water. Once butter has melted, stir though to mix
4. Add one-sixth of egg batter to butter mixture and mix well, then add butter mixture to remaining egg batter and fold through evenly. Sift flour into bowl and fold in using a spatula until batter becomes glossy.
5. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pan and place on a wire rack in a plastic bag to cool. When cooled completely, trim crust off the top and bottom, then slice cake horizontally to get 2 layers.
6. Place 1 layer on a flat tray and brush evenly on both side with one-third of sugar syrup. Set this and other layer aside.
7. Make vanilla cream. Whip cream in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Place milk, sugar and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add softened gelatin sheets and mix well. Let milk mixture cool to about 30C, then add to whipped cream and fold until just incorporated.
8. Spread vanilla cream onto cake layer that was brushed with sugar syrup, then top with sliced strawberries. Place second layer of cake over and press down lightly. Refrigerate for a few minutes to set.
9. Prepare whipped cream.
10. Cover chilled with whipped cream, using a tablespoon to make slight indents for a decorative pattern. Garnish as desired and serve immediately.

My tip: If you’re keen on making Japanese cakes, you might want to invest in a hand mixer. Most of the recipes require a lot of mixing and proper speed at proper times is important.

Good luck and happy nom noming!
xx

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