Japanese sponge cakes generally have a lighter and softer texture than those I get in Australia, and possibly other Western countries. The texture is almost like my Cotton Cheesecake. The most popular sponge cake by far in Japan is today’s recipe Strawberry Sponge Cake. Japanese people call this Strawberry Shortcake.
It is basically a sponge cake covered with cream, and strawberries on top. Sliced strawberries and cream are often sandwiched inside. It takes a bit of care while mixing the batter for the sponge cake so that the sponge rises to at least 5cm/2″ tall with a fluffy texture (as seen in the video). But it is totally worth it.
Strawberry Shortcake means different things in different countries. The American version of strawberry shortcake is a biscuit with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. In France, so called ‘shortcake’ does not exist but there is a strawberry cake that is a pink sponge cake with pink frosting, all made with strawberries as the primary ingredient.
The Japanese version of Strawberry Shortcake is a sponge cake decorated with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Instead of strawberries, you can use other fruits to decorate the cake and it is still called a shortcake in Japan.
If you make it with slices of peach, you call it a peach shortcake. If mixed berries are used, like in the photo below, it becomes a mixed berry shortcake.
In the case of Strawberry Shortcake, it became so popular in Japan that the word ‘shortcake’ became synonymous with Japanese Strawberry Shortcake.
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake and Christmas
The Japanese version of Shortcake was developed by the confectionary and restaurant chain, Fujiya (不二家) in the early 20th century.
The entrepreneur of Fujiya travelled to the US and encountered the US version of strawberry shortcakes. When he returned from the US, he replaced the biscuit in the US version with sponge cake, as the softer texture of the cake was more suited to the Japanese palate.
To market the newly invented Strawberry Shortcake, Fujiya sold it as a Christmas cake and encouraged people to eat it on Christmas day.
If you visit a cake shop or the cake section of a department store in Japan, you will see all sorts of shortcakes. Many of them are already sliced into serving portions but some are round Japanese Strawberry Shortcakes like my cake today.
This round strawberry shortcake is the cake that many husbands and fathers buy and take home after work on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (Christmas is not a public holiday in Japan!).
There are no religious customs or family celebrations and gatherings for Christmas in Japan. But many households still eat Strawberry Shortcakes, aka Christmas cakes as a custom.
What’s in my Strawberry Sponge Cake (Strawberry Shortcake)
My recipe is based on a very old cookbook I possess, which contains recipes for the sweets and dessert across the world. I referred to this book only for the sponge cake, with a slight adjustment. My decorations of whipped cream and strawberries are based on my memory of Fujiya’s Strawberry Shortcake.
Sponge Cake
Because the recipe is very old, the ingredients list for the sponge cake does not even include vanilla essence (you can add few drops if you want), or baking powder.
- 125g/4.4oz all-purpose flour
- 100g/3.5oz sugar
- 60g/2.1oz melted butter
- 4 eggs
The above ingredients are suited for baking in an 18-21cm/7-8″ round cake tin. The cookbook used 125g/4.4oz of sugar but I felt it was too sweet (probably because I don’t have a sweet tooth). If you wish, you can increase the sugar up to 125g/4.4oz.
Decoration
- About 450g/1lb of strawberries (I used 18 medium-sized strawberries). Halve 10 strawberries.
- About 400ml/0.8pt cream, whipped.
- Syrup (optional) made with 40ml/1.4fl oz water and 10g/0.4oz sugar
I am not definitive about the quantity of strawberries and cream. This is because the amount of these ingredients varies depending on the size of the cake tin, how tall your cake is and how much cream/fruit you put on the cake.
The syrup is brushed on the sliced surface of the cake pieces to keep the sponge soft and moist.
How to Make Japanese Sponge Cake
My old cookbook shows two different methods for making a sponge cake – (1) beating egg yolks and egg whites separately (recommended for beginners) and (2) beating eggs without separating the yolks and whites (makes the texture of the sponge more bouncy). I used the first method, but I added the second method in the recipe note.
- Beat the egg yolk with ⅔ of the sugar in a bowl until it becomes whitish and thick (see the video for consistency).
- Beat the egg whites in a different bowl with the remaining sugar to make meringue (see the video for consistency).
- Add the flour to the beaten egg yolk.
- Mix and make smooth batter.
- Mix ⅓ of meringue into the batter.
- Fold the remaining meringue into the batter.
- Spread melted butter over the batter.
- Fold the butter into the batter.
- Pour the batter into a cake pan and cook in the oven.
The Key to a Fluffy Sponge Cake
I had a few comments from the readers who ended up with a flat and dense cake. This section gives you some tips for a successful fluffy sponge cake.
- Ensure the bowl and the beater are dry and grease-free because egg white does not like oil. Particularly if your bowl and utensils are plastic, make sure that they are completely oil-free as it is hard to remove grease from plastic bowls and tools.
- Use fresh eggs. Fresh eggs produce finer air bubbles when they are beaten, which results in a fluffier sponge cake.
- Bring the egg white at room temperature before beating. This let you beat up the whites easier. The air bubbles in the meringue are not as fine as those made from the chilled egg and results in a slightly coarse sponge. But if you are a beginner, you may want to try this.
- Ensure the egg white does not contain even a tiny piece of egg yolk. Egg white does not like yolk when it comes to making meringue because egg yolk contains fat.
- Do not add a lot of sugar at once to the meringue. As you add sugar, the foam diminishes a bit, so you want to add small amount at a time to minimise the impacts on the meringue.
- When mixing the batter with flour or merengue, or butter, do not overmix. You need to gently fold the batter. By over mixing, you are getting rid of tiny foam.
- Gently but quickly fold the batter after you have added butter as the butter causes the foam to disappear fast.
Of these tips, I think the most common trap is over mixing the batter. There are so many cakes that can be mixed vigorously before transferring to the cake pan. Not for Japanese Sponge Cake, I am afraid.
Decorating the Sponge Cake to make Strawberry Shortcake
Decorating the cake is not particularly difficult. Perfectly covering the cake with whipped cream like the cakes sold at the shops is an art in my view, and it is quite hard. As you can see in the video, my decoration is not perfect but it’s still pretty, I think.
The right thickness of the whipped cream is the key to the evenly coated cream around the sponge cake. You should not whip the cream too much, but the cream should not be too soft either. When you lift the whisk, the cream should form a soft peak.
- Cool the sponge cake upside down so that the top of the cake is perfectly flat and easy to decorate.
- Slice the cake horizontally in the middle to make two round cake pieces. Coat the cut sides of the cake with syrup.
- Spread the bottom part of the cake with the whipped cream, then place halved strawberries on top, covering the entire surface.
- Cover the strawberries with more cream, then put the top part of the sponge cake on it.
- Coat the side and the top of the cake with cream, then decorate the outer edge of the round surface using a piping tip.
- Place the strawberries on top of the cake.
There are no rules for decorating the sponge cake. If your cake is not very tall, you may not want to halve the cake horizontally to make two layers of the cake with strawberries and cream in the middle. Some recipes do not cover the side with the whipped cream either.
You can decorate the cake anyway you like. But no matter how it looks, I can guarantee you the cake is super delicious. It is not too sweet, unlike most of Aussie cakes, and that’s what I like about this cake.
Yumiko
Watch How To Make It
Japanese sponge cakes in general have a lighter and softer texture than those I find in Australia, and possibly other Western countries. The texture is almost like my Cotton Cheesecake. The most popular sponge cake in Japan is by far the Strawberry Sponge Cake, aka Strawberry Shortcake. (Watch the Video)
- 125g/4.4oz all-purpose flour sifted 3 times
- 100g/3.5oz sugar (note 1)
- 4 large eggs , yolks and whites separated (note 2)
- 60g/2.1oz butter , melted
- Butter and flour to coat inside the cake pan
- 18 strawberries (mid-size, note 3)
- 400ml/0.8pt cream for whipping (note 4)
- 10g/0.4oz sugar
- 40ml/1.4oz water
- 10g/0.4oz sugar
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Pre-heat oven to 180°C/356°F.
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Coat the inside of an 18cm/7" cake tin (note 6) with butter, dust with flour, then shake off the excess flour.
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Put the egg yolks in a bowl, add ⅔ of the sugar and beat the egg yolks until they become whitish and thick. Draw a ribbon with the whisk and if the ribbon disappears slowly (see the Video), it is ready.
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In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites. When the small bubbles form and the volume of the egg white doubles, add the remaining sugar in 2-3 batches and beat further to make meringue.
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When the meringue becomes firm and it can form a peak when you lift the whisk (see the step-by-step photo and video in the post), it is ready.
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Put the flour through the sifter and add to the beaten egg yolk. Fold the batter with a spatula.
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Transfer ⅓ of the meringue to the batter and mix with a whisk until the batter becomes smooth.
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Add the remaining meringue to the batter in 2-3 batches and fold.
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Pour the melted butter into the batter and fold several times. It's OK even if the butter is not completely mixed.
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Pour the batter into the cake tin. Drop the tin onto the work bench to settle the batter in the tin.
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Cook in the oven at 180°C/356°F for 25 minutes. Insert a thin bamboo skewer in the centre of the cake to see if the skewer comes out dry. If the skewer is a bit wet, cook further 5 minutes.
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Take the tin out of the oven and drop the tin onto the workbench a couple of times to detach the cake from the tin. Remove the cake from the tin and place it on a rack, upside down (bottom side up). Let it cool completely.
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If making syrup, put the Syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. When the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat off. Let it cool.
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Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Wipe the strawberries with a wet kitchen paper, remove the stems and halve 10 strawberries.
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Leave the sponge cake upside down as is and slice it horizontally in half (note 7), remove the top half and place it next to the bottom half of the cake, cut side up.
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Using a brush, coat the cut surface of the two sponge cakes with the syrup gently.
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Drop about 3 heaped tablespoons of the whipped cream on the bottom half of the sliced cake and spread it to cover the entire surface. Fill the surface with the halved strawberries, without a gap as much as possible.
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Drop about 4 heaped tablespoons of the whipped cream on and spread it to cover the strawberries and the round edge.
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Place the top half of the cake on it, syrup side down. Gently press down, making sure the top and bottom cakes are aligned. Fill the gap around the strawberry filling on the side with whipped cream.
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(Optional) thinly coat the top and the side of the cake with whipped cream. It is OK not to completely cover the sponge. Leave the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes (note 8).
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Using a cake spatula or a long flat spatula, fully cover the top and the side of the cake with the remaining whipped cream, leaving some (about minimum of 4-5 tablespoons) for piping.
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Put the remaining cream in a piping bag with a round nozzle. Squeeze out the cream to make a mound of cream in 8 positions around the edge of the surface. Place a strawberry on each mound.
1. My cake is not too sweet. If you prefer it sweeter, increase the quantity of sugar up to 125g / 4.4oz.
2. It is important to use very fresh eggs. Using old eggs is likely to result in a flat sponge cake.
My eggs were from a 660g/23.3oz carton of a dozen eggs. The average weight of my eggs were 55g/1.9oz.
3. My 18 strawberries weighed about 450g/1lb. I used halved strawberries as fillings but if you slice them, you can reduce the number of strawberries.
Instead of strawberries, you can use other berries to make it a mixed berry shortcake (see the photo in the post), or different fruits such as sliced peach, kiwifruits, pineapples, orange, grapes, or all of these mixed together!
4. The amount of whipped cream varies depending on the size of the cake tin, how tall your cake is and how much cream you put on the cake.
5. I did not use it, but you can add a small amount (½ teaspoon) of liquor of your choice if you want.
6. I tried with a springform cake tin as well as a non-springform tin. The springform tin leaves a dent at the bottom of the cake when cooked. For this reason, I prefer a non-springform tin. I had no problem removing the baked cake out of the non-springform tin.
The size of the tin can be up to 21cm/8" with the ingredients listed here. Any larger than that will make the cake thin, and it will not be easy to slice into two layers.
7. The easiest way to slice the round cake horizontally is to make a shallow cut around the side of the cake first, then slide the knife deeper into the centre ensuring that the blade traces the initial cut.
8. This will make the remaining whipped cream stick easier, particularly on the side.
9. My method of making a sponge cake is to beat the egg yolks and whites separately. There is another method of making the batter by beating whole eggs. If you want to use this method, here are the steps to replace steps 3-9 in my recipe:
1) Put the eggs in a bowl, mix, then add sugar. Beat the eggs over a 60°C/140°F water bath.
2) When the egg mixture is warmed up to around body temperature, remove the bowl from the water bath.
3) Continue to beat until the egg mixture cools down and becomes thick whitish batter. When you draw a ribbon with the whisk, the trace of the ribbon should slowly disappear.
4) Add the flour through a sifter to the batter and fold it in with a spatula. Add butter and fold several times.
10. You should consume the cake within 2 days. Although the sponge cake will keep longer, the flavour of the strawberries and cream start degrading by the 3rd day.
11. Nutrition per serving.
serving: 146g calories: 346kcal fat: 22g (34%) saturated fat: 13g (65%) trans fat: 0.7g polyunsaturated fat: 1.4g monounsaturated fat: 6g cholesterol: 152mg (51%) sodium: 95mg (4%) potassium: 151mg (4%) carbohydrates: 31g (10%) dietary fibre: 1.2g (5%) sugar: 18g protein: 6.2g vitamin a: 18% vitamin c: 40% calcium: 3.8% iron: 7.6%
Originally published in August 2020, improved contents including the recipe and added video in January 2022.
Hi Yumiko,
For those of us with stand mixers, would it be okay to make the meringue first, set it aside, then beat the egg yolks using the same bowl? I’m assuming tainting the egg yolks with a little meringue is not as disastrous as tainting the egg whites with yolk (also I’m just too lazy to wash the mixer bowl in between haha). I am also planning on replacing the syrup with some macerated strawberries to really intensify the strawberry flavour.
Thanks for the recipe and I’ll let you know how it goes!
Hi Annie, you can make meringue first. Please let me know how it went.
Hi Yumiko, making the cake was a breeze and the sponge ended up super tall and fluffy!! Ended up putting a capful of vanilla in the cake and sweetening the cream with honey – yum! Definitely making again.
Hi Annie, that’s fantastic!
Success! My Japanese daughter-in-law said my cake made her feel like she was having Christmas in Japan. This is the second year I have made it for Christmas Day lunch. I have a new family tradition!
Thankyou Yumiko for making the video. Seeing how to little I had to fold the flour, the meringue and the butter ensured I made a light, slightly moist cake with a fine crumb.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Hi Louise, Merry Christmas! You are a wonderful mother-in-law to make her feel as if she is having Christmas in Japan! She must really appreciate it.
Hi Yumiko, just wanted to check if I could make this recipe in an instant pot/pressure cooker since my oven is broken. And can we use sunflower oil instead of butter?
Hi Anjali, I am sorry but I don’t think you can make it without an oven. I am sure there are recipes to make a cake using instant pot etc., but it will be a different recipe altogether.
You can use oil instead of butter, but the flavour of the sponge is not as rich as the one with butter.
Thank you for posting this recipe and the history behind it. I made 2 practice cakes before making a birthday cake gift for my son’s girlfriend. I accidently skipped the step of first whisking when you add the first part of the egg whites on the 1st cake and the texture wasn’t as fluffy as the next 2 cakes. After watching the video again, I realized the mistake and the next 2 cakes turned out great. ALL of my happy taste testers enjoyed the cake immensely. It is not too sweet, but sweet enough to be enjoyable. Two family members don’t like fruit in their cake, so I made half without strawberries and they loved it. This will definitely be a recipe used over and over again. It was important to read the notes about using an 8 inch round pan with high sides, which I bought on Amazon, but especially the fact about using a forced air (convection oven). One question, my youngest son loves chocolate cake. Do you have a variation to make this as a chocolate cake? Or maybe a chocolate cake in general?
Thank you again!
Hi Marilyn, it’s good to hear that you mastered the Japanese Strawberry Shortcake.
To convert this recipe to a chocolate sponge cake, replace 20% of the total weight of the flour with the same weight of cocoa powder, i.e. instead of 125g flour, use 100g flour + 25g cocoa powder in my recipe. You can sift them together.
You may also want to increase the quantity of sugar slightly as my cake is light on sugar and you will taste it even less sweet with cocoa in it.
The other thing to watch for is not to break the tiny forms by over mixing the batter since the addition of cocoa powder make the batter heavier. ALso, you need to watch for not to burn the surface of the chocolate cake as it is not easy to detect.
The rest is exactly the same as this recipe. Good luck with it and please let me know how it went.
I tried the recepie and followed it carefully step by step once it finished in the oven came out dense and hardly raised at all. The taste of the cake also was very eggy. I’m so disappointed that the recepie didn’t work.
Hi Ak, I am sorry that it didn’t work for you. Dense and flat sponge is caused by lack of tiny air bubbles that were created by whipping the eggs. It happens if (1) you don’t make tiny air bubbles sufficiently when whipping the eggs, (2) you mix the batter too much when added the flour, and/or (3) you take too much time when mixing the butter.
It is a bit difficult to demonstrate how quickly you need to mix flour/butter, try to mix the batter in a cutting motion and gently turn the batter over.
So good and tasty!! Would recommend measuring the width and depth of your cake tin, mine came out very skinny and I had to beef it up with cream, amazing recipe though will definitely use again thank you!
Hi Lily, I am glad you liked it. If your cake tin is larger than 21cm/8″ in diameter, I would recommend increasing the quantity of ingredients. E.g., increase by about 60% if you are using 23cm/9″ cake tin. The cooking time also increases. The time increases by about 5 minutes as the size of the tin goes up by 1 size, with more volume of the ingredients. But the cooking time can vary since each oven behaves differently. Check and see if you need to cook longer. If the surface starts browning and you still need to cook further, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the tin.
my cake batter doesnt cook fully after 40min its still raw in the middle
Hi Em, depending on the oven, the time taken is not going to be exactly the same as the recipe. Is your oven fan-forced? I should have mentioned that I used fan-forced. If not fan-forced, you will need a bit longer to cook. Alternatively, you could set the temperature a bit higher and if the surface starts browning too fast, you can cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil to stop it from further browning.
I’ve never really cooked all that much but I’ve always wanted to make a cake like what I saw in the n’aime shows I watched with my little sister. So for her birthday i decided to try an attempt this recipe. And I am very glad I did because it has become one of my favourite recipes to make! And it helped me gain confidence in making sweet stuff, as I have a tendency to mess things up. So thank you for explaining it such simple steps and for making it easy to follow!
Hi Marie, I am so happy for you! I bet your sister was impressed with you.
Hello Yumiko,
How long and what c/f should I put it in the oven?
Hi Agata, I hope you are referring to my recipe card to make Strawberry Shortcake. It’s stated in step 11 – Cook in the oven at 180°C/356°F for 25 minutes.
If you are looking at a different recipe and it’s missing oven temperature & duration, please let me know which recipe it is.
I nearly past by the cake because of the name shortcake thinking American shortcake, which I didn’t really like it. Well I’m so glad I didn’t delete. I was cleaning up old emails and decided to read this , I always enjoy reading your stories behind your recipes, when I realised your recipe was nothing like American version. I made this for a friend last week she loved it. I thought my Grandma’s sponge was light, this was lighter, when I cut the cake open it was quite deceiving because it looks quite dense compared my nan’s, but texture of yours is amazing, it’s in my cake rotation. Thankyou
Hi Lindi, I am also glad that you didn’t delete it!