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
-
Pre-heat oven to 180°C/356°F.
-
Coat the inside of an 18cm/7" cake tin (note 6) with butter, dust with flour, then shake off the excess flour.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Put the flour through the sifter and add to the beaten egg yolk. Fold the batter with a spatula.
-
Transfer ⅓ of the meringue to the batter and mix with a whisk until the batter becomes smooth.
-
Add the remaining meringue to the batter in 2-3 batches and fold.
-
Pour the melted butter into the batter and fold several times. It's OK even if the butter is not completely mixed.
-
Pour the batter into the cake tin. Drop the tin onto the work bench to settle the batter in the tin.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Wipe the strawberries with a wet kitchen paper, remove the stems and halve 10 strawberries.
-
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.
-
Using a brush, coat the cut surface of the two sponge cakes with the syrup gently.
-
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.
-
Drop about 4 heaped tablespoons of the whipped cream on and spread it to cover the strawberries and the round edge.
-
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.
-
(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).
-
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.
-
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%