Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
Fluffy and soft sponge cake stuffed with fresh strawberries and lightly whipped vanilla cream. The ideal rendition of the traditional Japanese strawberry shortcake. A traditional Asian bakery-style cake with a light sponge and airy cream that dissolves in your mouth like a fantasy!
I’m finally revealing my perfect cake. If I could only eat one food for the remainder of my life, it would likely be this. This cake holds great significance for me as it was the first one I ever baked, and it has been a part of my baking journey from the start.
As I grew up, strawberry cream cakes from Asian bakeries became my absolute favorite treat. I’m not joking; I’ve had strawberries and cream cake at every birthday of my life, and I will likely keep that tradition going until I pass away.
That’s why it was the only cake I aimed to master.
I have made no fewer than 1000 sponges throughout my life, tried every sponge recipe available, and revised recipes multiple times. However, it all concluded when I succeeded in crafting and recreating the flawless sponge repeatedly.
This sponge is gentle and tender, flavorful, while also possessing sufficient stability to serve as a foundation for embellishment.
This is among my favorite cakes, and I constantly tweak it to make it the best possible.
While developing my inaugural cookbook “Mochi, Cakes, and Bakes,” I revisited this recipe numerous times and now have a version that's better than ever. Fortunately, you don’t have to buy the book for this recipe! If you're looking for more delectable treats, don't hesitate to buy my book here!
What is a Shortcake Strawberry?
There are many various types of strawberry shortcakes. In the United States, strawberry shortcakes consist of tender biscuits layered with cream and jam. In Britain, strawberry shortcakes are a traditional crumbly dessert adorned with cream, jam, and fresh berries.
What constitutes a Japanese strawberry shortcake?
Japanese strawberry cake features a distinctly different texture, characterized by an incredibly light and airy cake foundation. Instead of the cream merely being placed between the cake layers, the cream is layered with strawberry slices and envelops the sponge entirely, resulting in a significantly moister cake.
The dessert is airy, fragile, and dissolves on your tongue.
In Japan, the strawberry shortcake is so beloved that it has been called the Christmas cake! The cake consumed by every Japanese household to commemorate Christmas.
The sponge cake foundation resembles that of many Asian bakeries, and this sponge would be the one utilized in Chinese bakery cakes and Korean fresh cream cakes. The sole distinction lies in the strawberries included in this version.
This is a timeless treat that you can find all over Japan or at any Asian bakery. And when you try it, you'll understand why!
What can I do to ensure my cake is soft and fluffy?
The key to achieving a light and fluffy sponge lies in the careful folding of the meringue. This sponge lacks any leavening agents, meaning it depends on whipped eggs for its rise.
Being too aggressive when incorporating the meringue into the batter will cause the air bubbles whipped into the egg whites to dissipate. The outcome will be a thick sponge cake with no elevation.
Always incorporate 1/3rd of the meringue into the egg mixture to lighten it before folding in the remaining meringue. This simplifies the process of adding the leftover meringue.
What causes my cake to shrink?
The primary reason a sponge cake falls is due to the baking duration.
Sponge cakes must be baked sufficiently to allow the moisture to evaporate. This method ensures that the cake doesn't collapse upon being removed from the oven.
Determining when the sponge is ready can be challenging since every oven varies, so it's not reliable to depend solely on the time.
The amount of humidity in your oven also matters, and it can vary if there is excessive hot water in the bain-marie.
The most effective method to determine if the cake is done is when it starts to separate from the cake pan. When you see the edges of the cake separating from the tin, it indicates that the sponge is ready and can be removed from the oven!
For added safety, I would keep it in the oven for an additional 15 minutes with the heat switched off.
Advice to avoid shrinkage
One suggestion to stop the cake from shrinking after it comes out of the oven is to give it a solid tap on your counter right after removing it. This eliminates any trapped hot air, reducing the chance of deflation.
What causes the bottom of my sponge cake to be dense and undercooked?
Several factors can lead to the sponge's bottom being undercooked and sticky.
Excessive folding of the meringue
Excessive air was lost when the meringue was incorporated into the batter. Consequently, the cake was unable to rise.
Folding the meringue in a gentle manner
The meringue was insufficiently incorporated into the batter, resulting in the denser sections of the unblended batter sinking to the base of the tin.
The sponge was not cooked thoroughly.
This makes the sponge collapse upon exiting the oven. This results in a somewhat airier top, but a significantly heavier bottom.
How can I tell when my sponge cake is finished?
There are several methods to check the sponge cake for doneness.
Spring test: When you compress the sponge with your finger, it should gradually return to its original shape. If an indent occurs, you will have to bake it for a longer period.
Cake detaching from the edges: The sponge will start to separate from the edges of the cake pan. That indicates it’s prepared.
Toothpick test: A toothpick placed in the center will emerge clean and dry.
Commonly Asked Questions
What is the shelf life of this cake?
This cake remains good for up to 3 days if kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Since this cake contains fresh cream, ensure you keep it refrigerated until it's time to serve.
Many cakes incorporate cake flour; why do you opt for all-purpose flour?
Cake flour is excellent for achieving a lighter texture in cakes; however, the cooked dough technique eliminates the requirement for it! The resulting sponge cake will still be just as light and fluffy, even without cake flour.
Fixings:
For the wipe cake
- 40 g unsalted spread (3 Tbsp)
- 30 ml entire milk (2 Tbsp)
- 4 huge eggs (1 egg no shell = 47-50 g)
- 120 g sugar (½ cup + 2 Tbsp)
- 120 g cake flour (approximately 1 cup) (No cake flour)
- Shortening/Cooking Spray/Butter
For the syrup
- 30 ml water (2 Tbsp)
- 38 g sugar (3 Tbsp)
- 1 Tbsp your alcohol of decision (Optional)
For the cream
- 473 ml weighty (whipping) cream (2 cups/1 Pint bundle)
- 38 g sugar (3 Tbsp)
For embellishment
- 450 g Strawberries (1 lb) (for filling and embellishment - purchase extra) (See Notes)
- 10 blueberries
- mint leaves
Directions
Accumulate every one of the fixings.
Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients
Before we start
Ensure the eggs and spread are at room temperature. Filter the cake flour no less than two times.
Put the cake dish on top of material paper, follow around the skillet and cut out the circle. Oil one side of the material paper and furthermore both base and sides of the cake skillet with shortening/cooking shower/margarine. Then fit the material paper in the cake skillet..
Preheat stove to 350F (180C). Assuming you use convection broiler, preheat to 325F (160C). It's generally better to preheat longer, ideally 15-20 mins longer.
Set up a twofold heater. In the event that you have never done this, kindly see Notes segment underneath. Switch on the oven's hotness to high and acquire the water the pan (Pot A) to a fast bubble. While bubbling, diminish hotness to keep a consistent stew. Put the 40g of margarine in the little (Bowl #1) and set over the pot. Allow the spread to soften delicately.
When the margarine is softened, eliminate the bowl from the pot. Then add 30 ml (2 Tbsp.) entire milk and race to consolidate. Put away to keep it around 104F (40C).
For the wipe cake
In the stand blender (Bowl #2), add 4 eggs and break the egg yolks and whites.
Add 120 g (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) sugar and race to consolidate.
In the enormous (Pot B), achieve 2 creeps of water to 140F or 60C and keep up with the temperature. Then set the stand blender (Bowl #2) straightforwardly in the pot and whisk continually so the eggs don't become fried eggs. This strategy is called bain marie (or water shower), where the bowl of food is set straightforwardly in a bigger holder of hot or stewing water.
You can likewise utilize the twofold kettle technique, where you set the egg blend (Bowl #2) over the Pot B. The bowl doesn't contact the stewing water of the pot.
In the two cases, the water tempers the hotness to allow delicate, in any event, cooking.
Speed until the temperature of the egg combination arrives at 104F (40C). Eliminate Bowl #2 from Pot B and set it up on the stand blender with the whisk connection.
Speed on high velocity (level 10) until the blend is feathery, for around 2 minutes. The hitter should be free yet thick and shiny.
Whenever the player is pale and feathery and significantly increased in volume, dial back to low speed (level 4) for quite some time. Pause and lift up a portion of the combination and overlap it in, and assuming the hitter keeps steady over the blend, that is "strip stage". Eliminate from the stand blender.
Add half of the flour. Utilizing the whisk, crease delicately however completely. Do this by turning your bowl gradually, and all the while moving your race in a descending then-over movement.
Add the remainder of the flour and crease delicately to ensure everything the flour is joined rapidly so your blend doesn't collapse.
Take out 1 (spatula) scoop of the hitter from the bowl and add to the spread and milk combination.
Blend quite well. We consolidate spread into player first since fat in margarine will collapse the hitter assuming we add the margarine straightforwardly.
Add the blend back to the player by pouring over the silicon spatula. This keeps the blend from emptying the player and scatters the combination. Tenderly overlap in. At the point when you lift the spatula, the player should overlap down like strip.
Empty the hitter into the focal point of the cake container, from right over the cake dish. You need to try not to bring additional air into the hitter now. Gather the extra hitter in the bowl and pour around the edges of the cake container, not the middle.
Drop the cake container on the counter to deliver air rises in the hitter.
In the preheated stove, prepare at 350F (325F for convection broiler) for 25 minutes. Check assuming the wipe cake is finished by embedding a stick in the center and tells the truth. In the mean time, continue on to cake collect preparing stage.
When you take out the cake skillet from the stove, drop it on the counter to give shock to the cake . Separate the cake from the container by running a sharp blade or counterbalanced spatula around the skillet.
Remove the cake from the skillet by putting the wire rack on top and flipping it over.
Quickly eliminate the material paper.
Put another wire rack on top and flip it back. The highest point of the cake is currently looking up.
Cover the cake with a moist towel until cooled (to keep dampness in the cake). Ensure the towel is dainty (not weighty) and crush the water out VERY firmly so that it's sodden, not wet. I utilize IKEA's slender kitchen towel. Assuming you keep the wipe cake for sometime in the future, wrap with cling wrap and keep it in the refrigerator
Groundwork for cake gathering (while the cake is baking)
Partition the strawberries into 2 gatherings, for enhancement and for filling. Keep the delightful, same-sized strawberries for the adornment. Eliminate the husk and clean the strawberries with soggy paper towel. Cut off the center for every one of the strawberries.
For the strawberries that we use for garnish, cut down the middle. For the strawberries that we use for filling, cut them into ¼ inch (5 mm) cuts.
To make syrup, in a little (Bowl #3), consolidate 30 ml (2 Tbsp) water, 38 g (3 Tbsp) sugar, 1 Tbsp. alcohol, and microwave for 1 moment to break up the sugar.
For whipping cream
Plan ice shower by setting ice blocks and water in a huge (Bowl #4). Place a spotless and dry blending (Bowl #2) over and add 473 ml (1 Pint) weighty cream and 38 g (3 Tbsp) sugar to keep cool.
Once cooled, move the blending bowl to the stand blender and race on rapid. The cream will become thicker and smooth. Whenever you lift the rush out of the cream while it's as yet fluid, however holds it shape as it drops, then it's prepared. Eliminate the bowl from the stand blender and set it back in the ice shower.
The cake get together
With a serrated blade, cut the center of the cake on a level plane into half. Presently you have 2 layers (top and base).
Put the lower part of the cake on the cake circle. Brush the syrup on top and the sides of the base layer. This will keep the wipe cake stay sodden.
Begin to whisk the cream at one area by the edge of the bowl as opposed to whisking the whole cream. We will make the whipped cream as the need might arise. With this methodology, we can likewise control the hardness of the cream.
At the point when the cream comes to "delicate pinnacles", take out the cream and move to the lower part of the cake. Delicate pinnacles implies when you lift the whisk, the cream will hold its line yet the top pinnacles will be delicate and following a little while will return to itself.
Spread the whipped cream uniformly. In the event that the whipped cream isn't sufficient, whip more and add onto the cake.
Put the strawberries on top of the whipped cream as you find in the photos. Keep the middle region open by not covering with strawberries. This will be simpler to cut the cake into cuts.
Whip the cream again at the edge of the bowl.
Move the whipped cream to the highest point of the strawberry layer. Spread barely sufficient cream to cover the strawberries, don't put excessively.
Place the top layer of the wipe cake. Brush the syrup on the top and sides of the wipe cake.
Whip more cream and put on the top.
Place the tip of the offset spatula in the middle at 30 degree point, turn cake turntable toward you to make a smooth top. Gently cover the sides of the cake with slender layer of the cream.
Presently add more cream to the side gradually. Place the offset spatula at 90 degree point and push the dismissing table from you.
Eliminate the overabundance cream from the cake and set back into the bowl.
For cake enhancement
For an essential design, I use Wilton 2A beautification tip. Put the tip in the funneling pack and cut off the tip so the metal will show from the sack. Overlay the top portion of the pack outward .
Whip the cream to "solid pinnacles". At the point when you lift the whisk, the pinnacles will hold firm. Put the cream into the funneling sack. When you finish up the pack midway, lift the sack and push the cream down to the tip.
Press the line to test to ensure the cream comes out without a hitch. Whenever you're prepared, hold the funneling pack at 90 degree point and press around 1 inch distance across of whipped cream around the edge of the cake. This will be the base for the strawberries.
Enhance and put the strawberries sideways on top of the whipped cream. Then press more whipped cream in the middle of strawberries, dropping little whipped cream all over. Place blueberries between the whipped cream touches. Place the little mint leaves in a space to add tones.
Keep the cake in the fridge and appreciate it in 2 days. Cool. Appreciate it!
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake VIDEO
