Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake is probably one of the most popular and classic cake in Japan. 

In Japan we often bring cakes when we visit friends and family, and homemade strawberry shortcake is a really nice and thoughtful gift.  I hope you try this fabulous recipe this holiday season to bring to a potluck or serve at the end of your dinner party.

Author: Namiko Chen

Serves: 1 8 inch (20 cm) cake

Ingredients

For the sponge cake

• 40 g (3 Tbsp.) butter
• 30 ml (2 Tbsp.) whole milk (See Note)
• 4 large eggs (200 g without shell)
• 120 g (½ cup + 2 Tbsp.) granulated sugar
• 120 g (roughly 1 cup) cake flour (No cake flour? See Note)
• Shortening/Cooking Spray/Butter

For the syrup

• 30 ml (2 Tbsp.) water
• 38 g (3 Tbsp.) granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. your liquor of choice (See Note)

For the cream

• 473 ml (2 cups/1 Pint package) heavy whipping cream (36%, at least 30-35% fat)
• 38 g (3 Tbsp.) granulated sugar– 8% of heavy cream (473 x 0.08)

For decoration

• 450 g (1 lb) Strawberries for filling and decoration – buy extra (See Note)
• 10 blueberries
• A few mint leaves
  
• Equipment you will need
• 1 small heat-resistant bowl (Bowl #1)
• 1 small saucepan that fits Bowl #1 for double boiler (Pot A)
• 1 stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl (Bowl #2)
• 1 large pot that fits the Bowl #2 for bain-marie (Pot B)
• 1 small bowl (Bowl #3)
• 1 large bowl that fits Bowl #2 for ice bath (Bowl #4)
• Parchment paper
• 8” (20 cm) cake pan (I use this)
• 1 good whisk (I like this)
• Silicon spatula
• 2 wire racks
• Offset spatula (I use this)
• Cake decoration tip (Wilton 2A) & plastic bag (I use this)

Optional Equipment (but nice to have!)

• Thermometer (I use this)
• Serrated knife
• 10” (25 cm) cake circle (I use this)
• Cake turntable (I use this)
  

Instructions

Before we start

1. Make sure the eggs and butter are at room temperature. Sift the cake flour at least twice.
   
2. Place the cake pan on top of parchment paper, trace around the pan and cut out the circle. Grease one side of the parchment paper and also both bottom and sides of the cake pan with shortening/cooking spray/butter. Then fit the parchment paper in the cake pan. (I avoid parchment paper on the side because sometimes it pulls the batter and affect the final result of the cake).
   
3. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). If you use convection oven, preheat to 325F (160C). It’s always better to preheat extra long and see Note section below for the reason.
   
4. Prepare a double boiler. If you have never done this before, please see Note section below. Turn on the stove’s heat to high and bring the water in the bottom of the saucepan (Pot A) to a rapid boil. When boiling, reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Put the 40 g (3 Tbsp.) butter in the small bowl (Bowl #1) and set over the saucepan with simmering water. Let the butter melts gently.
   
5. Once it’s melted, remove the bowl rom the saucepan and add 30 ml (2 Tbsp.) whole milk and whisk all together. Set aside to keep it around 104F (40C).
   

For the sponge cake

1. In the stand mixer bowl (Bowl #2), add 4 eggs and break the egg yolks and whites.
   
2. Add 120 g (½ cup + 2 Tbsp.) sugar and whisk to combine.
   
3. In the large pot (Pot B), add water so that it touch the bottom of the stand mixer bowl (Bowl #2) when set over the pot. Unlike “double boiler” method, Bain-marie method required the bowl to touch the warm water. Ideally, the water should be around 140F (60C). Place the bowl on top of Pot B and start whisking. Make sure to keep whisking so the eggs don’t become scramble eggs.
   
4. Whisk until the temperature of the egg mixture reached to 104F (40C). Remove from the Pot B and set up on the stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
   
5. Whisk on high speed (level 10) until the mixture is fluffy, for about 2 minutes. The batter should be loose yet thick and glossy.
   
6. When the batter is pale and fluffy and tripled in volume, slow down to low speed (level 4) for several seconds. Stop and lift up some of the mixture and fold it on itself, and if the batter stays on top of the mixture, that’s “ribbon stage”. Remove from the stand mixer. The batter should look like this.
   
7. Add half of the flour. Using the whisk, fold gently but thoroughly. Do this by rotating your bowl slowly, and simultaneously moving your whisk in a downward then over motion.
   
8. Add the rest of the flour and fold gently to make sure all the flour is incorporated quickly so your mixture doesn’t deflate.
   
9. Take out 1 (spatula) scoop of the batter from the bowl and add to the butter & milk mixture.
   
10. Mix very well. We incorporate butter into batter first because fat in butter will deflate the batter if we add the butter directly.
    
11. Add the mixture back to the batter by pouring over the silicon spatula. This prevents the mixture from deflating the batter and helps disperse the mixture. Gently fold in. When you drop the batter, it should fold down like ribbon.
    
12. Pour the batter into the center of the cake pan, from right above the cake pan. You want to avoid introducing extra air into the batter at this point. Collect the leftover batter in the bowl and pour around the edges of the cake pan, not center.
    
13. Drop the cake pan on the counter to release the air bubble in the batter.
    
14. In the preheated oven, bake at 350F (325F for convection oven) for 25 minutes. Check if the sponge cake is done by inserting a skewer in the middle and comes out clean. While waiting for the cake to be baked, move on to cake assemble prepping stage.
    
15. As soon as you take out the cake pan from the oven, drop it on the counter to give shock to the cake (so it stops shrinking). Separate the cake from the pan by running a sharp knife or offset spatula around the pan.
    
16. Take out the cake from the cake pan by placing the wire rack on top of the pan and flip.
    
17. Immediately remove the parchment paper.
    
18. Place another wire rack on top and flip it back. The top of the cake is now facing up.
    
19. Cover with a damp towel until cooled. Make sure the towel is thin (not heavy) and squeeze the water out VERY tightly so that it’s damp, not “wet’. I use IKEA’s dish towel.
    

Preparation for assembling the cake (while the cake is being baked)

1. Divide the strawberries into 2 groups, for decoration and for filling. Keep the beautiful, same-sized strawberries for the decoration. Remove the husk and clean the strawberry with damp paper towel (do not wash, as we don’t want strawberries to have moisture and become moldy). Slice off the core for all the strawberries.
   
2. For the strawberries that we use for topping, cut in half. For the strawberries that we use for filling, slice them into ¼ inch (5 mm) slices.
   
3. To make syrup, in a small bowl (Bowl #3), combine 30 ml (2 Tbsp.) water, 38 g (3 Tbsp.) sugar, 1 Tbsp. liquor, and microwave for 1 minute to dissolve the sugar.
   

For whipping cream (while cake is cooling)

1. Prepare ice bath by placing ice cubes and water in a large bowl (Bowl #4). Place a clean and dry mixing bowl (Bowl #2) over and add 473 ml (1 Pint) heavy cream and 38 g (3 Tbsp.) sugar to keep cool.
   
2. Once cooled, transfer the mixing bowl to the stand mixer and whisk on high speed. The cream will become thicker and smooth. When you lift the whisk out of the cream while it’s still liquid, but holds it shape as it drops, then it’s ready. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and put it back in the ice bath.
   

The cake assembly

1. With a serrated knife, slice in half horizontally in the middle of the cake. Now you have 2 layers (top and bottom).
   
2. Place the bottom of the cake on the cake circle. Brush the syrup on top and the sides of the bottom layer.
   
3. Start to whisk the cream at one location by the edge of the bowl instead of whisking the entire cream. We will be making the whipped cream as we need. With this approach, we can also control the hardness of the cream.
   
4. When the cream has reached to “soft peaks”, take out the cream and transfer to the bottom of the cake. Soft peaks means when you lift the whisk, the cream will hold its line but the top peaks will be soft and after a second or two will fall back on itself.
   
5. Spread the whipped cream evenly. If the whipped cream is not enough, whip more and add more on the cake.
   
6. Place the strawberries on top of the whipped cream as you see in the pictures. Keep the center area open by not covering with strawberries. This will be easier to cut the cake into slices.
   
7. Whip the cream again at the edge of the bowl.
   
8. Transfer the whipped cream to the top of the strawberry layer. Spread just enough cream to cover the strawberries, do not put too much.
   
9. Place the top layer of the sponge cake. Brush the syrup on the top and sides of the sponge cake.
   
10. Whip more cream and place on the top.
    
11. Place the tip of the offset spatula in the center at 30 degree angle, turn cake turntable toward you to create a smooth top. Lightly cover the sides of the cake with thin layer of the cream.
    
12. Now add more cream to the side little by little. Place the offset spatula at 90 degree angle and push the turning table away from you.
    
13. Remove the excess cream from the cake and put back into the bowl.
    

For cake decoration

1. For a basic decoration, I use Wilton 2A decoration tip. Put the tip in the piping bag and cut off the tip so the metal will show from the bag. Fold the top half of the bag outward as you see in the picture (over the hands).
   
2. Whip the cream to “stiff peaks”. When you lift the whisk, the peaks will hold firm. Put the cream into the piping bag. Once you fill out the bag half way, lift the bag and push the cream down to the tip.
   
3. Squeeze the pipe to test to make sure the cream comes out smoothly. When you’re ready, hold the piping bag at 90 degree angle and squeeze about 1 inch diameter of whipped cream around the edge of the cake. This will be the base for the strawberries.
   
4. Decorate and place the strawberries sideways on top of the whipped cream. Then squeeze more whipped cream in between strawberries, dropping small whipped cream all around. Place blueberries between the whipped cream dollops. Place the small mint leaves in some area to add colors.
5. Keep the cake in the refrigerator and enjoy it in 2 days.
   

Notes

Cake flour: If you don’t have cake flour, you can substitute with all-purpose flour and corn starch. Here’s how.

1 cup AP flour - 2 Tbsp. AP flour + 2 Tbsp. cornstarch = 1 cup cake flour

Be sure to sift the flour to distribute the cornstarch well before using it in your cake batter. 

Whole milk: I highly recommend using whole milk instead of reduced fat milk. I’ve tried using both, and I concluded that whole fat milk makes a difference with the final result.

Liquor of your choice: I like orange liqueurs like Grand Manier or Cointreau.

Strawberries: If you like to decorate your cake with strawberries, you want to look for similar size strawberries to make it look pretty. Buy an extra pack to increase your chance of finding same size strawberries!

Preheat Oven: You preheat the oven so that all the surfaces inside your oven (walls, floor, door, racks) are the desired cooking temperature, which makes for more even temperatures throughout the oven and you won’t lose as much heat when you open the door for a few seconds. Depends on your oven, preheating might take 10 to 20 minutes.

http://www.justonecookbook.com/strawberry-shortcake/