Strawberry sponge cake recipe and coffee
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We are at the beginning of June and the temperatures have already reached up to 30C/86F. Nothing special? Well, how about telling you that we live in England then? Even local people agree that it is far too hot for this time of year. I don't really enjoy soggy sticky days, as you can imagine. But it's interesting to see how people here change their eating habits the moment the first heat wave strikes. People in England are not really known for mountainous consumption of fruit, vegetable and other healthy food (but to be fair this has recently started to change quite considerably). But just a short stroll through shops in such a heat wave reveals empty fruit and vegetable shelves (mostly yummy strawberries).
The first reason is perhaps the start of the barbecue season but the second reason is the beginning of the season for fresh English strawberries. From the end of May and all until the beginning of August
there is almost no traditional event without freshly picked English strawberries and cream. Wimbledon tennis championship, rowing in Henley or racing in Ascot are just a few events which wouldn't be the same without English strawberries poured with fresh single cream or a dollop of clotted Cornish cream. Come on, admit it, that's just pure yummy heaven!
And of course,
in our house strawberry season starts too. We eat them just like locals: wash them, put them in a bowl, sprinkle with a little sugar and leave for about half and hour to soak up the sweetness. The final touch is cream, it could be just single cream poured over the magical strawberries, or any other cream of your choice.
This year I have opened the strawberry season with a
strawberry sponge cake recipe. This strawberry cake is so easy to make and it tastes delicious so it should become the essential summer cake recipe in every kitchen.
Strawberry sponge cake recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
- 200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 200g caster sugar
- 4 medium eggs, at room temperature
- 200g self raising flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300ml fresh double cream, or 300ml fresh whipping cream
- approx. 500g of freshly picked strawberries
- icing sugar
- optional: grated dark chocolate (70% of cocoa)
Method:
- First you need to bake a sponge cake.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6/392F/moderate. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
- In another bowl lightly beat the eggs.
- Slowly add the eggs to the butter-sugar mixture mixing at low speed, add 1tsp of vanilla.
- Once the eggs and butter-sugar mixture are combined, slowly mix in self raising flour.
- Grease a baking tin with butter, cut a piece of greaseproof paper to fit inside. Optional: if you run out of greaseproof paper, grease the tin with butter and cover it with breadcrumbs.
- Using a small palette knife fill the baking tin evenly with the mixture.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Test the sponge cake with a thin knife. It should come out clean when the cake is baked.
- Allow the sponge cake to cool on a wire rack. Take a knife and cut off the top of the cake to get a flat surface.
- Mix the cream (in this case - I prefer double cream because it gets much stiffer than whipping cream). Spoon a few tablespoons of the cream on the cake and use a small palette knife to level and smooth the surface.
- Wash the strawberries in cold water and cut every strawberry into quarters. Cover the whole surface with strawberries and sprinkle with icing sugar.
- Use as many strawberries as you can to cover all the cake's surface.
- Before serving this yummy strawberry cake chill it in a refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the cream to become firmer.
Optional:
Because there are always leftovers and I really hate wasting them I will show you how to create another delicious strawberry dessert recipe. Yes, the result is almost as tasty as the strawberry cake, but it looks different and with a little imagination and more ingredients you can create completely new strawberry dessert recipe. Just use your imagination!
- Use the strawberry cake's leftover (which was cut away from the top of the cake) to make another strawberry dessert.
- Cut the top of a sponge cake into small pieces and put them in a small bowl.
- Whip (in this case) a whipping cream until forming a very soft peak. Spoon a few tbsp of a cream on the cake pieces. Why whipping cream this time? Because it is much lighter and soft enough to combine well with pieces of cake.
- Wash the strawberries in a cold water and cut into small pieces.
- Place the strawberries on the cream and sprinkle with grated dark chocolate. Optional: instead of chocolate you can use grated almonds or hazelnuts.
Use this handy conversion calculator
Method (step by step):
STEP 1:
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6/392F/moderate.
Place butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy...
STEP 2:
...it should take about 5 minutes at higher speed to achieve this. Sugar must be dissolved completely.
STEP 3:
Useanother bowl and lightly beat the eggs.
STEP 4:
Slowly add the eggs to the butter-sugar mix at low speed and add 1tsp of vanilla.
STEP 5:
Slowly mix in the flour once the eggs and butter-sugar mixture are combined.
STEP 6:
When everything is combined the mixture should look like this.
STEP 7:
Grease a baking tin with butter and cut a piece of greaseproof paper to fit inside. Optional: if you run out of greaseproof paper, grease the tin with butter and cover with breadcrumbs.
STEP 8:
Using a small palette knife fill the baking tin evenly with the mixture.
STEP 9:
Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Test the sponge cake with a thin knife. It should come out clean when the cake is baked.
STEP 10:
Allow the sponge cake to cool on a wire rack. When cooled down take a knife and cut off the top of the cake to get a flat surface.
STEP 11:
Mix the cream (in this case I prefer double cream because it becomes much stiffer than whipping cream). Spoon a few tablespoons of the cream on the cake and use a small palette knife to smooth the surface.
STEP 12:
Double cream holds its shape much better than whipping cream.
STEP 13:
Wash the strawberries in a cold water and cut every strawberry into quarters. Cover the whole surface with cut strawberries and sprinkle with icing sugar.
STEP 14:
Use as many strawberries as you can to cover all the cake's surface.
STEP 15:
Before serving this yummy strawberry cake chill it in a refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the cream to get firmer.
Optional:
Don't waste anything! Create a new strawberry dessert!
STEP 1:
Use the cake's leftovers (i.e. cut away from the top of the original cake) to make another strawberry dessert.
STEP 2:
Cut the top of a cake into small pieces and put them in a small bowl.
STEP 3:
Whip whipping cream until forming very soft peaks. Spoon a few tbsp's of cream on the cake pieces.
In this case I prefer whipping cream because it is much lighter and soft enough to combine well with pieces of cake.
STEP 4:
Wash the strawberries in cold water and cut into small pieces.
STEP 5:
Place the strawberries on top of the cream and sprinkle with grated dark chocolate.
Optional: instead of chocolate you can use grated almonds or hazelnuts, yummy!
Our coffee choice for Tiramisu recipe:
Cappuccino
Espresso
Cafe latte
Turkish coffee
* all combinations have been tested with medium roast Arabica blend
Tips - how to whip a cream:
- The first and most important rule is: before you can start working chill cream in a fridge over the night, also briefly chill a bowl and beaters and if you can chill your kitchen as well. During the summer put the bowl with the cream into another bowl filled with cold water before whipping.
- First whisk the cream at the low speed until small bubbles start forming, then increase the speed to a medium and continue beating until the beaters leave the trail.
- Stop beating when the cream double its volume and forms soft or stiff peaks.
- How do you know when cream forms soft peaks? Stop beating the cream and slowly lift beaters out. If the created peak bends over a little bit, then that's called a soft peak. It stays as a peak but still moves a little bit. The cream is done when the beaters leave light traces on the surface of the cream.
- How do you know when cream forms stiff peaks? Stiff peak is formed when the cream stays pointed straight up. It is done when the beaters leave ridges on the surface of the cream.
- Second very important rule: Don't whip cream too long or it will turn into butter.
- If you are left with some excess cream, cover the bowl with a plastic foil and put it in a fridge. It can stay there for up to 24 hours. Before use just simply beat the cream again.
- Warning: all types of cream are perishable so cream should be stored in a fridge all the time!
Facts about strawberries:
- There are many varieties of English strawberries which can be bought from the shops. The most popular is probably Elsanta (high quality and sweet with a firm skin and good shelf life).
- Believe it or not but there are over 600 varieties of yummy strawberries!
- Strawberries are really healthy fruit: they contain vitamin C, phytonutrients and antioxidants which fight free radicals. They are good source of vitamin K, manganese, folid acid, riboflavin, vitamin B5 and B6, magnesium and many more.
- You should always choose strawberries that are firm, plump, deeply red and shiny with their green caps attached.
- Unripe strawberries should not be purchased since they do not ripen any further!
- Choose medium size berries because they contain less water and have much better flavor. Maybe you haven't heard but there are strawberry growers who fill them with water to achieve better sale.
- If you buy pre-packed strawberries be sure that they are not packed too tightly.
- Strawberries are quite perishable so they should be always stored in a fridge, but don't wash them before storing!
- Mash strawberries if you want to freeze them over the winter.
- Their season is from April to October.
- In medieval times strawberries were regarded as an aphrodisiac and were served to newly-weds.
- If you can, always buy organic strawberries. They taste much, much better!
Baking Tips:
- Always use butter and eggs at room temperature.
- If you run out of greaseproof paper, you can grease the baking tin with a butter and sprinkle it with breadcrumbs.
- Every time when I make sponge cake recipe I try to use organic ingredients (especially eggs).
- For this strawberry sponge cake recipe use only the best and sweetest strawberries you can find because the flavor of the cake depends entirely on that.
Good to know:
- Strawberry sponge cake recipe is a great refreshing summer dessert recipe. Store the cake in a fridge at all times and it will last up to two days.
- Strawberry sponge cake recipe is definitely one of many easy dessert recipes.
- What I really like about this sponge cake recipe is that you need only easy-to-get-ingredients which can be found in every kitchen.
- The earliest recorded sponge cake recipe in English is attested to the book of English poet GERVASE MARKHAM (1615): The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman. (source:
Wikipedia)
- Strawberry cake can be used for all occasions. People bake strawberry cakes for birthdays, anniversaries and weddings.
- There are many different types of strawberry cakes: strawberry cheese cake, strawberry cupcakes, strawberry shortcake, strawberry coffee cake, strawberry pecan cake and many more.
- Double cream is probably the most versatile of all fresh creams as it can be poured, whipped and piped. It floats on coffee. Its minimum butterfat content is 48%. Better volume can be obtained by adding a tablespoon of milk to every 150ml (5 fl oz) double cream.
- Whipping cream is ideal for piping. Its fat content is less than 35%. It will whip to double its volume. Use it to pipe on top of cakes or desserts.
- Single cream - pour it over fruit salad or into coffee. This is a cream with a fat content of only 18%. Remember, it will not whip or freeze.
- Clotted cream is the golden cream traditional to Devon and Cornwall. With its distinctive "nutty" flavor, it is perfect for use with scones and strawberry jam, and it lasts several days if refrigerated. Try spooning it over apple pie, yummy!
