Strawberry cake (mini semi-naked cake)
Recipe adapted from : https://youtu.be/bqXSNXMf760
I've omitted the corn syrup and reduced caster sugar slightly, below my slight modification adjusted to my preference.
Ingredients:
3 eggs (60g with shell each)
110g caster sugar
33g unsalted butter melted
53g milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120g cake flour - sifted
To make simple syrup water :
About 150ml water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan, boil over medium flame over the stove.
Stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves completely and the mixture is clear, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Put aside to cool.
For the filling :
200ml Whipping cream
10 grams caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g Strawberry - washed and pat dry, hulled and chopped into small pieces. *I reserved about 8 - 10 whole pieces to decorate the cake.
Method :
1) Preheat oven to 170°C. Position the rack in center of oven. Note : The temperature of the oven may vary, do adjust accordingly.
2) Lay a 7- inch round pan with parchment paper greased with butter. Set aside.
3) Fill 3/4 cooking pot with water and bring to a boil. Off the fire remove the pot from stove. In a stainless steel bowl placed over the cooking pot of hot water, whisk together the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract with a whisk. Test batter with thermometer for temperature reached 40 degree celsius. Remove the bowl from the cooking pot.
4) Combine the milk and butter in a small bowl and put into the pot of hot water to melt the mixture.
5) With electric mixer, beat in low - medium speed the egg batter until smooth, light (about 3 to 4 minutes), switch to high speed and continue to beat for about 5 minutes and ribbon trail forms when whisk lifted up.
6) Add in the sifted cake flour. With a spatula, fold in the flour gently till combined.
7) Remove the butter and milk mixture from the pot. Add a spoonful of batter and mix it with the butter and milk mixture. Pour all into the batter, fold and mix well with a spatula.
8) Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top evenly with a spatula. Lightly tap the pan 2 - 3 times on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter. Bake in preheated oven for about 35 - 40 minutes.
9) Check for doneness with a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake if it comes out clean.
10) Remove cake from pan, remove the parchment paper and place cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the whipped cream:
Freeze the cleaned mixing bowl for about 5 minutes. Take it out from the freezer, immediately put all together the cold whipping cream, vanilla extract and caster sugar in the cold mixing bowl. Use the electric mixer to whisk from low speed about 1 min) then change to high speed until medium to stiff peaks form. Do not over beat.
Stir and mix in the chopped strawberries.
To assemble:
1) With one hand firmly on top of the cake, run a serrated knife around the centre of the cake and slice in half horizontally for even layers. (I made 2 layers instead of 3).
2) Spread some whipped cream onto the cake board to stick the bottom cake layer. Place the half of one cake on a cake board and place it on a turntable.
3) Brush the top with a little syrup water. Then use a straight spatula or an off-set spatula to evenly frost the top. Gently stack the other half cake on top of each other, brush a little syrup water and frost the top with some whipped cream.
4) Use spatula to add frosting to the sides of the cake. Smooth out the sides and allow the cake to peek through. Wipe the excess frosting off with spatula into a bowl. When the sides are done, smooth out the top edge. Using your spatula, smooth the excess frosting inward toward the center of the cake.
5) Decorate the top with some strawberries, as desires. Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours for the frosting to set before slicing and eating.
Ta-da! Glad that we enjoyed this fruity whipped cream cake for our afternoon break!
Happy baking!
