Tuesday 22 October 2013

Fresh cream strawberry cake



Ingredients:

Cake:
Flour 50g
Cornflour 3 TB
Baking Powder 1Tsp
Eggs 4
Caster sugar 175g
Vanilla Essence A few drops

Frosting:
Double cream 200ml
Caster sugar 3/4 cup
Strawberry conserve or jam 6 TB (optional)
Water
Fresh Strawberries sliced 1 cup

Method:

First things first:

Preheat oven to gas mark 4, 180 degrees Celsius.
Line a 20cm round baking tin with baking paper. If you feel lazy about this then just cut a round shape from the baking paper and put it in your baking tin. No need to create sides.

Sift the flour and baking powder. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until foamy and slightly stiff. Stress on 'slightly'. Then add the caster sugar and beat for a short while. Be careful to not over beat the egg whites as that can lead to a loss of trapped air. When that's done, use a fork to beat the egg yolks with the vanilla essence and then beat this into the egg whites. Sift the rest of the dry ingredients and fold into egg-y mixture. Again, try not to over fold the batter at this point as this can lead to loss of trapped air. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.

You can check the cake after 20 minutes. If you open the door before 20 minutes then the cake will be at risk of sinking. Turn off the oven when cake is ready. Leave it inside for ten minutes and then leave to cool at room temperature.

Once the cake is ready you can prepare the frosting. Slice the strawberries and keep aside. Beat the double cream until it thickens. Then add sugar and beat until the cream forms peaks when the beater is raised.     

Slice the cake in half horizontally. Keep aside the top layer. On the lower layer, spread a little milk to soften it. Spread a thick layer of cream and then spread the sliced strawberries on top of it (you can leave a few strawberries for garnish). Spread half the strawberry conserve or jam on strawberries. Place the top half of the cake back on top. Use the remaining cream to frost the cake. Arrange any remaining strawberries and conserve or jam on top of the cake for garnish.      


P.S. You can substitute strawberries for any other fruit your choice. Canned pineapple tastes great as well!

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