Strawberry Shortcake - Japanese Style

Fruity Baked Dessert

Nothing beats greeting summer than by serving fresh fruit desserts to your family and guests.  

Strawberries are really affordable nowadays so I decided to prepare Japanese style strawberry shortcake.  As opposed to American style, Japanese style is lighter and "airer".  Not laden with too much sugar, flour and absolutely no shortening, just a smidge of butter. Have even encountered some shortcakes with whipped cream from spray cans.  Yikes!

This version is mainly a copy of +The Tart Tart recipe with some minimal refinements. http://www.thetarttart.com/2013/10/japanese-strawberry-shortcake/

I remember having Strawberry Shortcake scented erasers and stickers when I was still a wee one :) Did you have one too??!?

Ingredients (enough for a 2-layer 7" x 7" cake)

For the cake:

2 large eggs

1/2 c granulated/castor sugar

1/2 c cake flour (or, the same amount of all-purpose flour with 1 T replaced with corn starch), sifted a few times

1/5 of a stick of butter, melted in the micro for 20 seconds

For the simple syrup:

1.5 T hot water + 1/2 T rum + 1/2 T castor sugar microwaved for a few seconds to melt the sugar

For the vanilla whipped cream:

1& 1/4 cup heavy cream, cold

1 to 2 T sugar

1/4 t vanilla extract

1 lb. strawberries (a punnet) + 1/2 T castor sugar + 1 T of Contreau

Directions:

For the cake:

Grease lightly bottom & sides of two 7 x 7 square baking pans so that the parchment paper will fit smoothly on the bottom and sides. Trim off any extra paper.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Beat the eggs and sugar over a bain marie (hot water bath) until the sugar melts and the mixture is warm, about room temperature. Use the bowl of your stand mixer if you don't want to mess up a lot of things.

Remove the bowl from the water bath and beat the mixture on high until it triples in volume. It will become very light and foamy and form a ribbon of batter when you take the whisk out. This should take about 5 minutes at speed 8 using a stand mixer. Reduce the speed to low for a minute or so to set the mixture.

Add the sifted cake flour in three portions, each time gently cutting through the mixture with a whisk to mix the flour in. Sprinkle the butter into the bowl, and gently fold it in with a spatula. The batter should still be reasonably foamy.

Pour the batter into the baking pans, taking care to distribute it as evenly as you can. Ensure too that you divide the batter equally between the 2 pans.

Rap the pan a couple times to eliminate any big air bubbles.

Bake 25 to 28 minutes until the center is set. Cool the cake upside down with baking sheet still stuck to it. 

Assembling the cake:

Wash throughly and prepare your strawberries. I sliced mine 4-5 times per strawberry, or whatever you like. Some of the strawberries will go in the inner layer of the cake, but the rest will top the cake decoratively, or even on the sides. Place in a bowl and add your Contreau and 1/2 T sugar.  Mix gently.

Prep the whipped cream by mixing the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract and beating it until it forms soft peaks. Do not over-mix or your cream will just separate and liquify. Chill it if you still have to do something else.

Make the simple syrup by nuking microwaveable container containing sugar, rum and water until the sugar has melted. About 20 seconds.

Brush the syrup on top of the first cooled cake. Spread a few dollops of whipped cream evenly on top, then place on top of that the sliced strawberries. Add another layer of whipped cream.

First layer partially done (on top). Still have to spread a layer of 
whipped cream.  Have just brushed syrup on the
second layer (foreground). 

Brush the rest of the syrup onto the other cake and place it over the whipped cream layer. This type of frosting is pretty "flimsy" so right after spreading the whipped cream, I placed it in the freezer for about 10 minutes.  The cream will be topped by a layer of strawberries anyway so you don't have to be OC about it by making it super smooth and perfect.  Top with the remaining strawberries.

Easier to spread the frosting after
freezing for 10 minutes.

It is best to serve this chilled so immediately place in the refrigerator right after laying out the last layer of strawberries and wiping your serving plate.

According to The Tart Tart, this cake doesn't save well in the refrigerator.  With my family's hearty appetite, consuming it in one go is NOT a problem.