Strawberry Chantilly Cake

It's officially Summer (or well it's been awhile) and we are into the second week of July. The hot weather is just making everyone (or at least me) feeling very lethargic. >,<

What's up for you in July? Now that the two-week long tournament, Wimbledon has come to an end, I wonder what will be hot in the news next... Though I'm not a tennis fan, it seems impossible not to know about the tournament given the substantial coverage. A quick search online showed that Wimbledon, or The Championships, Wimbledon is actually the oldest tennis tournament in the world. But what surprised me was the Wimbledon traditions include eating strawberries and cream by the spectators and royal patronage! While there's no definite answer as to why, but the likely explanation is that strawberries are in season during the time the tournament was played. Ok, how simple is that?! Haha!

And coincidentally, I made a Strawberry Chantilly Cake for a new friend who said she likes any cakes with strawberries. What a perfect timing to share this recipe!

Strawberry Chantilly Cake

Does looking at the picture makes you want a slice? Well I hope! ^_^ In fact, Chantilly, as many of you may know, is just a fancier way of calling whipped cream as it is. My Strawberry Chantilly Cake is none other than any vanilla sponge cake layers filled with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. *Grin! However, this is noticeably different from the Strawberry Shortcake which I'd shared in my older post. This sponge cake recipe yields a lighter and fluffier cake texture. In any case, try it for yourself and be your own judge! ^_^

Strawberry Chantilly Cake

Recipe referenced and modified from: Cooking with Dog

Ingredients Required

Sponge Cake

150 grams eggs (3 large eggs)

100 grams sugar

90 grams cake flour

15 grams unsalted butter

1 tablespoon milk

Soaking Syrup

2 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoon hot water

1 tablespoon Kirsch - cherry brandy (optional)

Chantilly Cream

400 ml heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish

18 - 20 fresh strawberries, 9 whole strawberries with stems and remaining sliced into 1/2" lengthwise.

Powdered sugar (optional)

Bakeware Used

7" (18-cm) round pan or 8" (20-cm) square pan

Preparation Steps

Sponge Cake

1. Preheat oven to 320 degrees F (or 160 degrees C).
2. Line the bottom (and sides, optional) of the baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Put the eggs in a large heatproof bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer at low speed.
4. Add the sugar at once and beat the mixture for about 30 seconds.
5. Dip the bowl in hot water and continue beating the eggs at high speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Temperature around 160 to 175 degrees F is ideal for the hot water. In this way, the egg mixture won't get too hot. Put your finger in the egg mixture. If it feels warm enough, take the bowl away from the hot water.
6. Add the milk to the unsalted butter and warm it up in the warm water until the butter melts.
7. Continue to beat the eggs at high speed for another 3 to 3 and half minutes until it forms a whipping pattern on the surface. As you lift the mixer, the mixture falls back slowly and seamless and the trace does not go away immediately. This stage is called the soft peak.
8. Swop the hand mixer with balloon whisk and mix the eggs evenly.
9. Sift the cake flour into the egg mixture and gently mix the flour from the bottom with a rubber spatula. Try not to break the foam and scoop up the batter about 30 times.
10. When all the flour is mixed in, pour the pre-heated butter mixture evenly over the batter.
11. Scoop up the batter and gently let it fall from the spatula. Repeat this process about 50 times to mix well.
12. When the batter gets glossy and smooth, pour it into the prepared cake pan at once.
13. Drop the cake pan on the table a few times to break any air bubbles in the batter.
14. Place the cake pan in the preheated oven and bake it for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the cake centre comes out clean.
15. Remove the sponge cake from the oven and drop the cake pan on the table a few times to release any trapped heat which helps prevent the sponge cake from shrinking.
16. Cover the cake with a piece of wax paper, flip the pan over and let it cool down on a cooling rack. This will help to keep the sponge cake moist.
17. When it becomes completely cool, lift and remove the cake pan, flip over the sponge cake and remove the wax paper. (Note: Run the sides of the cake with a thin knife if not lining sides of the cake pan with parchment paper before flipping cake pan over the wire rack again to un-mould the cake.)

Soaking Syrup

1. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar in the hot water and let syrup cool.
2. Add Kirsch, if using, to the prepared syrup when ready to use.

Chantilly Cream

1. In a large bowl, add the heavy whipping cream and sugar and dip bowl into a iced water bath.
2. Whip the mixture with a balloon whisk until soft peaks.
3. Let the bowl sit in the iced water bath to keep the Chantilly cream cold.

Assembling the Cake

1. Remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake.

2. Using a cake leveller or serrated knife, slice the sponge cake horizontally into two equal layers.

3. Place the bottom sliced layer on the serving dish or cake board and the top layer on the wire rack, sliced sides up.

4. Brush the sliced side of the bottom cake layer with the soaking syrup. Repeat with the sliced side of the top cake layer and let it soak with the syrup.
5. Drop the Chantilly cream on the bottom cake layer and spread the cream on the surface with a frosting spatula.

6. Cover the surface layer with sliced strawberries.

7. Drop the Chantilly cream over the strawberries and spread the cream to cover the strawberries.

8. Stack the top cake layer on top of the cream with the syrup soaked side down.

9. Apply the soaking syrup to the top of the sponge cake.
10. Drop a generous amount of Chantilly cream on top and spread the cream evenly with a frosting spatula, on top and around the sides of the cake. Decorate the sides of the cake with strokes pattern as desired.

11. Put the remaining whipped cream into a pastry fitted with a star tip and pipe out the cream on top of the cake for the strawberries to go on top.

12. Place the strawberries on top of the cream and sprinkle on some powdered sugar over the strawberries (optional).

13. Chill the cake in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving to allow the frosting to set.

The Dream Baker's Experiment

1. I used 3 large eggs weighing approximately 58 and 59 grams (with shell on), white granulated sugar and 2% reduced fat milk in my above recipe.
2. I omitted the Kirsch in the soaking syrup, simply because I don't like the taste of cherry brandy.
3. I suggested adding 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in the Chantilly cream for additional flavour.
4. Instead of a 7-inch round pan as recommended in the original source recipe, I baked my sponge cake in an 8-inch square pan which yielded a cake height of approximately 1-inch.
5. I baked my cake in the bottom rack of the oven for about 20 minutes. Baking time varies across different ovens.

I am sharing this Strawberry Chantilly Cake with monthly link up party, Our Growing Edge (July 2015: Party with Friends) hosted by Pia from Joie de Vivre and Cupcakes. Our Growing Edge is an event that aims to connect food bloggers and inspire us to try new things.

I am also sharing this recipe with blog events Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily of A Mummy Too; CookBlogShare hosted by Lucy of Supergolden Bakes; and Bake of the Week organised by Helen & gang of Casa Costello. 

          

Last but not least, and for the first time, I am entering this Strawberry Chantilly Cake into blog challenge, Simple & in Season organised by Ren of Ren Behan Food.

Stay cool (literally) this Summer! ^_^

Dare to dream.

The Dream Baker