Strawberry Sponge Cake
This is an English strawberry shortcake - a whisked sponge cake layered with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. A delicious way to serve up fresh strawberries when they're in season!
Servings 6 people
Ingredients
- 2 eggs weighed in their shells
- same weight as those eggs in caster sugar
- ½ the weight of those eggs in plain white flour
- 1 tsp lemon juice/neutral vinegar optional - see notes
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 pinch fine table salt
- 300 g strawberries
- 200 ml whipping cream or double cream (heavy cream)
Instructions
- Weigh the eggs in their shells.Now weigh out the same amount in caster sugarNow weigh out half that amount in plain white flour.EXAMPLE: my 2 eggs in the video weighed 138g in their shells so I need 138g caster sugar and 69g of plain white flour.
- Preheat the oven to 180C fan. Grease two 6, 7 or 8 inch cake tins (if using an 8-inch cake tin, I advise using 3-4 eggs or your cakes will be very thin). Mix 1 tbsp each of caster sugar and plain white flour. Use this mixture to dust the cake tins around the base and sides, tapping out excess. Place onto a large baking tray (this makes it easier to take the cake tins out of the oven) and set aside.
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Start whisking them with electric beaters whilst gradually streaming in the sugar. Once all of the sugar has been added, whisk in the lemon juice/vinegar if you're using it. Keep whisking for around 5 minutes until the mixture is pale, thick and quadrupled in volume.2 eggs, same weight as those eggs in caster sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice/neutral vinegar
- Sift in the flour, cornflour and salt then fold together gently until incorporated.½ the weight of those eggs in plain white flour, 1 tbsp cornflour, 1 pinch fine table salt
- Divide the batter between the two cake tins evenly and spread out to fill the tins.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of your tin) until golden on top and, when pressed, the cakes spring back.
- Remove from the oven and run a butter knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen from the tin whilst hot. Remove from the tins and set aside to cool.
- Hull and slice the strawberries and add to a medium bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tsp caster sugar and toss together. Set aside to let them get juicy.300 g strawberries
- Whip the cream with electric beaters or a whisk in a medium bowl until you get soft peaks.200 ml whipping cream or double cream (heavy cream)
- Once the cakes have cooled, peel away and discard the baking paper. Lay one cake onto a plate, top with most of the whipped cream and strawberries. Lay the second cake on top. Dust the top with a small amount of caster sugar (optional - just for aesthetics!) and then with the remaining cream and berries.
- Serve now or chill for up to 1 day (it's best eaten when it's just been assembled!)
Video
Notes
Use 3 eggs instead: use the same technique of weighing the eggs in their shells to calculate the amount of sugar and flour needed. Use 1.5 tbsp cornflour.
Lemon Juice/ Vinegar: the acidity in these ingredients helps to stabilise the egg white foam which means that your cake batter is more resilient so is more likely to remain fluffy! That said, I've never had any issues when I've omitted this. If you're not confident with folding in dry ingredients (the part where it's most likely you'll knock some air out of the batter), then feel free to include the lemon/vinegar as it's like an insurance policy to keep the cake light! If you don't have any then don't worry about it, just try to be as delicate as possible when you're folding in the dry ingredients.
Yogurt whipped cream: I prefer my whipped cream to taste slightly tangy so I like to do 100ml cream, whipped to soft peaks, which I then fold 100g Greek yogurt into.
Make it dairy free: use a dairy free whipping cream alternative like Oatly whippable or Elmlea plant cream.