THE BEST Japanese cream cake with fresh fruit

*5*

Hey everybody,

How are you all???

Today's post is going to be about a recipe that I discovered a short while ago which turned out really well. I made the cake for my father as part of father's day and it was a SUCCESS!

 

It looks like a lot of cream in the middle, sandwiching the layers, but it isn't actually that thick because I spread a layer of cream and placed strawberries on top and then the other cake slice. Then, I use cream to cover the sides of the middle so, the thickness is definitely not that much!!!

 

I've be searching on the internet and looking at books to find the best Japanese sponge cake recipe. Japanese sponge cake is different to the western style cake because it is much lighter and more airier. The usual style western sponge cake is typically more dense and is favoured in popular cakes such as the victoria sponge, lemon drizzle, chocolate cakes and even cupcakes. However, if you hop over to Japan or are lucky enough to have a Japanese cake shop near you, you'll find that they aren't dense and thick but super fluffy. And I love the sweet fresh fruit, because it makes the cake summery and also more healthy ;) It tastes fresh and good for the body!

Strawberries, plums, peaches and kiwi were my choice of fruit because they're in season

My personal bias is the Japanese style sponge, because I like the lightness of the cake and how you can eat a lot without feel 'stodgy' :D Chinese style cakes and korean style cakes are also composed of a lighter sponge cake base as well and all of these cakes are normally iced together with whipped cream and filled and topped with fresh fruit. It's a very simple and basic cake but super delicious. The lightness and simplicity appeals to most people and I'm definitely one of them. 

However, that's not to say that I don't like denser cakes, sometimes only dense cakes will do the job and provide a good base against heavier flavours like rich chocolate buttercream or the tart strawberry jam and sweet whipped cream in a victoria sponge. They can be heavier but still jaw droppingly delicious so it really depends on the cake and my mood :D BUT sometimes you don't even need a cake base for a scrumptious 'cake', confused?! What about cheesecake??? Cheesecake isn't made up of 'cake' but it's sooo tasty. I love cheesecake so much with the creamy cheese layer and the thick biscuit layer. It's a sin to have a thin biscuit layer because it just crumbles away, I mean that's the base and pillar of the cheesecake, what's going to support the cheese and sour cream layer if it's not there? Exactly...nothing

Back to the Japanese cake. So, I never ever ever give up and this time I'm super glad things worked out, I've already told you that I've tried lots of different recipes, all of which have not been what I call a success because some were so thin that they became dry very quickly or too soft and then the cake obtained moisture and became wet because of the bubbles inside. However, I kept looking for a recipe online because I knew that there must be someone out there who has found the key to the treasure trove and they did. 

This was the website that I went to and used the recipe for, though the recipe does not belong to the author but you can visit the blog to read it for yourself:

http://www.thelittleteochew.com/2013/04/japanese-strawberry-shortcake-again.html

Her cake looks super tasty right, I looked at it and thought, I have to make it too because I want to eat it!!! Unfortunately the egg yolks over here aren't as yellow so my sponge cakes weren't as gorgeously yellow as hers.

What I love about the recipe is that it's really simple, it may sound like work with the beating of the eggs over heat etc but it really doesn't take long. The recipe only makes one layer but I decided to make 2 because the layers do come out quite thin when I made it and make another batch was not a problem because you can make them pretty quickly. I didn't put all ingredients for two batches together at once because it might not have worked so I suggest you keep them separate because it honestly doesn't take that long. You can make one layer and put it in the oven and whilst it's baking make the next layer.

Oh and also, the author says to beat the eggs and sugar until it triples in volume and looks pretty white in colour, she said it took her almost 30 mins but with my electric hand held whisk I felt I had reached that stage by 6 mins but kept whisking until 8 mins had gone by. I'm not sure why hers took that long but I felt mine was fine and stopped and it still came out well, so maybe it depends on the power of your electric whisk. 

I also used 300ml of cream and whipped it and then frosted the cake but for some reason, I didn't have enough to cover the sides so next time I'm going to get a larger pot which is around 500ml because you can always find other uses with double cream like make creamy pasta, potato gratin, risotto or more desserts like eton mess :P

I also didn't use the syrup but maybe I'll try next time because I want to see what it tastes like, it was still really delicious (moist AND light), so I would definitely say that this is officially now my go to cake.I love love love it so much :D And I didn't use any alcohol at all because that's not really to my taste. 

I got a thinner cake because I used a larger cake tin, hers was 18cm in diameter but mine was 22.5 cm in diameter. I buttered the cake tins and lined them with parchment paper to make sure that they would come out easily, and also, I used spring form tins, so the cakes can be released with ease. 

Ingredients (for one layer)

Cake
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 60g caster sugar
- 60g cake flour (sifted) (I used sponge flour which I guess is the same because where I live, cake flour isn't available)
- 20g unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
 

 Filling 

Cream
- 300ml double cream (I'd recommend more just in case if you're making two layers)

 - 1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
 

 The recipe suggests 1 punnet fresh strawberries (250g)
But it's entirely up to you and feel free to add anymore other fresh fruit you want, I added kiwis, nectarines, plum...

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C. Beat together the eggs and sugar using a hand whisk that isn't electric, over a bain-marie (water bath- so have a bowl with water that's simmering and place a larger bowl on top of the bowl with the water making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water: therefore the steam from the water heats the mixture in the top bowl). Heat it until the sugar appears dissolved and the mixture is slightly warm. 

2.Take the bowl away from the heat and beat the mixture using a hand held electric whisk until the mixture TRIPLES in volume and the colour of the mixtures become whiteish. 

3.  The recipe also states that "towards the last 2 to 3 minutes, beat on the lowest speed to stabilise the mixture and eliminate large bubbles. When the egg mixture has reached the "ribbon stage", sift in the flour a little at a time (I would recommend in 3 stages)." 

4. Pour the butter into the cake batter and fold using a spatula, make sure that it has all been incorporated into the batter.

5. Pour the batter from a height of 30cm into the cake tin. Towards the end, pour the remaining batter to one side of the tin (I believe this prevents the cake from developing a dome).- I did one like this and one without pouring it towards the side to see if there was a difference and once baked, there was no difference so I don't think it is necessary.

5. Lift the tin and drop it gently onto the table top twice to eliminate air bubbles, this will prevent the cake from rising and then sinking a lot.

6. Bake the cake for 25 minutes. 

7. If you are going to make another layer, then do it at this stage. I really stress that two layers is good because it will then reach the same height as typical cakes, otherwise it'll be very thin and the cake can be hard to cut in half. 

7. Whip together the cream, sugar and vanilla until peaks form but it isn't stiff, place in the fridge to keep cool. 

8. When the cake is cooked, turn it onto a cooling rack and allow it to cool. I frosted the cake on the same day but if you don't, the author of the recipe says that you should wrap the cake using clingwrap when it is completely cooled if you do not intend to frost the cake on the same day (the cake keeps for 2 to 3 days, refrigerated). Otherwise, proceed to slice the cake in half, horizontally.(I didn't do this because I made two layers.

9. Dollop the cream onto the first layer of cake and spread it out so it covers the cake, placed the sliced strawberries flat side down onto the cake. Oh, make sure you choose roughly same sized strawberries so that the cake is balanced. Place the other layer of cake on top.

10. Frost the top of the cake with the cream and if you can the sides also. I think it looks more elegant if you frost the sides but because I didn't have enough, I just frosted the middle gap between the two cake layers. 

11. Place the other fruits on top and if you want a light sheen over the fruit heat together some apricot jam and a little water until it becomes sticky but spreadable. Then, dab over the fruits so that they look shiny and sweet looking.

13. Chill the cake in the fridge until ready to eat!  

Hope you liked the post and are tempted to try out the recipe as well because it's well worth it :DDD

Come back for another post very soon!