Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Because my work schedule varies so wildly (I either start work at 5:30 pm or 10 am or 1 or 2 pm), so does my sleep schedule.
And because of that, I feel like a zombie.

And zombies don't bake.
I think.

I'm pretty sure they prefer their brains raw.

But I digress.
With this recipe comes another side of excuses. It seems to be my MO lately, but such is life. I finally have enough money to properly bake, but of course I don't have the time to do it as often as I'd like.
Life, eh?

And starting at the end of May, I'll be in culinary school (yahoo!), so there's another obstacle.
But on the other hand, it'll teach me new things to do, though I won't be doing pastry for a while yet.

ANYWHOO, ON TO PICS AND THE RECIPE.
I kept looking for recipes to use, because I'd never made one of these before, but none of them /seemed/ right. So I just used my own sponge recipe, and my own stabilized whipped cream recipe. None of the recipes I saw for the whipped cream had enough gelatin, and I wanted it to set up really well, so it would slice cleanly.
Anyway, I think I got it, but next time, instead of just slicing the strawberries in half, I'll chop them up and mix them into the cream. It looks nicer sliced, but it's harder to get through them with your fork without smashing the cake to bits, haha.

I really really like this cake better than the American version. I much prefer the delicate sponge over a biscuit base. And the stiffer cream is nicer. And it's prettier. So Japan wins this one :)







Japanese Strawberry Shortcake:



Sponge cake:
3 eggs, separated
1 whole egg
50 g flour
50 g sugar
50 g oil
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
also:
Handful of strawberries, for assembly, later.


This is a super duper easy recipe to remember. 50/50/50, haha.
If you guys don't have a scale yet, get one. For things that are really delicate, it's indispensable.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line an 8x8 pan, or a cake pan. (8 inches should be okay for that, but you'll probably have thinner layers)

Whip the egg whites until really frothy. Add in the sugar, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

Beat the egg yolks, whole egg, flour, oil, salt, & vanilla until totally combined.
It should be yellow, and a very very thick and odd texture. If you pick up the spoon/whisk/beater and think "what the hell is this?", then it's right.

Mix a few spoonfuls of the egg whites into that mixture, just to make it lighter and easier to fold the rest of the whites into. Trust me, any time you have to fold egg whites into a really thick batter like this, do that trick.
Fold the rest of the egg whites into it, making sure to fully incorporate them. (I made this cake once and was very lazy and I had random spots of cooked meringue in my cake because I didn't mix it well.) So just make sure it's uniform in color, with no streaking.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. (It's better to slightly overbake this cake than underbake it)

Let the cake cool and get started on the whipped cream.

Stabilized whipped cream:
1 1/2 cups of whipping cream
1/2 cup of sugar (you can adjust this depending on your tastes. I tend to add a bit more because I am a sugar junkie >__> )
2 1/2 Tbsp gelatin (that's generally one packet)
1 Tbsp cold water

Put the cold water in a small dish and bloom the gelatin. (sprinkle it over the water and wait until it's absorbed all of it)
Microwave it for a few seconds, until it's liquid.
Set aside to cool.
Whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks.
If your gelatin still hasn't cooled down enough (ie, it's still steaming, like mine was), pour a bit of the cold cream into it. Works like a charm.
Pour the gelatin into the whipped cream with the mixer going, making sure to get it all incorporated, but don't whip it so much it makes butter!


Assembly:
Level your cake, and split it into two layers.
put a very thin layer of whipped cream down, then place cut, sliced, or chopped strawberries down. (this helps to keep the strawberry juice from making the cake soggy).
Cover the strawberries completely with more cream.
Put the top layer on then ice the top with cream.
You can do the sides, but I think it looks fine with just the top done :)
Let chill in the fridge for at least a half an hour, so the gelatin can set up at least a little.
Slice into cute little rectangles and garnish with strawberries :)

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