Lighter-Than-Air Sponge Cake
I am so intrigued by the idea of a winter Christmas. Every year us “Southerners” are spoon-fed the incredible imagery that is the cold and wonderful white Christmas. Snow-fall, cosy knits, open fires, reindeer, fluffy socks, hot chocolate… It’s all sounds like absolute heaven to those of us who have to employ a dedicated family member each year to swat the “blowies” away from the roast Christmas chicken.
I have been lucky enough to have experienced it once in my lifetime thus far. It was in a wet, freezing, significantly not snowy and miserable London for the big day - it certainly didn’t live up to expectations. I was so incredibly homesick during that time that I’m sure the enormous green Grinch like glasses that I was looking through the entire time certainly tarnished the magic was undoubtedly there.
I’m sure at some point in the future now that travel restrictions have lifted that I’ll be able to fully live out the expectations that I have for a perfect “Northerner” Christmas. I’m almost positive that the people who have grown up with it would argue that a hot Christmas sitting by the pool with a platter of yabbies sounds just as enticing. I guess we always want what we can’t have. Which is okay. The magic to me that is a white Christmas would be entirely wasted if we were to have it each year.
Where a portion of the world will be enjoying mulled wine and snow covering their surroundings, our family will be enjoying sunshine, flies and fresh berries covering this incredibly light sponge cake. I’ve decided to make a change from the classic Pavlova this year - although an incredibly wise choice for Christmas day - and go from something airy like sponge. We shall not miss the fruit from the Pav as a sponge is arguably a comparable vessel for those delicious toppings. Layered with a sky-high amount of pillowy soft cream and jam, this cake will be a beautiful reprieve from the heat that is an Australian Christmas.
Lighter-Than-Air Sponge Cake
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 150g caster sugar
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 110g cake flour
- 20g custard powder
- 30g unsalted butter, melted
- strawberry jam - for filling (or jam of choice)
- 300g thickened cream - whipped to soft peaks
- 250g punnet strawberries, halved
- 100g icing sugar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170°C and grease and line 2 x 6inch round cake tins with baking paper. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until the mixture is extremely light, pale and doubled in size - about 6-8 minutes. To check to see if the mixture is ready, remove the whisk and make a quick figure "8". It will be ready when the 8 is visible for a few moments before sinking back into the mixture bulk.
- Meanwhile, sift together the flour and custard powder. Repeat the sifting process a minimum of four times to ensure it's aerated. Sift over the top of the egg mixture on the last sift. Using a whisk, carefully fold the flour mixture into the eggs until just combined, follow this by pouring the melted butter into the mixture and gently stir through.
- Pour batter equally into the 2 cake tins and place onto a large tray. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are spongy and golden. Remove from the oven and remove tins by inverting onto a cake cooling rack lined with baking paper immediately. The paper ensures that the tops of the cakes won't stick as they cool.
- While the cakes cool, make the glaze by placing lemon juice and 100g of the fresh - or frozen - strawberries into a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until you are able to break the strawberries apart with a fork. Strain the mixture into a small bowl to remove the seeds and separate the juice. Add the icing sugar to the juice and whisk until no lumps remain. Use a splash of water to thin out the glaze, or more icing sugar to thicken.
- Place one cake onto a serving plate and top with a generous amount of strawberry jam. Don't spread it right to the edges as it will begin to ooze with the weight of the next sponge layer. Spread the whipped cream across the jam before gently pressing the remaining cake layer on top. Top this with a drizzle of glaze, pushing it to the edges with a spoon before finishing off with the halved fresh strawberries as garnish.
Notes
Sometimes you might find the cakes to sink significantly in the middle during baking. This can be due to a number of reasons but the main being over-whipping of the eggs. However, all is not lost! As these 6 inch layers are quite tall, go ahead and level the cakes once they have cooled before constructing.
This cake is best eaten the day of making. The sponges can be made the day ahead and kept in an airtight container until ready to use. Any leftover constructed cake can also be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.