Strawberries & Cream Spongettes
There is truly nothing I enjoy more than a good, moist spongecake with lashings of both cream and strawberries. As kids, my brother and I were treated with whatever flavour of cake we wanted for our birthdays. For my brother, it was chocolate and for me it was always some sort of sponge with cream, bananas and strawberries. After all this time, things haven’t changed!
I wanted to create a recipe that could be as exceptionally delicious as mum’s birthday cakes but be small enough to enjoy over afternoon tea. As much as living in the country ensures that the likelihood of someone popping in to discover you tucking into a full-sized cake for no reason other than your own satisfaction, are low, it is never zero! I needed a recipe that I could enjoy guilt-free and one where I needn’t be constantly watching the door while I spooned it into my face.
The concept isn’t groundbreaking. In fact you’d be right in thinking that these little spongettes are almost tiny weeny little cream and strawberry birthday cakes. At least this way, you know that they will be delicious! AND you can serve them up to those pesky “popper-iners” while they’re trying to catch you making yourself a “not-my-birthday” cake.
So what exactly is in these little cakes? Think: delicate, moist, dissolve on your tongue buttercake sponge. A delicious layer of sweet vanilla cream topped with a decedent chunky strawberry syrup. Finish all this off with a scatter of berries and oh my goodness… you’ve arrived at destination culinary heaven!
These little guys are completely customizable to your favourite types of berries or even a drizzle of chocolate if you’re feeling adventurous. The next time I make them, I’m going to try and sneak a few pieces of banana between the layers as well as swap out the strawberry syrup for blueberry.
Go for it my lovelies! In fact, you could even keep the cake as a slab and ice it directly to make it look like a birthday cake. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t eat a cake on 4:37pm on a Tuesday.
Strawberries & Cream Spongettes
Ingredients
- 354g plain flour
- 300g castor sugar
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 230g unsalted butter, room-temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 240ml whole milk, room-temperature
- 80g sour cream, room-temperature
- 3 large eggs, room-temperature
- 500g frozen strawberries
- 1tbsp castor sugar
- 2tsp lemon juice
- 300ml thickened cream
- 2tbsp icing sugar
- 2tsp vanilla extract
- Strawberries & raspberries - to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 30cm x 20cm lamington tin - set aside.
- Into a large bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt. To this, add in the cubed butter, vanilla and 1/2cup of milk and mix with a paddle attachment until the ingredients are moistened. The mixture will come together as a thick dough.
- In a large jug, whisk together the remaining milk, eggs and sour cream. With the stand mixer running on medium-low speed, add the egg mixture in three additions. Ensure each addition is just incorporated before adding the next. If needed, stop the mixer to scrap down the sides. Some lumps are okay so try not to over beat the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread evenly to the edges. Tap the tin gently against the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 28-30minutes or until the top is golden brown and when a skewer is inserted, it comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, using a 7cm round cutter, punch out 8-10 spongettes from the buttercake. Cut the spongettes in half and set aside until ready to assemble.
- Place strawberries, sugar and lemon juice into a medium saucepan over low heat.
- Bring the ingredients to a simmer. Allow the strawberries to break down and the juices to become a thick syrup - about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before assembling the spongettes.
- Meanwhile, to make the whipped cream, pour the thickened cream into a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the whisk begins to leave tracks in the cream. Stop the mixer and add in the icing sugar and vanilla. Continue to whisk until soft peaks form. Don't over whip - the cream should be soft and pillowy, but can still hold it's shape.
- Place a generous spoonful of whipped cream across the bottom slice of one of the spongettes. Place the top half on top of the first layer of cream - like a sandwich.
- Dollop another spoonful of cream on top, drizzle a generous amount of the strawberry syrup across the cream and press in a scattering of berries to finish.
Notes
- The strawberry syrup can be substituted for any type of berries of your choosing.
- To enhance the syrup flavour further, add a small spoonful of the syrup between the two layers of sponge.
- These assembled spongettes will keep in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 4 days. Un-assembled, the buttercake will last in the freezer for up to 3 months, just ensure it is well wrapped in plastic wrap or an airtight container.
- Any left-over butter cake off cuts can be crumbled into a small jar to either make rustic 'deconstructed' spongettes or frozen and saved to make a trifle.
- The buttercake recipe is an adaptation of: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/vanilla-sheet-cake/