Strawberry Shortcake

DH's not a fan of butter cakes, neither am I. I've been baking butter cakes for the family because that seems like the easiest as compared to sponge/chiffon cakes. I got a little more adventurous and decided to try out HHB's sponge cake.

This recipe uses only 3 eggs, which is just right for my family. A 5 eggs recipe yields a 8 or 9" cake pan and this is definitely way too much for us. Maybe when we have #4, I can try the 5 eggs recipe ;)

It took me about 12 mins to whip the eggs to ribbon stage using a hand-held mixer. I added the sifted flour into the egg mixture in 3 batches so as not to deflate the egg mixture. I scooped 1/4 of the egg mixture into the melted butter and give it a quick mix, pour this mixture back into the egg mixture and fold till well blended before adding in the milk. HHB's recipe calls for a 18 cm pan but the smaller cake pan I have is a 14cm (5.5"). The first time I baked this, I followed the recipe to a "T" but we find the cake too sweet for us. Also, I have underbaked the cake as the top was still abit sticky though the satay stick came out clean. This time round, I reduced the sugar and extended the baking time by another 5 mins. Cake turns out well.




This is my first attempt in frosting a cake and I did a horrible job. I was working way too slowly, trying to cover every corner. I didn't do the crumb coating and the crumbs were falling all over the place. As I began to panic, the cream started to melt on me! I had no choice but to quickly finished up the final touch and send the cake into the fridge.



The texture of this cake is soft and moist even when we cut it the next day. Most importantly, I've finally baked a cake DH likes :)

Makes one 18cm sponge cake

Ingredients
100g cake flour
3 eggs, room temperature
90g sugar (I use 50g)
20g unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Sift cake flour, set aside. Line bottom and sides of an 18cm (7 inch) round pan with parchment paper, set aside. Pre-heat oven to 170degC. Position rack at the lower bottom of the oven.
2. With an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar on HIGH speed for about 5 to 7 mins, until the batter double in volume and is ribbon-like (the beater should leave a ribbon-like texture when the batter is lifted up). Turn to LOW speed and whisk for another 1 to 2 mins. Whisking at low speed helps to stabilise the air bubbles in the batter.
3. Add sifted cake flour into the batter. With a spatula, gently fold in the flour until well blended. Take care not to deflate the batter. (To ensure proper folding in of the flour, you can add the flour in three separate additions.)
4. Add the melted butter, fold with spatula until well blended.
5. Add in fresh milk, vanilla extract and fold in gently with spatula.
6. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30~35 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Unmold and invert onto cooling rack, cool completely.

Own Notes:
Tecno TEO 3400: Bake at 160C for 30 - 35 mins