Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Strawberry cake... birthday special


It was again that special day of the year, 'her' birthday. My little bundle of joy was turning 6 this year. I'm  amazed how time flies. I still remember the day I held her for the first time. Over the last 6 years, it has been an amazing journey for me as a woman, as a mother. Discovering and learning new things as I also grew up as my little one did.

So, to celebrate this special day, I decided to make a special cake for her. Though I  have baked cakes quite a few times, but never tried my hand on icing. This time I wanted to take the plunge and decided to make a Strawberry gateau.

Gateau is a French word for fancy, rich and iced cake. It is much more delicate than usual layer cakes. The basic cake is a soft sponge cake very similar to Genoise. Then the cake is layered with whipped cream and fresh fruits. I must thank my friend Vanessa for handing over me the basic sponge cake recipe. I blindly followed the recipe she gave me and the result was yum.


Things needed to make Strawberry gateau:


For the sponge cake:
(Measurements are as per standard US cup measurement)
  • Eggs: 5
  • Flour: 1 cup ( I used plain flour from Indian store)
  • Sugar: 1 cup ( I used granulated sugar)
  • Baking powder: 1.5 tsp
  • Salt: 1 tsp
  • Milk: 1/3 cup
  • Vanilla extract: 1.5 tsp


For strawberry syrup:

  • Fresh strawberries
  • Water
  • Sugar to taste
  • Lime juice: 1/2 tsp


For filling and icing:

  • Heavy whipping cream/ double cream: 600 ml
  • Sugar: 3 tbsp
  • Vanilla extract: 1 tsp



Other:

  • Fresh strawberries to garnish
  • Butter to grease


Steps of making Strawberry Gateau:


1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 inch pan, line the pan with parchment paper.


2. Separate the eggs to yolks and whites. Add 1/4 cup sugar to the egg white and mix well with a spatula. With a hand blender beat the egg white till soft peaks are formed or till 4-5 min. Always beat the egg whites first.


3. Mix milk, yolks and rest of the sugar with a spatula. Beat the yolk mixture till the yolks turn to pale yellow color. Add vanilla extract and mix well.




4. Sieve flour, salt and baking powder, gradually add the flour mix to yolk mix. Fold flour very gently to the yolk mix. Mix till all the flour is well incorporated.


5. Add egg white and fold gently. Pour the batter to prepared cake pan. Put the cake pan on the middle rack of the pre-heated oven. Bake for 35-40 min. To know whether the cake is done or not, insert a toothpick at the center, if the toothpick comes clean then it is done. Press gently the top of the cake, a perfectly done cake will spring back. And the sides will start to come out from the cake pan. Take out the cake and immediately transfer to a cooling rack.


6. Let the cake cool down completely. While the cake is cooling down, prepare the strawberry syrup. Cut fresh strawberries into small cubes, about 1 cup. Boil 1.5 cup water, add the cubed strawberries and sugar, mix well. Taste to check the sweetness, if needed add more. Let it boil for 5-6min. Add lime juice, switch off heat and let strain the syrup. do not throw the strawberry cubes, I used them for the filling of the cake.


7. For the filling and icing beat 600 ml heavy whipping cream with 3 tbsp sugar and vanilla extract, till soft peaks are formed.

8. Cut the cake into two halves. Drizzle strawberry syrup on both the halves.


9. Layer fresh strawberries, and whipped cream at the center. Put the other half of the cake on top, do icing as you like, and garnish as per your choice.



I used sliced fresh strawberries and whipped cream to decorate the cake.



If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow my blog on NetworkBlogs. Thank you..!!!



4 comments:

  1. Such a pretty cake...I am sure your little one must have really enjoyed

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is just awesome. The icing, considering this is your first time, has come out like the professionals.

    ReplyDelete